Why does the Family Research Council use bad & cherry-picked science to 'defend marriage?'

Tony Perkins, FRC has no problem using bad info to 'defend marriage'

Editor's note - I wrote this piece a while back on a badly done study, Ten Arguments from Social Science Against Same Sex Marriage on the Family Research Council's webpage. Seeing that the study remains on the group's webpage and is presently "trending," I thought it would be apropo to repost something on it. The purpose is to point out the sleight of hand in which the organization continues to get away with:

Ten Arguments From Social Science Against Same Sex Marriage  supposedly speaks against gay marriage. However, like so many other studies and pieces put out by FRC, there is a number of misdirections.

In the piece, Family Research Council is basing the argument against marriage equality on the claim that "children need both a mother and a father."

FRC makes the claim that lesbians household "raising children without a father" is wrong because according to them:

Among other things, we know that fathers excel in reducing antisocial behavior and delinquency in boys and sexual activity in girls.

And gay households "raising children without a mother" is wrong because:

fathers exercise a unique social and biological influence on their children. For instance, a recent study of father absence on girls found that girls who grew up apart from their biological father were much more likely to experience early puberty and a teen pregnancy than girls who spent their entire childhood in an intact family.

However, very little (if any at all) of the literature/studies FRC cites to make these conclusions have anything to do with same-sex households.

VIDEO: An storm of homophobic ignorance hit Charlotte City Council last night. Here is what we do about it

 Raw Story taped some of the most interesting testimonies from last night's meeting of the Charlotte City Council where the non-discrimination ordinance failed to pass. After viewing it (or if you don't want to, I understand), pan down because I have a serious question:



Now here is the question. This morning, I posted a graphic by Media Matters which refuted the lie about transgender women being restroom and changing room predators. The graphic included comments by officials in several cities which have transgender-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances and all of these folks have said that the meme about "transgender predators" is a lie and there have been no problems in their areas.

If you read this morning's post, did you copy and save the graphic? Did you send it out to friends, family, and folks who you felt needed to know this information? I would sincerely hope that at the very least, you didn't blow it off, assuming that knowledge like that is useless because too many people are willing to believe the stereotype.

Some folks did and I've been a little depressed all day because of it.

 There is no use in fighting for equality if you assume that everyone will believe lies or push you aside.

'Anti-gay activist harass transgender teen for simply using restroom' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Conservative Activist L.Brent Bozell Predicts That Priests Will Be Arrested for Opposing Gay Marriage - Didn't these folks say the same thing about lgbt-inclusive hate crimes legislation, i.e. that pastors would be arrested in the pulpit for declaring homosexuality to be a sin? And just how many times did THAT happen? 

 Charlotte Kills Pro-LGBT Ordinance Because Bathrooms - Because of the lie that transgender men and women are predators who will attack women and children in bathrooms. As the next news brief proves, predators don't need any laws to do what they do. 

Anti-LGBT activists confront transgender teenager at Charlotte government center bathrooms - All I can say that if I was there . . . never mind. This junk just makes me so upset. It's one thing to attack the family but when that member is a child, I tend to see red BIG TIME.
  
Barber: Gay Marriage Will Be 'The Sledgehammer Used To Crush The Church' - One of these days, I am going to sit down and catalog ALL of the bad predictions anti-gay groups and their people made about the passage of pro-lgbt laws. And y'all KNOW that I will do it. I guess there is one good thing coming from this. It used to be that anti-gay spokespeople would say "exactly" why "homosexuality is harmful." I notice they don't do that anymore. Can it be that we have spooked them with our efforts to call out their specific lies? I like to think so.  

Popular Psychology Magazine Refuses To Ban 'Ex-Gay' Therapy Ads - I guess it will be running lobotomy ads next. 

 Without fanfare, Nebraska lifts ban on gay people being foster parents - Let's end today's news briefs with some good news because EVERY child has a RIGHT to a decent home which will provide them with love and support.

Let's address these anti-transgender bathroom myths head on

Last night, the city of Charlotte, NC failed to pass a non-discrimination ordinance. Unfortunately, had the ordinance passed, it would included exemptions for bathrooms and changing rooms, thereby sending a supremely negative message to our transgender brothers and sisters.

Rather than ruminate over how SOME folks (particularly anti-gay activist Flip Benham) choose to wear a cape and a giant "F" on their chests (I say for "fools" but you can feel free to pick out another word beginning with the letter "f"),  I think it would be better to use this morning's post to push some intense education on this nonsense about the transgender community and bathrooms.

Transgender-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances will NOT lead to predators coming into women's restrooms and bathrooms. In fact, that has never been a problem with other areas which do have transgender-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances.

But you do not have to take my word for it. The following graphic is courtesy of Media Matters:

What happened in Charlotte, unfortunately, has happened before and in other times and other groups of people.

Anita Bryant perpetuated the myth for political purposes that gay men want to "recruit" children. That lie continues to haunt the lgbt community

Racists opposed integration because they said it would lead to black men raping white women

Even now, some folks oppose immigration, claiming that immigrants bring diseases, crime, and in return take jobs away from native-born Americans.

It's sad when some folks appeal to unproven fears to get their points across. And when these folks commit these awful acts in the name of  God, it's even worse.

Related post:

15 Experts Debunk Right-Wing Transgender Bathroom Myth