Intersection between Christian beliefs and junk science is a dangerous location.

A situation which hardly ever gets discussed when it comes to opposition to gay equality is the bad intersection between Christian beliefs and distorted science.

To some who call themselves Christians, opposing gay equality on  religious grounds isn't enough. Some Christians align themselves in or with "traditional values" groups  and religious figures who have created a body of "scientific work" which supposedly proves that homosexuality in itself is a "dangerous lifestyle" that is indicative of dastardly deeds, sexually transmitted diseases, and an early death.

However it should be noted that this body of "scientific work" is rife with junk science and studies either cherry-picked or taken out of context.

A perfect example is a recent piece by Catholic Online entitled Opposing the Homosexual Agenda: Religious Bigotry or Science and Justice?. The author, Sonja Corbitt, tries to make the case that there are justifiable reasons to discriminate against gays and lesbians. And the research she cites is highly dubious:

A "Review of Research on Homosexual Parenting, Adoption, and Foster Parenting" was done by George A. Rekers, Ph.D., Professor of Neuropsychiatry & Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina. It is a well-known review, and in it, Rekers cites numerous national and international studies that revealed:

• Households with a homosexually-behaving adult uniquely endanger children.

•Households with a homosexually-behaving adult expose children to significantly higher rates of psychological disorder, (particularly depression), suicide, and substance abuse in homosexually-behaving adults, which results in higher rates of child depression, child maltreatment and neglect.

• Households with a resident homosexually-behaving adult are substantially less capable of providing the best psychologically stable and secure home.

• Households with a homosexually-behaving male contribute to a potentially higher risk of removal due to the sexual abuse.

• A husband/wife relationship is significantly healthier and substantially more stable socially and psychologically.

• The best child adjustment results from living with a married man and woman compared to other family structures.

• Compared to a family without a homosexually behaving adult, empirical evidence and 30 years of Rekers´s own clinical experience with children strongly support the conclusion that a home with a homosexual-behaving individual subjects a child to a set of disadvantages, stresses, and other harms that are seriously detrimental to a child´s psychological and social development.

This review is an extensive survey of many, many studies and their research; the science behind it was used at state levels to guide public policy regarding child custody decisions, adoption, and foster parenting, as well as to defend and uphold laws to this effect in other states and on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America. These laws were upheld by the US Supreme Court.

At first glance, Corbitt's citation of Rekers sounds reasonable. But there are a few facts she omitted.

Rekers, a former professor at the University of South Carolina and a founder of the Family Research Council, has testified against the lgbt community in adoption cases.

In 2004, he was an expert witness in a case involving gay adoption in Arkansas. The state had banned gays from adopting in 1999. In January 2005, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy White ruled against the state of Arkansas. Furthermore, he called Rekers' testimony "extremely suspect." He also accused Rekers of testifying solely for promoting his "own personal agenda."

In 2008, Rekers was also an expert witness in a case defending Florida's gay adoption ban. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cindy Lederman ruled against the state. In her decision, she said "Dr. Rekers’ testimony was far from a neutral and unbiased recitation of the relevant scientific evidence. Dr. Rekers’ beliefs are motivated by his strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent with the science. Based on his testimony and demeanor at trial, the court can not consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy."

Lederman may have been put off by the fact that Rekers said based on "research,"  a case could be made for banning Native Americans from adopting children.

Ugandan anti-gay bill may contain nasty loophole and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Loophole Allows Uganda to Execute Anyone ‘Related’ to Homosexuals - Why should anyone be surprised?

House of cards collapsing on opponents of gay soldiers - Yeah but how long will it take for DADT to be repealed?

Mullen finds ‘little resistance’ among troops to repealing DADT - Another bit of good news.

Independent evaluators concur: Democrats in Congress passed a stimulus bill that really worked - Not necessarily an lgbt issue per se but since folks are riding Obama like a prized pony, I felt the need to put this in.

Gay seniors program wins $475,000 grant - Again I thought that lgbt seniors didn't exist. Isn't that right, Tony Perkins?

Group overusing the 'men invading women's restrooms' lie in Florida

Riddle me this - an organization uses a tactic against a non-discrimination bill which not only fails but fails overwhelmingly.

Should the organization use the tactic again?

Usually an organization wouldn't. But in this case, we are dealing with one of those pesky "traditional values groups."

In Gainesvile, FL, a group calling itself the Concerned Citizens of Gainesville are trying to keep Craig Lowe from becoming Mayor. They have two problems with him.

First that he is openly gay. Secondly that he helped to lead the effort to defeat a repeal of an anti-discrimination law last year. The repeal effort lost by a huge majority (61 percent). And what's more interesting is that supporters of the repeal (the losers) used the tired talking point of how the law would lead to men invading women's restrooms.

If the "bathroom"  tactic didn't work to repeal the anti-discrimination law, then what makes the "Concerned Citizens of Gainesville" think that it can defeat Lowe?

Never mind that Lowe has spent many years in public service, including serving on the Gainesville Commission since 2003 because to them, it's all about the bathrooms..

Those who want to support Lowe's campaign can go here.

Is supporting gays the same as supporting Nazis and pedophiles?

The city of Charleston in my state of South Carolina will be hosting its first Gay Pride.

Conservative columnist John Rackliffe isn't happy about that. Nor is Rackliffe happy that North Charleston's mayor Keith Summey has agreed to be the Grand Marshall of this event:

How should a Christian and former North Charleston resident react to such a gesture? Knowing what I know about how God feels about homosexuality, should I be supportive of the Mayor’s decision? After all, like Summey suggested, he is mayor for all of North Charleston’s residents no matter what their sexual preference. Perhaps, as an elected official, Mayor Summey cannot exercise his stated belief that he “is not supportive of their lifestyle.” Perhaps, he has no choice but to cater to the whims of his citizenry.

Mayor Summey has a choice. What if NAMBLA (look it up), wanted to hold a rally on the steps of North Charleston High School? Should the citizens of North Charleston tolerate it? How about the American Nazi Party? What if the wanted to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday in Park Circle, should the people of North Charleston be accomodating because they have the right to express themselves too?

That sort of hyperbole is par for the course for Rackliffe, who has written other very interesting pieces on the lgbt community such as The homosexual agenda, 'out of the closet' and after your children.

Rackliffe's biography calls him a "born again Christian" who "desires to share his love of Jesus Christ with others through writing and civil discussion."  Comparing gays and lesbians to Nazis and pedophiles doesn't strike me as Christian and it certainly doesn't strike me as civil.

But I find his candor refreshing in its honesty.

There are some on Rackliffe's side of the spectrum who imply that gays are too pushy, too volatile, and therefore are causing problems with their attempts to "change" the view of supposedly what's normal. Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage seems to have cornered the market on phony piety, continuously wringing her hands in abject misery over being "unfairly labeled as a bigot simply because she wants to defend traditional values."

But however nauseatingly untrue Rackliffe's words are, it is nice for someone on his side of the spectrum to drop the mask and show what the push against gay equality is really all about.

It's about spreading ignorance and fear based on presumptions of religious superiority.

And in this case, it's about being extremely presumptuous regarding the role of public servants (i.e. elected officials).

Why else would Rackliffe criticize Mayor Summey for agreeing to show support to an event put on by law-abiding, tax-paying citizens and compound the verbal error by comparing these same citizens to Nazis and pedophiles?

Despite what some folks may believe, homosexuality is not against the law (although some people clearly wish that it would be) and there is no "gay lifestyle" (at least I haven't gotten the newsletter from "National Headquarters" detailing one).

 But gays and lesbians are contributing very much to society, living normal lives, and raising families.

Why should Mayor Summey treat them any differently than any other group of constituents?

By agreeing to be Grand Marshall, maybe Summey wanted to assure them that as an elected public official,  he represents their interests also. After all, isn't that his job?

Blog swarm HRC on Don't Ask, Don't Tell and other Tuesday midday news briefs

DADT blog swarm: contact HRC to publicly demand the President to take the lead on repeal in 2010 - An excellent idea. Let's get on the ball here!

Police halts anti-gay demo as pro-gay activists secretly meet in Kampala - The situation regarding the Ugandan anti-gay bill gets more tense.

Smitherman is approved to adopt son - Excellent news on the family front.

The Right Wing's Meaningless Manifesto - Another $!*# declaration? How about a declaration AGAINST declarations?

Another 'ex-gay' leader, another dubious religious leader

From the excellent site TruthWinsOut.org comes this revelation about another "ex-gay" leader:

A Truth Wins Out (TWO) and South Florida Gay News (SFGN) investigation revealed today that a Wall Street criminal mastermind who was convicted in 1987 of “fraud of spectacular scope” has secretly reinvented himself as a moral leader who “cures” gay and lesbian people. Known as “Abba Dabba Do” in the financial world, Arthur Abba Goldberg was sentenced to 18 months in jail for bilking poor communities with complicated bond schemes and served six months in prison.

“We have long considered Arthur Goldberg a con-artist, but our investigation shows he is also an ex-con,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. ”His diabolical past mirrors his dishonest present-day work with the ex-gay industry. Whether it was shady deals on Wall Street or shading the truth on gay issues, Goldberg is someone who lacks credibility and can’t be trusted.”

“Mr. Goldberg’s silence today about his illegal conduct yesterday is a clear indicator that 18 months in prison 20 years ago has not inhibited his willingness to deceive others in order to advance himself today,” said SFGN Publisher Norm Kent. “You free yourself by admitting your wrongs, not erasing them. Goldberg is hardly in a position to be advocating how gay men and women should be authentic with their own lives when he is a fraud with his.”

Upon completing his parole, Goldberg dropped his conspicuous middle name, Abba, and co-founded Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) in 1999.

He is currently the president of Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality (PATH), an umbrella group for “ex-gay” referrals and the Executive Secretary of the notorious National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). He is also the President of Congregation Mount Sinai, a temple in Jersey City and a Principal for the International Center for Gender Affirming Processes (CGAP). Goldberg is a key ex-gay industry insider and viewed as an architect of its strategy and message machine, says TWO and SFGN.

More here.

For those who are interested, I wrote a piece last year about JONAH demonstrating how it, like so many of these other phony "Christian" groups, distort legitimate studies to demonize the lgbt community.

Mr. Goldberg seems to have gone from one racket to another.

Hypocrisy of the day - Gary Glenn (again)

Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan got a little press from the right-wing One News Now today:

A pro-family advocate in Michigan says he's honored to be on the front lines in fighting for First Amendment rights to speak out against homosexuality.

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, is concerned that the "Hate Crimes Act" signed into law last year will be used to prosecute those who speak in favor of traditional biblical morality. He cites a personal example.

"Several years ago Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit and I were personally accused by the National Gay &Lesbian Task Force in a news release of being responsible for inciting the alleged beating death of a 72-year-old homosexual man in Detroit, merely because we had actively supported Michigan's Marriage Protection Amendment reaffirming marriage as only between a man and a woman," he remarks.

Glenn says aside from the fact that officials found that there was no assault and the man died of natural causes, it illustrates the point that preachers of biblical truth are being targeted. He encourages boldness.

"Don't be intimidated," he counsels. "Continue to speak biblical truth; continue to tell people that marriage is and always has been between one man and one woman -- that's what's best for society, best for children. And stand up against these continuing restrictions on the exercise of free speech."

Glenn is speaking of the case of 72-year-old Andrew Anthos, who died mysteriously in 2007. Anthos, shortly before his death, had told family members that he was attacked because of his sexual orientation. However, the police and medical examiners concluded that his death was the result of a fall and there was no evidence that he was attacked.

But Glenn plays a little loose with the facts regarding the Gay and Lesbian Task Force letter. This is what it said:

"For years, Michigan has been subjected to the homophobic rants of Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan, while so many otherwise good and decent people have been silent. Just two years ago, the state endured an ugly campaign, led by Cardinal Adam Maida, to 'protect marriage' by writing anti-gay discrimination into its constitution. Based on that amendment, a three-judge panel of Michigan's court of appeals voted last month to terminate medical insurance coverage for families of LGBT government workers throughout the state.

So while the letter did somewhat link him to Anthos's death (which was probably unfair), Glenn really has no right to plead total innocence here. He wasn't "merely standing up for marriage." The letter speaks to his long history of vilifying the lgbt community.

Like in 2006 when he spoke against gay/straight alliances in public schools because according to him, they "promote risky behavior,"

Or when he opposed anti-discrimination policies on the assumption that they would make bathrooms co-ed,

Or when he opposed anti-bullying legislation because according to him, it "promoted the homosexual agenda."

Or that ridiculous lawsuit he has help to launch against hate crimes legislation, legislation which does nothing to punish anyone for speech unless that speech is advocating violence,

Or last week when he declared that there should criminal sanctions against  "homosexual behavior." The discussion that he had with me afterwards in which he tried to justify his words only spoke to his desire to further stigmatize the lgbt community even to the point of using information designed to help us as a weapon against us.

And that's the huge hypocrisy of folks like Glenn. They claim that they are being attacked for merely standing up for "Christian values."  It's a good lie they tell as long as no one is made aware of low they stoop to defend their idea of morality.

UPDATE - Check out One News Now's "poll" on hate crimes legislation and the "variety" of questions it offers:

What kind of impact do you believe the Hate Crimes Act will have on freedom of expression for Christians? (related article)

1. 
   

   Christians will be prosecuted

2. 
   

   Christians will be intimidated

3. 
   

   Christians will do what they are told