Exodus International repudiates Paul Cameron, but I am not satisfied

This article has been removed due to the inaccuracies surrounding the research of Paul Cameron.

This statement from the web page of Exodus International was the result of intense work of the web page www.exgaywatch.com

The web masters of the site noticed that Exodus International was using Cameron's work, so they made it known.

Exodus International removed the information and the head of the group, Alan Chambers, also said:

I appreciate EGW’s tremendous research skills. I saw your post on Exodus using Paul Cameron’s research and was embarrassed. We do not support the work of Paul Cameron nor desire to use flawed research. A member of my staff will remove these articles today and post a retraction. In the coming months we will be doing a survey of the content on our site to determine what if there are other articles or links that need to be removed.

Forgive me for being cynical, but I am not sold.

I seem to recall that in 2005, the Traditional Values Coalition told the Boston Globe in the article Beliefs Drive Research Agenda of New Think Tanks that it removed Cameron's work from its web page.

However, its head, Lou Sheldon, continues to sell his book The Agenda, which freely cites Cameron by name.

I suggest that Alan Chambers and Exodus International lead a call for all religious right organizations that use Cameron's data to publicly apologize and remove his work from their sites:

I further suggest he start first with Peter LaBarbera and Americans for Truth (in name only).

Or how about the Rev. Rod Parsley who, in 2005, said the following:

“Gay sex is a veritable breeding ground for disease. Only one percent of the homosexual population in America will die of old age. The average life expectancy for a homosexual in the United States discounting AIDS is forty-two years of age . . . A lesbian can only expect to live to be forty-fi ve years of age.”—Perry schmoozes with gay bashers, Austin Chronicle, June 10, 2005

Or how about the American Family Association, which continues to cite Cameron's work on its web page and via its news service, Agape Press (now One News Now) consistently cited Cameron as a "family expert."

Or how about Timothy Dailey and the Family Research Council, who cited Cameron's work in several studies which remain on the group's web page.

Or how about Robert Knight who, when he was with the Concerned Women for America, cited Cameron's work in front of Congress and in columns that still appear on the CWA web page.

It was Knight who, in 2004, personally told me "Yes we have used his work. So what?"

In using Paul Cameron's work, Exodus International helped to create a monster; a cottage industry of groups and spokespersons who used his studies to stroke the egos and prejudices of people against the gay and lesbian community and hinder the passage of pro-gay laws.

Exodus International owes the gay and lesbian community big time. And if it is serious about its repudiation, then Exodus International should take more of a key role in killing the monster it helped to create.

The momentum must be kept up!

I am busy trying to finish the second round of corrections of my book galleys. Almost done!

I have also been working on posters and flyers for my book. I figure if the Traditional Values Coalition can work on flyers, so can I. Only thing is that my flyers will be truthful

Speaking of TVC and other members of the anti-gay industry, I cannot emphasize enough how much we need to keep up the momentum for hate crimes legislation and other pro-gay laws.

Go here to show your support.

Today, TVC sent out a hysterically paranoid press release about the voting to send the hate crimes bill to the entire House. Apparently according to TVC, the bill will lead to the following:

Silence the Bible-believing Churches, Pastors and Christians

Criminalize so-called “hate speech,” – which is any speech that is critical of homosexuality or cross-dressing behaviors. The suppression of free speech will be justified by the claim that such speech “incites” individuals to commit violence against homosexuals, cross-dressers etc. Any remarks about homosexuality, such as reading Bible passages, preaching on these passages, telling a person they can come out of the homosexual lifestyle, etc. will be deemed critical remarks and will be ruled to be outside the bounds of First Amendment protections for pastors, business owners and individuals.

Elevate homosexuality and gender confused individuals such as drag queens, cross-dressers, she-males, etc. to the status of federally-protected minorities. These behaviors will be considered equal to race under the federal law.

Yeah, I know. You have heard it all before and I have talked about it before. This is true, but I am firm believer in consistency of momentum.

It's like a boxing match. When a boxer has his opponent on the ropes, does he slack up or continue to punch until the opponent falls down? He continues to punch until the referee comes in and stops the fight.

The referee hasn't come in to stop our fight just yet.

And also, I want something more to come from this than just a victory.

It would be excellent if this piece of legislation passed through Congress and President Bush signed it into law.

But I want something to be catalogued in a historical perspective. In the case of hate crimes legislation, the anti-gay industry laid themselves bare, abandoning their slick posturing for unabashed lies. Without any degree of shame, they went public with lies so bad that anyone with a small degree of sense can expose them.

I say we encourage this. When future generations look at how hate crimes legislation was played, they will see just how these groups lied in the name of God.

To these folks, the anti-gay industry will be seen as no different than those who massacred the Hugenots or the architects of the Spanish Inquisition.

To these folks, the anti-gay industry will not be seen as saviours of civilization but just another bunch of zealots who, while not stooping to violent means, manipulated and perverted the image of God for their own personal prejudices and desires.

I don't know about any of you but that gives me a taste of sweet satisfaction.

When black pastors attack gay folks

The Southern Poverty Law Center have just come out with an excellent expose on black ministers who have taken it upon themselves to make lgbts scapegoats for the ills in the African-American community:

Some black ministers have been attracted to the white-dominated religious anti-gay movement by the money and power of white Christian leaders, not to mention "faith-based" grants under the Bush Administration. But it's also obvious that a segment of the black community in America has long had its own negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians. "I'm sure [black ministers] are being co-opted, but they don't need a great deal of co-optation," is how the Rev. Peter Gomes, chaplain of Harvard University, put it to the Village Voice in 2004.

and farther down:

Fanning the Flames
White leaders of the Christian Right have long sought to recruit blacks into their anti-gay crusade. Conservative Christian organizations with multimillion-dollar budgets have funneled money to black anti-gay churches through programs such as the Christian Coalition's ill-fated "Samaritan Project," which aimed to raise millions of dollars for black churches that "promote family values." (The Samaritan Project disintegrated after black employees sued the Christian Coalition in 2001 for allegedly forcing black workers to enter through the back door and take their breaks in segregated rooms. The coalition settled the case out of court.)

The expose is an excellent piece of work. And I would recommend it to be read by everyone.

It just goes to prove that ignorance, greed, and the need to blame is unfortunately universal.

Sweet Trifecta

We are on the verge of some good stuff here in the lgbt community. Three pieces of legislation that will positively affect the lgbt community has a good chance of passing in Congress.

For the benefit of those who don't know, the pieces of legislation are:

Repealing of the ban on gays in the military,

Adding lgbts to hate crimes laws,

Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, thereby keeping lgbts from being fired solely because of their orientation.

These pieces of legislation have an excellent chance of passing through Congress. Now whether or not our esteemed (and I say that as I roll my eyes) President Bush will sign them into law is another story entirely.

But I am being optimistic.

I like the fact that national gay rights organizations seem to be on the ball in defining the issue. And I especially like the fact that there are many bloggers on the internet (myself included) who are exposing how the anti-gay industry will try to distort the issue.

In 1993 when President Bill Clinton tried to over turn the ban on gays in the military, the anti-gay industry shot out propaganda like mad, freely citing Paul Cameron statistics and horror stories of gay men and fisting.

I want to see them try it now. I have a feeling that unlike in 1993, the pro-gay forces (there is no shame in calling ourselves that) are ready for them.

Already the anti-gay industry have tried to frame the pieces of legislation as capitulations that would eventually cause Christians to be jailed for speaking out against homosexuality. There is no truth in this and they know it.

There is a certain shrillness and a bit of desperation in their tones. Desperation comes from knowing that you are losing. And when you get desperate, you get careless and trip up.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone reading my blog post to support HRC, Lambda Legal and all the groups attempting to pass these laws. I encourage you all to write your Congressmen giving your support for these laws. And above all, get others to do so also.

Lastly, educate yourselves as to what the anti-gay industry is claiming. And refute their lies every chance you get.

There wont be a post tomorrow - Gay black author Keith Boykin is coming to the University of South Carolina to speak at a forum. Naturally, I will be there so I won’t have time to post. But knowing my luck, something extremely juicy will happen tomorrow and I will have to post an entry. But barring that, I am writing in two entries:

Frustrating as hell

It amazes me how the anti-gay industry will repeat a lie over and over again, as if repetition is the same as truth.

Harold Jackson, another black pastor who sold his integrity for faith-based money, wrote a column for the conservative TownHall in which he repeats the lie about adding sexual orientation to the list of categories protected by hate crimes legislation:

In contrast, gays already are a formidable force in the legal arena and courts are often extremely deferential to their cases. Additional protection for gays is not necessary. This legislation will not just over-protect them, it will bring the threat of invasive, governmental interference with the doctrines and practice of the Church. We have faced the removal of crosses and commandments from every public facility; this same pressure could be felt within the four walls of the church.

Mr. Jackson, hate crimes legislation have nothing to do with speech!

What will it take for these folks to be called on their lies? You would be surprised to see just how many people will buy into the lie that gay people want to put a moratorium on the speech of pastors. No matter how many times the truth is pointed out, some people are determined not to listen.

But Jackson’s lying column is especially distasteful because he is an African-American like myself. And he is indicative as to how the powers-that-be simultaneously set the black and gay community against one another while denying us lgbts of color a public voice.

Let’s get to brass tacks about this thing.

Black America does not give a damn about lgbts of color. They just don’t care about us. People like Jackson get carte blanche while many black oriented tv shows, magazines, news programs or organizations go out of their way to either shut down lgbts of color or treat us like the dreaded "other."

It reminds me of an incident with a talk show in my city. Two years ago, an African-American talk show in my area, Awareness, featured a guest who made negative comments about the gay community.

To rectify the situation, the show featured a leader in the gay community on the next week’s show. The show made it a point not to get an lgbt of color. And when the person they interviewed tried to talk about a local lgbt of color group, he was gently shut down by host.

Some folks just don’t want us to exist.

I see stuff like this all of the time and it gets frustrating.

But the gay community is not necessarily blameless in this matter.

Don’t think so?

Then why is it so hard for some of them to realize that a white guy who puts on black face pretending to be a black woman on welfare is so offensive?


Tyler Chase Harper and the proliferation of ignorance

Chase Harper is the perfect anti-gay industry spokesperson. He is young, white, attractive, articulate, and sounds like he is from one of those stereotypically "good families."

But most of all, he sounds so devoutly Christian that it can make people overlook his willful ignorance.

In him, the anti-gay industry has found their new Anita Bryant: a pretty face, an articulate talker, a devout spirit, and an empty mind ready to be filled with lies.

Harper received notoriety due to his failed lawsuit against his high school. He sued because he got suspended for wearing anti-gay statements on a t-shirt.

He recently wrote a letter to Wheaton College claiming to tell the truth about homosexuality.

Part of Harper’s version of the truth is as follows:

Homosexuality is dangerous. People who are given over to a homosexual lifestyle are far more likely to experience disease, mental illness, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, and even a shortened life span.

I don’t have a problem with someone speaking of homosexuality as a sin. Proponents of the anti-gay industry will claim that they are unfairly called homophobic just for voicing their opposition to homosexuality.

However their recent exploits in defaming the gay community to defeat hate crimes legislation (i.e. their inference that gay people want to arrest pastors in the pulpit for condemning homosexuality) demonstrates that they have no problem condemning people rather than the orientation.

So calling many of them homophobic is not off the mark.

But back to little Chase. Don’t let his blond locks and wristful smile fool you.

This ain’t Little Lord Fauntelroy. I found this interesting codicil farther down in his letter:

One could make the claim that some of these symptoms are caused by the “homophobia” of others; however, studies conducted in communities where homosexuality is widely accepted have concluded that symptoms are only aggravated in such a setting.-The dangers of homosexuality are validated by a large amount of research pulled from various sources. I encourage you to search the matter out more deeply.

In other words, little Chase is admitting that he does not know what he is talking about when he claims that homosexuality is "dangerous."

And I am sure that he does not care.

Let’s look at some of his claims using excerpts from my book:

Harper said: Homosexuality is dangerous. People who are given over to a homosexual lifestyle are far more likely to experience disease, mental illness, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, and even a shortened life span.

The following are excerpts from my book that deal with some of Harpers' claims:

Depression - On July 14th, 1998, the Family Research Council and 14 other so-called “pro family” groups, including the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family, ran a full-page ad in The Washington Post. The ad, talking about the “dangers of homosexuality” was the second of a three-part campaign.

Full-page ads also appeared in The New York Times and USA Today. Research by Dr. Robert Garofalo was footnoted in the July 14th ad as scientific evidence that homosexuality is a “dangerous lifestyle.”

But Dr. Garofalo soon blasted the groups for what he called a misuse of his work. The ads were inferring that gay teenagers engage in drug abuse and other bad behavior (i.e., suicide) because such things are indicative of homosexuality.

“It’s a complete misrepresentation of my work,” he told The Boston Globe. “It was taken completely out of context. It comes to a complete opposite conclusion of what the paper actually said.”

Garofalo contended that his research was saying that when gay teenagers abuse drugs or contemplate suicide, it is because of the unaccepting culture they face.

Shortened Lifespan - When the anti-gay industry trots this claim out, they either rely on the discredited work of our friend Paul Cameron or the distortion of a 1997 Oxford study. Cameron’s lies have been catalogued extensively, so let me add detail about the 1997 Oxford study:

In 2001, the original researchers of the study wrote a letter to the editor in the International Journal of Epidemiology. In this letter, they said that any use of their research to prove that gay men have a shorter life span is incorrect and improper.

They said they were speaking of a hypothetical outcome that would take place if there were not better practices regarding safe sex in that particular area. They also said that conditions have improved; therefore the outcome they predicted (i.e. gay men not reaching their sixty-fifth birthday) had been averted.

Alcoholism - The chief study that has been cited for this claim is one by Professor Joanne Hall from the University of Tennessee. Timothy Dailey of the Family Research Council has used her sudy on more than one occasion. However, this is what Professor Hall said about the use of her work:

There were 35 women in the study. ONLY 35. They do not REPRESENT a population. My point was to try to get a handle on what they were experiencing—to UNDERSTAND their patterns . . . The point is—I, nor the journal Nursing Research, did not ‘find’ that the rate of substance abuse was 3 times higher for lesbians, and indeed—now we know it really is not that high at all. I, and Nursing Research, am not providing an epidemiological, quantitative statistic representing lesbians on the whole in terms of their drug use, or ability to parent a child. . .

Harper said that accepting cultures cause an increase in negative behavior amongts gays. This is a gross mischaracterization of a convenience sample from the Netherlands. The anti-gay industry often uses convenience sample studies to demonize the entire lgbt community.

It's a neat little trick they learned from Paul Cameron.

The question is just how long will Chase confuse religious aversion to homosexuality with an eagerness to be taken in by propaganda.

Paul Cameron's little boy responds

Someone from Paul Cameron's camp responded to the smackdown he has been receiving due to his latest junk science about lgbts.

His son, Kirk (not the actor) who aids Cameron on many of his so-called studies, responded on the site of Warren Throckmorton.

Kirk was trying to take Throckmorton to task for asking the opinion of a Danish epidemiologist about Cameron's latest "study." I guess Kirk was upset because the Danish epidemiologist recognized Cameron's hot mess for what it was:

It is no wonder why this pseudo-scientific report claiming a drastically shorter life expectancy in homosexuals compared with heterosexuals has been published on the internet without preceding scientific peer-review (http://www.earnedmedia.org/frireport.htm). The authors should know, and as PhD’s they presumably do, that this report has little to do with science. It is hard to escape the idea that non-scientific motifs have driven the authors to make this report public. The methodological flaws are of such a grave nature that no decent peer-reviewed scientific journal should let it pass for publication.

Kirk's very long and obtuse letter seems to be more concentrated on attacking the credibility of the epidemiologist than defending his and his father's work.

I will leave the analyzation of Cameron the lesser's letter to my online friend Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin.

However, one thing that did catch my eye was the ending of the letter:

The question as to how long on average homosexual practitioners tend to live is indeed a scientific and empirical one. Rather than being driven by "non-scientific motifs," we have simply followed the trail of empirical evidence. Can a subpopulation that more frequently engages in tobacco use, illegal drug abuse (including intravenously), more frequently consumes excessive alcohol, is more frequently criminal, is more frequently infected with STDs, tests more frequently as mentally disturbed, commits suicide and gets into auto and other accidents more frequently, more frequently drives under the influence, etc. be reasonably expected to live as long as either the general population or the married? Is this the "pure nonsense" to which Dr. Frisch is referring? The question is not whether the homosexual subpopulation will live as long as the married, but how many years fewer. Only time and further empirical tests will tell whether the differential will average 24 years, 20 years, or something else.

As you well know, we have been frequently criticized as being ‘non-scientific’ or for supposedly ‘misusing’ or ‘mischaracterizing’ scientific research. Almost all of our critics have had political or ideological axes to grind. Further, careful examination of our work and of the charges against us reveals that — while no one is perfect, including us — we have performed our work with scientific integrity and honesty. I would hope as a fellow scientist that you would display the wisdom and fortitude not to be led astray by those who do not wish to have the empirical spotlight shone on the effects and ramifications of homosexual behavior.

This led to the best laugh I have had all day. Or rather, all week.

Not only does Kirk refer to older studies done by his father (studies that have been discredited- www.boxturtlebulletin.com ), but he also seems to think that his father and himself are being attacked because of ideological differences.

Uh no.

Kirk, you and your father in particular have been repeatedly called to the carpet because you have continuously lied and distorted legitimate work in order to demonize innocent lgbts.

Giving you and your father credibility for any scientific work is like claiming that lobotomies were legitimate.

That is the reason why your father was kicked out of the American Psychological Association in 1983. It is also the reason why the Nebraska Psychological Association to pass a resolution in October 1984 that dissociated itself from him and his work.

It was the same reason why, in 1985, the Midwest Sociological Society censured your father. And it is the same reason why, in that same year, the American Sociological Association and the Society for the Study of Social Problems both passed resolutions against your father.

Just how long will it be before you stop spinning conspiracy theories against these groups and all the people who make up membership in them and take responsibility for your own lies.

And speaking of integrity and honesty, these are just a few of your father's comments:

What homosexuals do is so incredibly stupid, so patently absurd and antibiological, that only a foolish society would take their whimpering about ‘equal rights with heterosexuality’ seriously . . . Are we supposed to feel so sorry for them that we join them in the march to the
cemetery?"

“The evidence is that men do a better job on men, and women on women if all you are looking for is an orgasm.”

“Marital sex tends toward the boring end. Generally, it doesn’t deliver the kind of sheer sexual pleasure that homosexual sex does.”

“If I’d bought a bunch of AIDS victims’ policies ten years ago, I’d be a billionaire.”

So much for integrity and honesty.

Louie Sheldon and the Traditional Values Coalition continue to lie. Is anyone really surprised?

Lou Sheldon is a bold-faced liar.

I am sorry if that language is too severe for some but it’s the least profane way I could describe him.

Sheldon, his daughter Andrea Lafferty, and his group, the Traditional Values Coalition continue to prove just how extreme members of the anti-gay industry are in their vendetta against lgbts.

Lafferty made this assertion about legislation that only seeks to add lgbts to the categories of those protected under hate crimes laws:

"Most Christians might as well rip the pages which condemn homosexuality right out of their Bibles because this bill will make it illegal to publicly express the dictates of their religious beliefs."

There are sooo many things wrong what she said but, again, her hysterical comments are business as usual for the Traditional Values Coalition family.

Not to be undone, Lou Sheldon held a press conference on Tuesday with U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert, in which he repeated the standard lies about hates crimes legislation. To help matters, these lies were even compiled in a list:

“Large fines and eventually jail time for anyone who publicly speaks out against homosexual activity or transgenderism, even as a minister…. This includes messages that cite Scripture….”

“Termination from one’s job if one does not support ‘coming out’ celebrations or ‘gay pride’ observances in the workplace, or if one does not attend mandatory ‘sensitivity’ or ‘diversity’ training sessions that espouse acceptance of homosexuality.”

“…[T]he threat of loss of accreditation for Christian colleges that do not condone homosexual behavior and transgenderism.”

For those not familiar with anti-gay industry propaganda, Sheldon is committing religious right distortion technique number four - claiming that any pro-gay law or ordinance will lead to "dire consequences."

Lying is a standard thing for Sheldon. Over two years ago, I reported on how his group told the Boston Globe that it took material related to discredited researcher Paul Cameron off of its web page.

This turned out to be an evasion. Cameron's name may have been taken off as a source but the group still appropriated his work. In addition, Sheldon referred to Cameron's name and work in his book, The Agenda and made no retractions even after the Boston Globe admission.

All I can say is that I hope there is a public hearing about hate crimes legislation and I also hope that those who support the bill have been paying attention to the lies Sheldon and company have been telling.

And please let it be that Sheldon, Lafferty, and Janet Folger for that matter be called as witnesses.

It would be nice to see them on the hot seat for a change.

And the ex-gays get involved

As if Sheldon's lies aren't enough, Alan Chambers from Exodus International comes in with a batch of nonsense. Apparently he is pushing the "the addition will make gays count more than ex-gays and grandmothers" lie.

I will not repeat his distortions. If you want to read what he says, go here.

Big shout out to my online friend who sent it to me, by the way.

I will not try to refute Chambers' lies. I will only say that he goes to prove just how much the so-called ex-gay movement is getting away with.

Ex-gay groups like to present themselves as merely being there for those who aren't comfortable with being gay. But their rhetoric and readiness to join those who are attempting to make life hell for us lgbts comfortable with our orientation clearly demonstrate that Chambers, Melissa Fryrear, Stephen Bennett, and the rest are lying hypocrites bought and paid by the anti-gay industry.

Just when will someone give them hell for it?