Bryan Fischer doesn't care if you catch him lying about lgbts

Bryan Fischer will openly lie about gays without batting an eye.

When we expose the duplicity of  anti-lgbt hate groups and their spokespeople, we should do more than focus on their prejudiced statements. The times in which they openly distort research is full of rich material.

A good example is a column published today by American Family Association affiliate Bryan Fischer. His piece, Homosexuality Is A Danger to Human Health, is yet another one of those religious right posts which cites legitimate medical information to create the false narrative that "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle.

Fischer says the following:

According to a recent and extensive survey, homosexuals have "excess health problems" compared to sexually normal people. They suffer disproportionately from "impaired physical and mental health, heavy alcohol consumption, and heavy cigarette use." 

The National Health Interview Survey, which has been conducted since 1957, included a question about sexual preference for the first time in 2013 and 2014. The results are astounding and alarming for anyone who cares about people who are trapped in a sexually abnormal lifestyle. 

 . . . The survey found that a sexually non-normative lifestyle takes a particular toll on women and bisexuals. Lesbians are 91 percent more likely to report inferior health outcomes compared to heterosexual women, and bisexual women are 100 percent more likely to report chronic health conditions. Those in alternative lifestyles were more likely than the sexually normal to report heavy drinking and smoking.

Now the next information Fischer presents is astounding because of the upfront way he presents it and his audacious attempt to refute it. (I put it in bold to emphasize the point):

The politically-compromised researchers were quick to blame social bias and rejection for these devastating numbers but this is utterly implausible. Homosexuality is now the most-favored sexual preference on the planet, celebrated by lawmakers, Hollywood celebrities, and presidential candidates.

If there are any folks experiencing bigotry and social rejection, it would be Christian students, bakers, florists, photographers, or wedding planners. Yet they seem remarkably well-adjusted considering the constant abuse they take from every quarter.

Further evidence that these alarming health results in the “gay” population can’t be chalked up to bias and prejudice comes from the fact that similar surveys in Scandinavian countries consistently show similar results, despite the plain fact that sexually adventurous lifestyles have been celebrated there for decades.

What Fischer did here is simply dishonest and blatantly so. He cites a portion of research to create a phony narrative that the lgbt orientation itself generates negative health behaviors. But then he openly and unapologetically dismisses the other portion of the same research because it refutes his narrative.

Why even use the research at all if he has a problem with a portion of it? 

Because Fischer isn't interested in facts or truth. He is only interested in the manipulation of facts into yet another ugly narrative he creates about the lgbt community. And he doesn't seem to that people see him openly and publicly lying.

Editor's note - I attempted to point out Fischer's errors in the comments section of his piece, but apparently I seem to have a reputation because I am blocked.

Hat tip to Joe Jervis for his tweet pointing Fischer's story out to me.

'#HeterosexualPrideDay trends on twitter due to lgbt takeover' & other Wed midday news briefs

Happy #HeterosexualPrideDay pic.twitter.com/qVDKzucYYa

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) June 29, 2016

#HeterosexualPrideDay Is Trending on Twitter. Here's the Guy Who Started It, and Here Are Some of the Best Responses. - Yes, some chyle started the #HeterosexualPrideDay hashtag and now it is trending. This is probably due to the fact that lgbts have taken it over and dropping science with our own tweets. 

Evangelical Leader Backpedals On Story Of Trump’s Recent Conversion - Oh James Dobson, you are hilarious. I kinda wished Dobson didn't walk it back because it would have been to throw it in his face the next time Trump says something "interestingly nauseating."  

Gordon Klingenschmitt, Colorado's Most Famous Anti-Gay, Demon-Hunting Legislator, Loses His Bid For Higher Office - Another anti-lgbt legislator bites the dust!

Why LGBT Catholics Are Skeptical Of Pope Francis’ Apology To Gays - Amen to THAT! 

 2 Transgender Women Make History With Congressional Primary Wins - THIS is awesome!

SC 'bathroom bill' sponsoring legislator loses seat in runoff

Lee Bright, the SC legislator who sponsored a failed anti-transgender 'bathroom bill,' lost his re-election bid.

Lee Bright a South Carolina state senator who earlier this year sponsored a  failed anti-transgender bathroom bill, officially lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier:

Voters launched a backlash against incumbents in runoff elections as a string of veteran lawmakers were tossed out of office Tuesday, including Spartanburg County Republican Sen. Lee Bright, who made gender bathrooms and defense of gun rights a cornerstone of his last months in office.

 . . .  Bright, also known for his failed bills to track refugees resettling in South Carolina and to limit which bathrooms transgender individuals can use, lost to former state Rep. Scott Talley, a favorite of both Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this year, Bright ignited a firestorm across the state by sponsoring an anti-transgender bill not unlike the controversial HB2 in North Carolina. The  bill, which would have forced transgender men and women to use bathrooms and restrooms in accordance to the gender on their birth certificates, never got out of committee.  Several public figures, including SC Governor Nikki Haley and Richland County Sherrif Leon Lott,  voiced opposition to it.

Ironically, the bill galvanized SC's lgbt community and their allies while backfiring against Bright, leading him to take negative hits from both parties.

And it may have been that opposition which led to his defeat by painting picture of Bright as a legislator so busy with grabbing attention that he was neglecting less controversial, but just as important, issues .

According to Greenville Online:

The Conservation Voters of South Carolina said it knocked on 21,100 doors, made 7,500 phone calls, dropped 120,000 pieces of mail and spent more than $90,000 trying to unseat state Sen. Lee Bright, who scored the lowest of any senator on its legislative scorecard. Bright was also subjected to a seemingly endless barrage of attack ads on Greenville’s two conservative talk radio stations – courtesy of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, whose objections to Bright included his votes against tort reform, road-funding plans and aid to flood-stricken farmers.

Pat Robertson can't decide a reason why God will 'punish' America

According to Right Wing Watch,  Pat Roberson just claimed that God will punish America because of the SCOTUS decision striking down Texas's very restrictive abortion law:

By the way, don't be fooled by Robertson's hysterical language about SCOTUS decision. Texas had a bad law in place and it deserved to be overturned.

 But for the purpose of this blog, Robertson's portents of holy doom is confusing simply because early last year, he claimed that God will punish America for marriage equality. This doomsday prediction included an interesting and very inaccurate rendition of the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah:



If I may nitpick a bit on this clip, Robertson was inaccurate in his retelling of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The men of Sodom never harmed Lot's daughters.

But that little fact is neither here nor there more than the question of have you ever wondered whether Pat Robertson is simply full of it?

'Wrong AGAIN, anti-gay right - Five anti-marriage equality predictions which haven't come true' & other Tue midday news briefs

NOM's march failed big time. See link below

Five Right-Wing Predictions About Marriage Equality That Still Haven't Come True - One thing our community MUST use to our advantage is the anti-gay right's tendency to make inaccurate predictions about portents of doom regarding incoming pro-lgbt laws. They are always wrong. And we HARDLY EVER remind people about that.  In this case, being "petty" and rubbing it in is the correct tactic.

AL Supreme Court justice will face judicial panel over anti-LGBT order - Roy Moore should have never been anywhere NEAR any judicial body.  

The 2016 Anti-LGBT March For Marriage Was A Complete Flop - A HIGHLY enjoyable article. The complete story of WHY NOM's 2016 March for Marriage was a complete flop. Just look at this article as a DVD of your favorite blockbuster movie chock full of unseen extras. 

 Watch The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue Demand “An Apology From Gays” - No comment because I don't want anyone's hair to turn white or nose to bleed due to the words I may use to describe Donohue.  

The Hardest Part About Being a Gay Parent - A fascinating piece for those of us lgbts who are parents (and desire to be parents).

Photo of NOM's "March for Marriage" taken from Zack Ford of Think Progress.

Family Research Council, The Christian Post team up for failed attack on married gay couples

In its zeal to stigmatize married same-sex couples, the Family Research Council sometimes slips up, displaying its duplicitous nature.

Take this tweet for example:

The tweet links to a  Christian Post article which claims that same sex couples have no expectations of fidelity in their marriages. In fact, the first paragraph says the following:

Catholic University of America professor Paul Sullins said Friday that there is "no expectation" of sexual faithfulness in many gay marriages, noting that studies have shown only a small minority of gay marriages are truly monogamous.

According to the article, Sullins was participating in a Family Research Council panel discussion along with Institute on Religion &  Democracy President Mark Tooley and the director of FRC's Center for Religious Liberty Travis Weber about the effects of marriage equality one year after the Obergefell decision made it the law of the land.

As if it's any surprise, all three were negative about the effects of the Obergefell decision. Sullins, in particular, got my attention because of his claims with regards to the monogamy of same-sex couples.

Sullins then weighed in saying that in today's society, with the rise of gay marriage and no-fault divorce, many people believe marriage is to be a set of "personal understandings" rather than something that should be "regulated by agreements."

"That is particularly appropriate to Obergefell because we know from long studies that only a small minority of gay male marriages are monogamous," Sullins said. "The infidelity is a component of the large majority of same-sex male relationships, a little bit smaller minority among lesbian relationships."

But the problem with Sullins' claim lies in the studies cited. While the article does not contribute the citation of the studies below to Sullins, it doesn't take a genius to realize that there is a major deception going on:
 

According to the Daily Beast, at least two studies were conducted in the last 15 years that, among other things, analyzed the faithfulness in gay relationships.

According to the studies from San Francisco State University and Alliant International University, about half of gay relationships are open relationships where partners are allowed to engage in sexual activities with someone else other than their partner.

It is believed the rate of gay relationships that are non-monogamous is higher than both heterosexual and lesbian relationship; however, lack of research makes it unclear as to how much higher that rate is.

In 2000, Esther Rothblum, a professor at San Diego State University, conducted research that found that only 15 percent of straight husbands had sex outside of their relationship.

It's fascinating to watch the sleight of hand here. The Christian Post article's title implies married gay couples don't expect monogamy in their relationships, but the two studies used to back this up seems to have contained very few or no married same-sex couples.  I looked up both links to verify this fact.

(Editor's note -  I  had to consult the original Daily Beast article because I initially thought The Christian Post article mistakenly posted the same link to both study citations.  However, after rereading the information provided by The Christian Post article, I discovered a larger error. The two studies in question are actually the same study. 

The Daily Beast article said the following - "Over the past decade and a half, studies from San Francisco State University and Alliant International University have found that around half of gay relationships are open."  While "The San Francisco University" phrase links a Gawker article, a link from that article shows that it is also  talking about the Alliant International University study.

However The Christian Post, as clearly seen in the excerpt above, made it seem that the Daily Beast was citing two different studies even though the links it posted led to the same study. )

Then The Christian Post article compares that study to one of heterosexual couples who are in fact clearly married.

In other words, the Family Research Council and The Christian Post sloppily teamed up to push an idea that same-sex couples are not monogamous.  And it leads me to wonder that if the study the article cited didn't come from Sullins, just what studies did he cite.

Or did Sullins cite any specific studies at all?

'Pope - Church should ask forgiveness of lgbt community' & other Mon. midday news briefs

The Awkward Love Story of Trump and American Evangelicals - Again, DO NOT take the relationship between Donald Trump and the religious right lightly on any regard. 

Pope says Church should ask forgiveness from gays for past treatment - Yes it does. Past AND present treatment. But I won't wait on the apology. Some will say that they are merely following Scripture with regards to their treatment of lgbts, but watch how they overlook the Scriptures which speak of not bearing false witness.  

Tennessee Judge Ignores Supreme Court, Rules Parental Rights Apply Only To ‘Husbands’ - And we have a new problem . . . 

 The First Openly Gay Charlotte City Councilwoman Opens Up About HB2 - The argument over lgbt equality in the South.  

A Year After Marriage Equality, It's Time For Media To Stop Giving Anti-LGBT Liars A Pass - It bears repeating that we only play into the game of the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, and the rest of the anti-lgbt right if we allow them and the media to give them the title of "evangelicals" in spite of all of their distortions, lying, and general behavior which belie the religious reliefs they claim to uphold. Too many of us want to declare a war on religion itself rather than the forces who exploit religion. In 1978, Anita Bryant exploited the fear that gay men recruit children. Over 30 years later in 2016, organizations on her side of the spectrum merely altered that lie to demonize transgender women. And we stood there having to play catch up to another hurricane of lies yet again.  Where were the people speaking out on the lie of lgbts and children BEFORE the religious right pulled that card? Simplify the war, folks. It's never been about religion, but those who corrupt and exploit religious beliefs.  All of our rhetorical missiles should be aimed at them.