Six ways the religious right groups lie about the gay community

This a repost which has been updated. We know that religious right groups peddle distortions designed to demonize the lgbt community.

However we really should do more than simply declare them bigots. The lgbt community needs to follow the advice of high school math teachers and "show our work" in proving what needs to be known about these so-called pro-family groups, i.e. that they lie intentionally to create a phony picture of the lgbt community. So I have compiled a pattern of religious right deception which can be broken down to six techniques:

1. Using nonrepresentative or out-of-date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions

Example 1 - Religious right talking point: According to the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women, 43 percent of white male homosexuals had sex with 500 or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more sexual partners. Therefore gays have no concept of mongamy and certainly can't be trusted to raise children.

Truth - Homosexualities was a book written in 1978 that only looked a certain portion of the lgbt population (gay men in the city of San Francisco). It also did not look at same-sex households. In addition, the authors of Homosexualities (Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg) said that their book should not be used to generalize about all gays in general:

“. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that any investigator will ever be in a position to say that this or that is true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.”

Example 2 - Religious right talking point: Same sex marriage and gay adoption are bad ideas because research shows that the best places to raise children are in homes with a mother and a father.

The truth - The research only looked at heterosexual two-parent households as opposed to single parent heterosexual households. Same-sex households were never included.

Point of fact - The following researchers, physicians, and Ph.D.s have complained about how the anti-gay industry has misused their work:

A. Nicholas Groth,

the six researchers of a Canadian study (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter),

Dr. Robert Garofalo (see Gays as Diseased),\

Lisa Waldner,

Dr. Kyle Pruett,

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc,

Carol Gilligan,

Dr. Robert Spitzer,

Dr. Francis Collins,

Gary Remafedi,

Professor Michael King,

Professor Lisa Diamond,

Judith Stacey,

Angela Phillips,

the authors of the book Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall, and Ronald O. Valdiserri),

Theo Sandfort, and

John Horgan.

2. Repetition - Despite the fact that several physicians and researchers complain about the distortion of their work, corrections are usually not made. In fact, you can still find the work of the six Canadian researchers, Judith Stacey, A. Nicholas Groth, and Robert Garofalo, as well as many others being distorted on various religious right webpages.

3. Conspiracy Theory - Claiming that gays and lesbians are consistently plotting to "erode traditional values"

Example - “The agenda of homosexual activists is basically to change America from what they perceive as looking down on homosexual behavior, to the affirmation of and societal acceptance of homosexual behavior. It is an agenda that they basically set in the late 1980s, in a book called After the Ball, where they laid out a six-point plan for how they could transform the beliefs of ordinary Americans with regard to homosexual behavior—in a decade-long time frame." - Craig Osten, Q&A: The Homosexual Agenda, Focus on the Family, July 25, 2003

4. Dire Consequences - Claiming that a pro-gay law or ordinance will lead to negative consequences without proof that the consequences will take place.

Example 1 - “Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

Example 2 - “H.R. 254 elevates one group of Americans above others, creating a special class of victims. All things being equal, it means that if a 5-foot-2-inch grandmother is violently attacked on the street, she is less worthy of justice than the 6-foot-4-inch homosexual man who is attacked by the same assailant.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

5. Phony Experts - Creating their own "experts" on the lgbt community. One such "expert" is Linda Harvey of Mission America. According to her bio, she is a former ad executive who became a born again Christian. Another phony expert is Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family. He is considered an "expert" on the subject of homosexuality but has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities with an emphasis in philosophy, history and religion. And this also includes organizations. In a recent appearance on the news program Hardball, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins cited the  "work" of the American College of Pediatricians as proof that "homosexuality poses a danger to children." However Perkins neglected to mention that the American College of Pediatricians is not a legitimate group but a sham organization laundering religious right distortions as scientific fact.

6. Dehumanizing Semantics - Consistently using language (i.e. demonstrative verbs and adjectives) in their talking points, sound bites, and press releases to deliberately make gays and lesbians seem like impersonal, threatening outsiders. These verbs and adjectives include such phrases as:

• promoting homosexuality
• marketing homosexuality
• endorsing homosexuality
• teaching homosexuality
• homosexual activists
• radical gay agenda
• forcing their agenda on us
• pro-homosexual
• sodomy advocates
• sodomy lobby
• sexual anarchists
• special rights
• homosexual behavior
• legitimizing their lifestyle
• lifestyle
• deadly lifestyle
• redefining marriage
• counterfeit marriage
• aggressive minority of sexual deviants
• homosexual indoctrination
• ramming their agenda down our throats
• gay militants
• they are after our children
• homosexuals can’t reproduce so they have to recruit
• normalizing homosexuality
• marketing their lifestyle to children
• indoctrinating children

If the lgbt community is going to get any headway with combating religious right groups, the labeling of these groups as bigots without any discussion or knowledge of their techniques of deception  must stop. The lgbt community must roll up its collective sleeves and do the hard work not just to educate those in the mainstream, but also itself.

DADT editorial cartoons in bad taste and other Monday midday news briefs

Cagle syndicates tasteless, offensive ‘Don’t Ask’ cartoons following historic repeal signing - Satire is one thing. But these cartoon are downright rude. They make light of the struggles and sacrifices of lgbt soliders.

Familiar Pattern in Newark Park Slay - A tragedy crying for answers.

Vets Group Blasts 'Social Deviant' Farah's Anti-Gay Column - A homophobic column gets its just desserts.


Gay caregivers 'seriously under-researched' - Well duh!

Religious right scared that California youth will learn about gays in history

One thing is sure about religious right groups. Just mention the word "gay" in any form regarding the schools and watch them bloviate about how children are going to be "indoctrinated into the homosexual lifestyle." Case in point:

A California senator is proposing a bill that would radically promote the lesbian, "gay," bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement in schools and wouldn't allow parents to take their children out of discussions concerning the alternate lifestyles.

State Senator Mark Leno (D) has introduced a measure that would require public school textbooks to be re-written to contain information about the LGBT movement. Under the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act, textbooks must highlight key LGBT figures who contributed to the history of the United States and include details about the homosexual movement.

But Penny Harrington, Concerned Women of America's (CWA) legislative director of California, says the bill mandates certain instruction in social sciences and removes safeguards from communities.

"This bill will prompt open discussion in classrooms of all ages about sexual practices, and these are conversations that most parents are going to consider inappropriate," she notes.

In other words, to merely mention the contributions of lgbts in history automatically means that children will be talking about sexual intercourse and parental guidance is needed.

Of course such notions are ridiculous. Talking about gay figures throughout history doesn't necessarily mean that there will be discussions about sexual intercourse, just like a child from a same sex household reading an essay about a family trip doesn't mean that there will be talk about sexual intercourse.

But the religious right will emphasize this false notion in a cynical attempt to appeal to ignorance and fear. Fox News has already talked about this issue of gay history and has called it as "propaganda" and "blackmail."

There is a practical reason why talking about lgbts in history is important to the upbringing of lgbt children. According to Media Matters:

The California Safe Schools Coalition surveyed California students and school administrators in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to determine whether curriculum that includes attention to LGBT people "promote[s] safer school climates." According to their research, "students who report learning about LGBT issues in school... report fewer mean rumors or lies spread about them, fewer reports of being made fun of because of their looks or the way they talk, and less LGBT bullying at school." The California Safe Schools Coalition also concluded that not only did more LGBT students feel safer at schools with LGBT issues in the curriculum, but "[m]ore straight students report feeling safe if they learned about LGBT issues." The report concluded:

Finding 1: Individual students feel safer at school when LGBT issues are included in the curriculum; this is true for LGBT students and for their straight peers.

[...]

Finding 2: School climates are safer when LGBT issues are part of the curriculum.

[...]

Finding 3: Many California school districts already include LGBT issues in the curriculum and many more are interested in doing so. [California Safe Schools Coalition, Safe Schools "LGBT Issues in the Curriculum Promotes School Safety", 2006]

In layman's terms, it's like this - when lgbt children realize that the gay community has made positive influences throughout history, they are more likely to have more self-esteem about themselves. It's pretty much the same reason why there is a Black History Month and a Women's History Month.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with it. We are a people with a rich history and have played a huge role in society which have nothing to do with bathroom encounters or sticky fumblings in open fields in the dead of night. Among our number are such historical giants as Alexander the Great, James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein, Socrates, Michelangelo, Herman Melville,  and Bayard Rustin. It's time America stop thinking that being an lgbt is an issue solely about sexual intercourse.

Senator Leno put it best:

“Most textbooks don’t include any historical information about the LGBT movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history,” said Senator Leno. “Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of LGBT people and leads to increased bullying of young people.” He added, “We can’t simultaneously tell youth that it’s OK to be yourself and live an honest, open life when we aren’t even teaching students about historical LGBT figures or the LGBT equal rights movement.”

Of course you can't tell that to members of the religious right. To push the fact that there is more to being an lgbt than fevered sexual encounters leading to despair, death, and disease puts a huge chink in their argument regarding the supposed "negative effects" of homosexuality.

In their world, lgbts are not people, but sideshow freaks in cages to be pitied and pointed at. Granted, the world of the religious right in no way resembles the real world, but don't count on that little detail to stop them from trying to defeat this needed bill.

Happy Holidays from Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Barring a huge controversy occurring, I will not be posting anymore today and also won't be posting on Christmas day.

I just want to wish everyone a very joyous holiday season and thank you for all of your support.

And I want to leave you with this:

Christian love = anti-gay lies?

No matter how much members of the religious right claim that they "love" the lgbt community, their actions reveal them to be unprincipled liars.

Take, for example, the latest purveyor of the "we stand against homosexuals because we love them" meme, John-Henry Westen of the right-wing LifeSite News:

"They're not opposed out of any kind of hatred or animosity. In fact, they're opposed out of love," Westen contends. "Christians care enough about those men and women who are in these destructive lifestyles to tell them that it's hurtful -- and it is hurtful. God designed us so that a man and a woman fit together in complimentarity."

You know what is more harmful? Lies pushed to make it seem that homosexuality is a "deadly lifestyle."

Which, according to one of my facebook friends, Wendy Equal Leigh, is what Lifesite peddles.

She pointed out to me a recent article pushed by the online publication:

75% of sexually active homosexuals are carrying Human Papiloma Virus, study suggests

Preliminary results from a Spanish study of sexually-active homosexuals indicates that seventy-five percent are carrying the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), according to a report by Europa Press.

Sounds terrible doesn't it? Except for two things:

1. Lifesite News fails to give a link to the study, which can be argued as not a big deal. But the second point can't.

2. Lifesite News went into detail about the study. I highlighted the important part:

The study, which is seeking to follow sexually active homosexuals who normally use condoms, has so far followed 40 subjects over a period of several months, and has arrived at a preliminary figure of 75 percent HPV infection.

Just how in the world can a study which only looked at 40 subjects be used to make a generalization about all gay men? You see that's why its important for there to be a link to the original study. It could be that Lifesite News is distorting this study to make a conclusion that doesn't even exist.

Based on its past track record (see related posts below), it's not a farfetched conclusion to make about this publication.

If lying on the lgbt community is the type of love Westen pushes, I would hate to see his definition of hate.

Related posts: 

Porno Pete LaBarbera embraces Paul Cameron

Lifesite News and Tony Perkins team up to bash gay marriage with bad research

Look out! Here comes a new distortion about changing sexual orientation

More bad news for religious right: Chai Feldblum appointed to EEOC

And the Christmas season keeps getting worse for the religious right:

Lesbian lawyer and longtime activist Chai Feldblum was confirmed as a commissioner of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a Senate vote Wednesday, theFederal Times reports.

Feldblum, who has been the target of much criticism by conservatives, had been serving under a recess appointment by President Obama since April, along with another commissioner, the commission’s chair, and its general counsel, who also were confirmed Wednesday in one of the Senate’s last actions before the holiday break.

As the piece says, conservatives don't like Feldblum. The religious right in fact HATE Feldblum, claiming on more than one occasion that she will lead an onslaught on the "rights of Christians."

Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality:

Who could put it any better than lesbian legal activist Chai Feldblum, former law professor at Georgetown University and President Obama’s recess appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC)? Regarding what she calls the “zero-sum” game that exists between homosexual legal “rights” and the freedom of religious/moral Americans to oppose homosexuality, Feldblum stated: “Gays win. Christians lose.” We hope her prediction is wrong, but the lesbian prof’s secular “rights” formula is clearly advanced every time the noble institution of “marriage” is perverted to legally sanction ignoble, sinful conduct.

Editor's note - Feldblum never said that.

Traditional Values Coalition:

"Feldblum wants the government to promote every type of relationship as equal to traditional marriage, including ‘polyamorous’ relationships (those involving three or more sexual partners).

“Feldblum also believes that sexual liberty trumps religious liberty. She rejects the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.

“Feldblum has criticized the Supreme Court for its Boy Scout decision. She opposes the Boy Scouts right to exclude gay (LGBT) Scout leaders and gay Scouts from its organization.

Family Research Council:

Ms. Feldblum is one of the architects of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which seeks to give special protections to homosexuals and crossdressers, with no regard for the religious objections of those who see such practices as wrong. In fact, when questioned about instances when religious liberty and homosexual "rights" conflict, Ms. Feldblum brazenly stated she would have "a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win." There seems to be little doubt, even in Ms. Feldblum's mind, about how she will rule in cases involving religious liberty that come before her.

The statement these religious right groups are gaining the most mileage out is from a piece she wrote entitled Moral Conflict and Liberty: Gay Rights and Religion.

Ensuring that LGBT people can live honestly and safely in all aspects of their social lives requires that society set a baseline of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. If individual business owners, service providers and employers could easily exempt themselves from such laws by making credible claims that their belief liberty is burdened by the
law, LGBT people would remain constantly vulnerable to surprise discrimination. If I am denied a job, an apartment, a room at a hotel, a table at a restaurant or a procedure by a doctor because I am a lesbian, that is a deep, intense and tangible hurt. That hurt is not alleviated because I might be able to go down the street and get a job, an apartment, a hotel room, a restaurant table or a medical procedure from someone else. The assault to my dignity and my sense of safety in the world occurs when the initial denial happens. That assault is not mitigated by the fact that others might not treat me in the same way.

Thus, for all my sympathy for the evangelical Christian couple who may wish to run a bed and breakfast from which they can exclude unmarried straight couples and all gay couples, this is a point where I believe the “zero sum” nature of the game inevitably comes into play. And, in making the decision in this zero sum game, I am convinced society should come down on the side of protecting the liberty of LGBT people. Once an individual chooses to enter the stream of economic commerce by opening a commercial establishment, I believe it is legitimate to require that they play by certain rules. If the government tolerated the private exclusionary policies of such individuals in the commercial sector, such toleration would necessarily come at the cost of gay people’s sense of belonging and safety in society. Just as we do not tolerate private racial beliefs that adversely affect African Americans in the commercial arena, even if such beliefs are based on religious views, we should similarly not tolerate private beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identity that adversely affect LGBT people.

In other words, Feldblum believes that a business should not be allowed to discriminate against lgbts no matter the so-called "deeply held personal beliefs" of the owner.

She does not believe owners of an apartment building should have the right to deny lgbts housing even if they have a so-called "deeply held personal belief" that homosexuality is a sin.

And she does not believe that the beliefs of service providers should override the needs of those they are supposed to be serving.

I personally can't think of a better choice. And not just because Feldblum sends the religious right into orbit.

That fact is merely icing on the cake.

Anti-gay 'poo-poo pastor' Martin Ssempa charged with conspiracy

Martin Ssempa, a pastor in Uganda infamous for being a chief pusher of the country's "Kill the Gays" bill and also for his penchant for showing "scat porn" in church is among eight people  who was either detained or sought after an "alleged conspiracy to injure the reputation of Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral, Kampala."

According to the site Box Turtle Bulletin:

The eight are being charged with filing false accusations against Kayanja, in a bizarre conspiracy to accuse Kayanja of sodomy. As we reported last year, the conspiracy unfolded this way:

Other pastors are jumping onto the “outing” bandwagon to settle scores as well, and the rivalries are so complex that it takes some diagramming to keep it all straight. Here goes: Pastor Solomon Male of Arise for Christ Ministry accused Pastor Robert Kayanja of the Rubaga Miracle Center Cathedral of being a homosexual, along with “a group of other pastors.” Kayanja’s Rubaga Miracle Center is a very large and prosperous megachurch in Kampala. (Controversial American faith healer Benny Hinn will present a “Fire Conference” at that church on June 5th and 6th.) But an apparent friend of Kayanjka, Pastor Joseph Serwadda of the Victory Christian Centre, another megachurch in the Ndeeba section of Kampala which operates two FM stations, accused Male of of being an impostor, saying that he doesn’t even have a church.

Kayanja’s personal aide, Chris Muwonge, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by armed men and held for five days. His captors allegedly wanted him to make a video statement accusing Kayanja of molesting young boys. Kayanja accused his rival, Pastor Michael Kyazze of the Omega Healing Center of being behind the plot. Kyazze’s assistant, Pastor Robert Kayiira was arrested earlier for trying to sneak a laptop computer into Kayanja’s Miracle Center. His close friend? Pastor Solomon Male. Kayanja reportedly believes that Martin Ssempa is involved in the allegations against him as well.

Regarding Ssempa, the Daily Monitor said he is:

accused of hiring Robson Matovu to blackmail Pastor Kayanja. Court heard that Pastor Male reportedly gave Mr Matovu a signed and stamped affidavit implicating Pastor Kayanja while Samson Mukisa was reportedly promised necessities on condition that he would speak publicly on how Pastor Kayanja had sodomised him.

A police report indicates that complaints of sodomy against Pastor Kayanja did not reveal any evidence the offences. “In retracting their statements, the complainants said they had been mobilised to make false accusations against Pastor Kayanja in order to tarnish his name,” reads a report.

The controversy definitely throws a monkey wrench into the claim of those who support the anti-gay Ugandan bill. Supporters, such as Ssempa, have said that the bill was created to protect Ugandans, particularly children, from "gay recruitment."

However, Box Turtle Bulletin said the following:

Public charges of sodomy are a common way to settle political and other scores in Uganda. Should the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law with its death penalty and other heightened penalties for advocacy on behalf of LGBT people or failure to report gay people to police, such conspiracies will increase and carry far greater dangers.

Besides Ssempa, the others who have been detained or sought after are city advocate Henry Ddungu, pastor Moses Solomon Male, Bob Robert Kayiira, Michael Kyazze,  lawyer David Kaggwa, Deborah Kyomuhendo, and David Mukalazi.

UPDATE -  According to the Ugandan newspaper New Vision, the police are now looking for Ssempa, but so far, he has eluded them.

Related posts:

Martin Ssempa claims to be misunderstood

Martin Ssempa celebrates his homophobia via a blog

'Kill the gays' bill supporter reduced to showing gay porn in church

Martin Ssempa talks about 'poop' to demonize lgbts 

Martin Ssempa's obsession with gay sex . . . and poo?