'NOM in trouble with Chicago Tribune' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

NOM's Brian Brown Falsely Attributes Hate-Group Quote To Chicago Tribune - And the Chicago Tribune is NOT happy about it. 

The Values Voter Summit is bringing anti-LGBT extremism back to the fore - Everything you wanted to know about the attendees of the Family Research Council's upcoming "Values Voter" summit. I hope you got a strong stomach and not prone to high blood pressure. 

 Knight: State Should Remove Transgender Child From Home, Charge Parents With Abuse - Robert Knight, my personal nemesis. The only religious right talking head I ever had the opportunity to question face-to-face. It was fun. And his column would be funny if he wasn't dead serious.  

‘Valentine Road’ And The Institutional Failures That Enable Anti-LGBT Bullying - This is such a sad documentary. It takes another look at the murder of high school student Lawrence “Larry” King by his classmate Brandon McInerney

Six methods of lies the anti-gay right uses against the lgbt community

Maggie Gallagher of NOM

Earlier today, I published a post detailing how the National Organization for Marriage was using a junk science study to prop up another discredited study. This post put me in the mind to repeat six techniques used by religious right groups in order to dehumanize and bear false witness against the lgbt community. I've listed them before but a reminder is in order.



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 Using nonrepresentative or out of date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions about gays.

Example 1:

“In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age twenty for gay and bisexual men is eight to twenty years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged twenty years will not reach their sixty-fifth birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.” - Getting it Straight, Family Research Council


Truth - In 2001, the researchers of this study complained about how it was being misused. They explained what they actually meant and how it is not feasible to use their work to claim that gay men have a "short life span."

Example 2:

 Alan P. Bell and Martin S. Weinberg studied 574 white male homosexuals, 100 percent of whom had already had at least three sexual partners, 97 percent at least ten, 75 percent at least one hundred, and 28 percent at least one thousand. - House Dems Try to Hide Homosexual Agenda on “Bullying” Bill, American Family Association of Michigan

Truth - Bell and Weinberg’s study was compiled in the 1970s. They used the study to write the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity among Men and Women. In Homosexualities is this statement:

“. . . 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.” 

2. Repetition - No matter how many times a religious right factoid about the lgbt community has been proven to be false, keep repeating it as truth. An unfortunate example of this was shown last week by Religious Right Watch. When a study created by Mark Regnerus about the so-called effects of gay parenting was discredited several times in this country, it was referred to and repeated in Russia as evidence of why the country needed to "crack down" on its lgbt citizens.

3.  Conspiracy Theory:

Example:

The ultimate goal of homosexual-rights activists is not to legalize same-sex marriage. Rather, it is to silence those who disagree with them and, if necessary, to throw them in jail. In a world in which the biblical viewpoint of marriage is demonized, it does not take a constitutional scholar to predict that soon those who hold that view will find themselves in court. - Gary Bauer, June 7, 2013, The Washington Times

4. Dire Consequences 

Example: 

NOM is working all across the country to wake people up to the fact that redefining marriage poses an enormous and imminent threat to our precious religious liberties. But we need your help to reach more people and build the grassroots coalition needed to stop these abuses in their tracks. Please click here right away to support NOM's work to defend marriage and the religious liberties of individuals who stand up for it. - National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown in a recent fundraising letter.

Anti-gay group's latest attempt to create junk science on gay households is simply pathetic

Maggie Gallagher

In the midst of all the mess of this government shutdown, the National Organization for Marriage is trying to establish credibility for a discredited anti-gay parenting study via a tactic I like to call "propping."

Last week, the New Civil Rights Movement posted the following:

Maggie Gallagher Touts Another Regnerus-Type Anti-Gay Parenting ‘Study’.

In the article, former NOM head Maggie Gallagher claims that this is "yet another study" which proves the so-called dangers of gay parenting. The point is to build up the credibility of the Mark Regnerus study, which the organization and other members of the religious right attempted to use in order to sway the Supreme Court in its argument involving DOMA and Prop 8.

That didn't work because the lgbt community, specifically the bloggers like myself,  and watchdog sites like Equality Matters were quick to keep this from gaining credibility by pointing out its numerous, numerous faults. In addition, several of Regnerus' colleagues took him to task.

So with this so-called new study, Gallagher seems to be attempting to build up, or "prop up" the credibility of the discredited Regenerus study. However, the New Civil Rights Movement didn't let her get away with it:

Curiously, Gallagher does not mention that the study’s author, Douglas Allen (image), is on the board of NOM’s Ruth Institute, or that he has a rather ugly perception of LGBT people. (Surprise!)

Then there’s this.

“An article written by Professor Douglas W. Allen — who has previously claimed that lesbian relationships are unstable, unhealthy, and promiscuous – repeats a number of classic anti-gay talking points about the legal ramifications of legalizing same-sex marriage,” Equality Matters wrote last year, “including the claim that allowing gay couples to marry will somehow result in more heterosexual divorces.”

Think I'm being a bit "paranoid" about the attempt by NOM to "prop up" Regnerus' discredited study on gay parenting? Check out this post by Jeremy Hooper.

Hooper is pointing out that Regnerus is attempting himself to prop up the second study by publishing a glowing article on it in on online magazine Public Discourse. Of course, Hooper conveniently points out that Public Discourse is a project run by the Witherspoon Institute, the organization who was one of the funders of Regnerus' original discredited mess to the tune of $695,000.

And let me add my little bit - The Witherspoon Institute is affiliated with NOM and the NOM's Ruth Institute. The Ruth Institute, you will remember from earlier in this post, is the same organization who just happens to have Douglas Allen (the author of the second anti-gay parenting study) on its board.

It's simply pitiful how easy it was to disassemble this latest shuck-and-jive by NOM and Gallagher. I almost miss the days when those attempting to spread anti-gay propaganda weren't so sloppy and transparent in their methods. It's as if they aren't even trying anymore.

Related post: What Media Outlets Should Know About The Latest Same-Sex Parenting Study - Equality Matters blisters this latest junk study by NOM.

Congressional leaders called out for mingling with anti-gay hate groups

This ad is awesome and we need more of stuff like this. I've seen that when we call out the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and other anti-gay groups, we put them on the defensive for a change:



According to Faithful America, the group which put out the ad:

 Faithful America, a national Christian organization, is airing a new TV ad that calls on Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes to cancel his upcoming appearance at a Washington, D.C. luncheon sponsored by the American Family Association, a fringe hate group whose spokesman has blamed America for 9/11, claimed gays caused the Holocaust, said black people “rut like rabbits” and argued that women have no place in politics. Watch the new ad, “There’s nothing Christian about hate,” which is running this week in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District.

“As founder and chair of the so-called Congressional Prayer Caucus, Rep. Randy Forbes holds up himself up as a Christian leader in Washington, D.C. But there's nothing Christian about the hateful rhetoric of the American Family Association. Thousands of Christians across America are calling on Rep. Forbes to cancel this appearance.” said Faithful America executive director Michael Sherrard.

The American Family Association and its spokesman, Bryan Fischer, have a long track record of extremism. During the last election, Mitt Romney confronted the group, calling out its “poisonous language” and lack of “decency.” The AFA has officially been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its outrageous and bigoted statements about gays, which include: “Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.”

Faithful America’s new TV ad comes on the heels of a national petition to Congressman Forbes, which was launched last week and so far has over 12,000 signatures.

Faithful America will run the new TV ad throughout the week and deliver its petitions to the Congressman’s office ahead of the American Family Association luncheon at the Values Voter Summit. The luncheon is scheduled for 12:15 PM on Friday and set to feature Rep. Forbes and Buddy Smith, AFA’s Executive Vice President.

Faithful America is not the only group bringing attention to the problem with Congressional leaders mingling with groups who preach anti-gay rhetoric. According to Right Wing Watch:

On Friday, People For the American way joined with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Faithful America, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza to send a letter to every public official scheduled to speak at this year’s Values Voter Summit, urging them to withdraw from the event. Among the scheduled speakers are Sens. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Tim Scott and Reps. Paul Ryan, Randy Forbes, Michele Bachmann, Jim Bridenstine, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, Steve King, Steve Scalise and Scott Turner.

The letter [pdf] reads in part:

We understand that you’ve been invited to speak at the upcoming Values Voter Summit being held in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 11-13. Given the demonizing lies about the LGBT community spread by the host, the Family Research Council (FRC), and another major sponsor of the event, the American Family Association (AFA), we urge you to not lend the prestige of your office to the summit. The FRC has amassed an extensive record of vilifying gays and lesbians with falsehoods – portraying them as sick, evil, incestuous, violent, perverted, and a danger to the nation.

 Perhaps its most insidious claim is that gay men molest children at a far higher rate than heterosexual men – a claim refuted by all credible scientific authorities, including the American Psychological Association. Yet the FRC has continued to smear gays and lesbians by claiming that pedophilia, in the words of FRC President Tony Perkins, “is a homosexual problem.” Perkins also says the “It Gets Better” campaign, an initiative designed to give LGBT students hope for a better tomorrow, is “disgusting” and part of a “concerted effort” to “recruit” children into the gay “lifestyle.” One senior FRC official has even argued that homosexuality should be illegal.

The AFA’s Bryan Fischer, who serves as the group’s spokesman and director of issue analysis, frequently blames homosexuality for the Holocaust and Nazi Party: “Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.” He also promotes the views of the American architect of the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda. Demonizing the LGBT community has consequences. As FBI data demonstrate, it is one of the groups most likely to be victimized by violent hate crimes. Defaming them publicly day after day – as the FRC and the AFA do – only throws fuel on the fire.

The bigotry of the FRC and the AFA is not limited to gays and lesbians. Fischer, for example, has said that African Americans “rut like rabbits” and argued that women should be kicked out of politics and the military. He’s also stated that Hispanics are “socialists by nature” and come here to “plunder” our country. The FRC’s executive vice president, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, has said Jews must be converted to Christianity and has argued that “Islam is not a religion and does not deserve First Amendment protections” – a statement that is antithetical to American ideals.

Even if these groups fail to convince members of Congress to withdraw from the Values Voter Summit, as far as I'm concerned they have won the battle by bringing attention to not only the homophobic rhetoric spewed by these phony Christian groups, but also how members of Congress seem to have no problem giving it a pass.

'Conservative magazine devotes entire issue to smearing lgbts' and other Monday midday news briefs

Conservative magazine: LGBT people are secret weapons - And entire issue devoted to smearing the lgbt community. What have we done to be so lucky?  

Liberty Counsel: Teaching Students About LGBT People Is "Sexual Assault" - These people have a strange idea of sexual assault.  

Rainbow American Flag Sparks Controversy At Middle Tennessee State University - Oh boy. Batten down the hatches Part 1. For the record, I personally like what was done to the flag. It symbolizes that its our America too.

 Columbia, SC Police Officers Defy Orders to March in Gay Pride Parade Over Religious Beliefs: VIDEO - Batten down the hatches Part 2. And in my city at a Pride in which I participated no less.  

New California Law Will Allow Children More Than Two Legal Parents - The headline is a mess. This law needs to be explained.

'Former Fox producer, discredited study playing roles in Russia's anti-gay crackdown' and other Friday midday news briefs

Longtime Fox News Producer Testified In Support Of Russia's Anti-Gay Laws - The rotten apple doesn't far from the tree, does it. First we find out that NOM was involved, and now a former Fox News producer. How many more Americans were involved in pushing anti-gay laws in Russia? This is slowly but surely blowing up to be a huge controversy. 

Regnerus Whines and Lies at RNA Conference - I wouldn't be surprised if THIS guy was involved also. Meanwhile as this article shows, he is catching a lot of flack for that discredited anti-gay study he pushed last year.  

Globalizing Homophobia, Part 3: A New Life for Discredited Research - Guess what. Regnerus was involved in pushing anti-gay laws in Russia via his discredited study.

 STUDY: Undocumented Transgender Immigrants Face High Levels Of Discrimination - This is awful!  

University Of Mississippi's 'The Laramie Project' Production Interrupted By Students, Athletes Yelling Anti-Gay Slurs - The ignorance on display here is just sad.

PA Gov. Corbett compares marriage equality to incest

And this wasn't the smartest thing to say:

 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has compared the marriage of same-sex couples to the marriage of a brother and sister during an appearance on a morning TV news show.

The Republican made the remark Friday on WHP-TV in Harrisburg when asked about a statement his lawyers made in an August court filing.

The attorneys had said gay marriage licenses have no "value or legitimacy" in Pennsylvania and can't be defended in court. They compared gay couples to children, who can't marry because a 1996 law says marriage is between a man and a woman.

Corbett has called that statement inappropriate. On Friday, he said he thinks "a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don't you?"