Stance against hate crimes legislation reveals lack of honesty, integrity

According to my favorite phony publication, One News Now, religious right groups today urged their supporters to call, email, or write their Senators and urge them to vote against adding new categories to national hate crimes legislation:

The American Family Association, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and other conservative activist groups are urging their supporters to call, e-mail, fax, or visit their senators today to express their disapproval of S. 909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Senate Bill 909). The bill would authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., a member of the conservative coalition known as the Arlington Group, says the measure would have a chilling effect on the religious liberty of pastors.

"Back in 2006, [Democratic Representative] Artur Davis from Alabama, who will be running for governor by the way in that great state, made a statement to [Representative] Louie Gohmert [R-Texas] in a [House] subcommittee meeting that a pastor could be held liable or [as] a co-conspirator of sorts in a hate crime if we found out that his preaching and teaching incited -- according to their thinking -- someone to commit a violent act against someone that is gay," Jackson explains.

This entire push against adding sexual orientation (because that's what is getting the religious right up in arms) to existing hate crimes legislation reveals the abject dishonesty of religious right groups.

They have careened from one argument to another in their attempts to kill this bill. From inaccurately saying that it will protect nasty sexual behavior to claiming that it will keep pedophiles who molest children from going to jail, this entire controversy has been a window into the mindsets of some so-called Christians, revealing just how low they will stoop in the name of God.

While they claim that adding sexual orientation to hate crimes legislation will cause mere speech to be punished, not one of them from Harry Jackson to Tony Perkins to James Dobson has said a word about eliminating existing hate crimes legislation altogether; especially the statue that punishes crimes committed on the basis of religion.

And they refuse to acknowledge that heterosexuals are also protected under the sexual orientation addition.

But what's more interesting is that statement by Jackson:

"Back in 2006, [Democratic Representative] Artur Davis from Alabama, who will be running for governor by the way in that great state, made a statement to [Representative] Louie Gohmert [R-Texas] in a [House] subcommittee meeting that a pastor could be held liable or [as] a co-conspirator of sorts in a hate crime if we found out that his preaching and teaching incited -- according to their thinking -- someone to commit a violent act against someone that is gay,"

First of all to be exact, Jackson is inaccurate about the year in which the exchange took place. It was in 2007.

And what is wrong with a pastor being charged if his preaching and teaching incited someone to violence? The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Seems to me if a pastor actually tells someone to go out and harm an lgbt or anyone else via teaching or preaching, then the pastor should be charged with a crime.

And that pastor would be charged with a crime even if hate crimes legislation did not exist.

But a good question would be what if the pastor merely said that homosexuality is a sin and someone took that as a statement telling him to harm an lgbt?

That would be a problem except for an action committed by Rep. Davis during the hearing; an action that Jackson omitted bringing up. According to the webpage, Religious Tolerance:

Artur Davis (D-AL), a co-sponsor of the bill, offered a change that clarified that the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech would not be affected by the bill. That is, pastors and other Christians who denigrate homosexuals (or women or the disabled, etc) need not fear being charged with conspiracy if a someone is motivated by the speech to commit a violent act. The amendment reads:

"Sec. 8: Rule of Construction:
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the First Amendment to the Constitution."

Which means the concern about a minister getting arrested for merely preaching that homosexuality is a sin is a smokescreen. It was a smokescreen in 2007 and it is one now.

Or in other words, a cynical lie thought up by a group determined to destroy a bill.

I never knew that Jesus told us to tell lies. Jackson and company must have a new translation of the Bible. I knew they would flip after they discovered that the King James version was offered by a gay man.

Other posts on hate crimes legislation:

Hate crimes legislation makes Doug Giles lose his mind

SC gay groups organizing response to DeMint letter

Tell Senator DeMint to stop lying about hate crimes legislation

Snappy comebacks to stupid religious right talking points and Thursday midday news briefs

Just because I feel like it, I will now introduce an every-now-and-then new feature on this blog:

Snappy comebacks to stupid religious right talking points

Don't you just hate it when the religious right tries to condense the complexities of sexual orientation to stupid talking points that totally mischaracterize the entire argument?

For example:

Religious right talking point - "You can't compare being black to being gay because there are no ex-African-Americans but there are plenty of ex-gays."

Try this answer:

Answer - "Just as some blacks have tried to pass for white in the past due to their light skin tone, some gays try to pass for heterosexual. And history has shown us that neither attempt to hide who you are is, in the long run, successful."

Now on to news briefs:

"Madea" Actor/Singer Terrell Carter Outed by Ex-Boyfriend - Speaking of which . . .

Gay couple 'backed out of foster plans after negative media coverage' - On one hand, this isn't good because I'm sure they would have made a very good home for the child. But on the other, so much for the stupid notion of gays pursuing adoption for selfish reasons. They obviously thought of the child's needs first.

NARTH: Rubbish in the Guise of Research - More details about that fradulent NARTH study.

Video: If credibility began and ended at FOF's front door, then vids like this might help - Perfect example of the religious right echo chamber. NARTH creates a fradulent study and Focus on the Family pushes it as legitimate.

Researchers complain about religious right distortion of their work

While we are grousing about marriage equality rights, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and hate crimes legislation, a story has been slipping through our fingers.

Well to be honest, it's not necessarily a story that has sprung up suddenly but rather quietly crept on us through the years.

There has been a steady number of complaints from researchers and medical professionals as to how their work is distorted by the religious right.

The lastest complaint comes via Truth Wins Out from three researchers who have complained as to how Focus on the Family misused their work to claim that there is a link between child sexual abuse and homosexuality:

In the article, “Childhood Sexual Abuse and Male Homosexuality”, (Focus on the Family's Jeff)Johnston wrote, “Many pro-gay researchers, activists and theorists deny that there could be a connection between child sexual abuse and adult homosexuality.” As proof of a supposed connection, he cited a 2008 book, “Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States”, edited by Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall, and Ronald O. Valdiserri.

When approached by Truth Wins Out, the researchers were surprised by the manipulation of their data and agreed to respond.

“We want to respond to a recent Focus on the Family characterization of scientific findings reported in our book, ‘Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States’ that misrepresented findings in the book to suggest that childhood sexual abuse causes male homosexuality,” Stall and Valdiseri wrote in their letter. “The Focus on the Family description of the findings reported in Unequal Opportunity is inaccurate and, in our opinion, a distortion of the scientific literature.”

According to Truth Wins Out, this complaint is the 10th one in two years. Others include:

Dr. Lisa Diamond - University of Utah, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology

Dr. Carol Gilligan - Professor of education and law at New York University and author of In a Different Voice

Angela Phillips - Professor, Goldsmiths College in London, and Author of “The Trouble With Boys”

Dr. Kyle Pruett - Professor of child psychiatry, the Yale University School of Medicine, and author of Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child.

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc - Associate professor, school of nursing, University of British Columbia

Dr. Robert Spitzer - Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University

Dr. Judith Stacy - Professor of sociology, New York University

And it goes farther back than that:

A. Nicholas Groth - Groth complained twice (1984, 2002) about how his work was unfairly used by first Paul Cameron and then the Family Research Council to make a connection between pedophilia and homosexuality. (Editor's note - one of the links - the 2002 letter courtesy of HRC - isn't working. But I have a printed copy of the original webpage).

Robert Garofalo - The Massachusetts pediatrician who 1998 complained that Concerned Women for America and other religious right groups were distorting his work to claim that the lgbt orientation is indicative of unhealthy behaviors. (Boston doctor says ads distorted his work on gays, The Boston Globe, August 4, 1998).

Joanne Hall, Ph.D. - University of Tennessee’s College of Nursing Professor who complained how the religious right distorted a Nursing Research article she wrote to claim that all lesbians have a serious problem with drug abuse.

And last but least, my favorite (because I've referenced it so many times):

Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter - Six Canadian researchers behind a 1997 study consistently misused by the religious right to claim that "homosexual behavior takes 20 years off of your life."

In 2001 the researchers said that their work was being distorted and yet the 1997 study continues to consistently be misused.

So counting Truth Wins Out's 10 and the four I have dug up, that's 14 complaints of misusage of scientific research by the religious right.

How many more are needed before some serious snooping is done in this situation?

Maybe if Perez Hilton put it on his page, then perhaps The Advocate would devote a cover story to the subject.

Who knows?

Repost - Should white women be teaching children?

Since the religious right continues to exploit the unfortunate Frank Lombard situation, I thought that this would be an appropriate repost. It's a piece I wrote last weekend:

Because of the recent Frank Lombard controversy, the case of the gay Duke University official who is accused of raping his adopted 5-year-old son, the religious right and conservative pundits in general have been accusing the media of playing down Lombard's homosexuality due to political correctness.

World Net Daily has even accused CNN, the Associated Press,and ABC News of not even mentioning the fact that Lombard is gay.

Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage says that we must ask questions about these things (i.e. how much did Lombard's orientation lead to him being allowed to adopt the child) and not let homophobia dissuade us.

I say they have a point and this why:

Ranee Sue Proper, a 42-year-old former music teacher, was arrested for allegedly having sex with two students in a classroom. She was sentenced June 3 to nine months in jail and years probation after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct.

Melissa Weber, a 27-year-old New York City social studies teacher is accused of having sex in her classroom with a 14-year-old male student. She was arrested May 28.

Jennifer Rice, a 33-year-old former Tacoma, Wash., elementary school teacher was found guilty on April 20 of having sex with a 10-year-old student and his 15-year-old brother.

Kelsey Peterson, a former Nebraska middle school math teacher, was sentenced on April 23 to eight to 10 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a minor. Peterson fled to Mexico with a 13-year-old student in October 2007.

Wendie Schweikert, a 37-year-old former South Carolina elementary school teacher, pleaded guilty to having sex with an 11-year-old student. In June 2007, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Debra Lafave, a former Florida middle school teacher, was sentenced to house arrest and probation in 2005 after pleading guilty to charges that she had sex with a 14-year-old student.

That's six recent cases of teachers having sex with minors. And what's the similarities between all six cases? These teachers were white women.

So why is the media downplaying this? There does seem to be a problem with white women not being able to keep their hands to themselves in teaching environments. If one case of a gay man molesting a child should warrant an outcry, then six cases of white women molesting children should warrant at least a 20/20 investigation.

And we shouldn't let political correctness keep us from asking crucial questions that may protect our children.

Questions like:

Aren't white women potentially susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior? There could be a point in this. How many black or Latino women do you see on those "Girls Gone Wild" commercials?

Aren't there more white female porn stars than any other ethnic group?

Look at Paris Hilton. She is a white woman. Would you want her teaching your child?

You know what . . . stop.

If you are still reading and are somehow angry at what I have just written, then you need to understand sarcasm.

The fact of the matter is that white women are not susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior and should not be judged as a whole on the behavior of those who have gotten into trouble.

And what Frank Lombard possibly did (he has not been tried yet) was wrong. It was vile and nasty. But any attempt to judge all gay men on him is equally vile and nasty.

No matter how it is spun, that is what the religious right and other pundits are trying to do. They don't see this case as a child being victimized.

They see it as an opportunity to get their agenda across. They see it as an opportunity to get some face time on places like Fox News or get some money sent in by naive folks who read and believe their drivel.

For every one Frank Lombard, there are thousands of adopted lgbt parents who love, protect, and nurture their children to the utmost of their ability.

I happen to know a few.

In the long run, it doesn't matter what sexual orientation, gender, or ethnic identity Lombard is.

A child has been potentially hurt; scarred for life.

His well-being is the only thing that truly matters in this case.

Anything, and I mean anything that distracts from that should be dismissed.

Wednesday midday news briefs

The religious right is making our black men crazy!



Okay, I am stealing this one from Pams House Blend, but it's one of those videos that's just too damned funny to keep solely on one site. This is Minister Leroy Swailes testifying in DC before the Board of Elections and Ethics regarding the District's law that recognizes out of state marriages

This is a part of his testimony:

"A beast has four legs and one gender. If you put two men together, you have four legs and two penises...that's one gender -- that's a form of bestiality."

Lord hammercy! No wonder we won that one. I wonder if Swailes is too busy to testify in front of Congress regarding gays in the military, ENDA, and hate crimes legislation.

And while you are laughing at his testimony, read what his shirt says. It ain't THAT funny.

Also, a big hat tip to People for the American Way and HRC.

D.C. may revoke Rev. Jackson’s voter registration - Speaking of D.C., anti-gay pastor Harry Jackson may have been deceiving folks regarding his residency. Stay on the story, Washington Blade!

Focus on the deliberate poll misreads - Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council deliberately misreads a poll. It must be a week day.

State party votes to censure Mark Sanford - The South Carolina Republican Party to Mark Sanford - you have been a naughty, naughty boy. Don't ever do that again. I say it's a boon for us "radical gay activists" in South Carolina the next time they try to bring up one of those dreary Focus on the Family processed anti-gay laws.

Massachusetts State Senator Comes Out on Independence Day - My "gay ray" keeps missing Philip Seymour Hoffman. Oh well, welcome to the conspiracy, Stan Rosenberg. I take it that you have already been briefed on plans to take over America. Mass Resistance is going to go batshit over this one.

Hate crimes legislation makes Doug Giles lose his mind

Doug Giles, a columnist with the conservative Townhall has just proven that the idea of adding sexual orientation to the hate crimes legislation is driving him and other conservatives crazy via a strange column.

His opening sentence should give you a clue that he is heading to looneyland with this piece:

If you’re a twisted adult who gets pleasure from having sex with 5-year-old boys (like Duke University’s Frank Lombard), or you like to shop for dates at the Metro Zoo, or enjoy smearing your body with feces and/or dabbin’ a little urine on your earlobes as you prep for sexy time with the corpse you dressed up like Bette Davis in your basement, then more than likely you are thanking Dionysus and your unclean demon that Liberals are running DC.

Yep, with the Liberals in the house your deviant behavior—along with over 500 additional unmentionables—could potentially be legitimized and federally protected against anyone who says you’re a crazy bastard who should undergo chemical castration and have your frontal lobe scraped for your aberrant bents.

Religious right and conservative attacks on hate crimes legislation are getting stranger and more pathetic. On the risk of beating a dead horse (I don't think I can match beating a dead horse the way Giles and company does, however), hate crimes legislation deal with violent action, not words.

And those things that Giles described are paraphalias, which are described as:

. . . fantasies, behaviors, or sexual urges focusing on unusual objects, activities, or situations . .

Paraphilias have nothing to do with sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation would be a category of protection under hate crimes legislation. Paraphalias would not be.

Not that this sort of thing matters to Giles and those who believe his words. As vile as his piece is, let there be some comfort his jump from logic to jugular grabbing shock is proof that he knows his side is losing this argument.

Editor's note - If you liked my piece on the phony organization, the American College of Pediatricians (ACP), be on the lookout for another piece I am working on about the Christian Medical and Dental Associations. This group is worse than the ACP.

Peter LaBarbera is getting BORING

(If you can't see the video on this blog, then go here.)

I can't believe I am saying that but it's true.

Peter LaBarbera has become boring.

When a one note performer continues to act in the same manner, he becomes routine and ordinary.

And this fits our friend Peter LaBarbera to a tee.

His second foray in youtube is probably worst than his first in that it gives huge spotlight on his drawbacks as a suitable spokesperson for the religious right.

Peter likes to go for shock even to the point of creating faux shock out of ridiculous situations.

One tip, Peter - if you are trying to turn heterosexual men against gay pride parades than don't show cute women allegedly showing their boobs. I say allegedly because the "shocking footage" is blotted out.

Also, if you are going to interpose pictures of children next to "offensive events," at least make it look less fake.

By the way, LaBarbera has left the ratings and comments up. Feel free to take advantage.

BUT BE NICE!!

Tuesday midday news briefs

Ignoring Perez from this point forward: Who's in? - I'm in! I've been in that camp for a while. And it is just goes to show how out of it The Advocate is for putting that child on the cover. First "Is Gay the New Black," now this mess. No wonder the lgbt community is having a hard time getting what we need when those we trust as our news gatherers are concerned with trifling bullshit like Pereze Hilton. Does The Advocate have a clue?

From the Editor: Why Perez? - If you are as pissed as I am by what The Advocate did, check out the video from its editor and register your opinion. Blah, blah, blah about the first amendment. The Advocate has a responsibility to move the lgbt forward and give us the tools we need for survival. Focusing on a immature, ignorant, bottom-feeding gossip columnist does nothing for the lgbt community.

NARTH Publishes Fake “Study” In A Fake “Journal” - Meanwhile those who are doing serious work for the lgbt community are steadily working behind the scenes to debunk the lies of the religious right.

Time article mulls connection between slain sailor's murder to queasiness over repealing DADT - Another more important cover story that The Advocate will probably miss.

End for HIV Travel Ban - Well at least this story is touched on in The Advocate.

An African-American Christian mother pens book on accepting her gay son

This story is a perfect example of just what we are missing when we make assumptions about the acceptance or lack of acceptance of lgbts in the black community. Deon Davis, a Christian woman in Florida has written and self-published a book chronicling how her child came out and how she grew to accept him as he is:

"I learned that our children have feelings, that the parent is not always right. I learned that the hard way," she says. "I'm learning all this through the blessing of Rashad being gay."

Now Davis is on a mission. She spent $1,300 to self-publish "I'll Find a Way: A Mother's Journey of Love and Acceptance for Her Gay Son" and is working tirelessly to promote it.

A sad but interesting part of the article tells about how lgbt children like Rashad are not accepted by their own families. Davis talks about several incidents where these children have been thrown out of their homes. Rashad talks about what his father refusing to accept him being gay:

Rashad's friends have spent many hours at Davis' home and she's often appalled by how their parents treat them. One father beat his gay son so badly, the boy was covered with bruises.

Another of Rashad's friends stayed with Davis for a week after his father threw him out. "He got kicked out because he was gay," she says. "This child was the smartest thing ever!"

A third friend "was living on the streets and selling his body," Davis says. "A 4.0 grade point average and he just got kicked out."

Rashad, who recently graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Fla., says his own father won't accept that he's gay.

"At my graduation, he told me he'd give me $1,000 if I'd get a girl pregnant," Rashad says. "He said he'd rather me go to prison for 20 years for drugs than be gay."

This is an excellent article about a mother who is not only accepting her gay son, but also educating folks on lgbt youth.

I wish Ms. Davis all of the success in the world.

The entire article is here.

Big hat tip to Box Turtle Bulletin for bringing the article to my attention.

The American College of Pediatricians and the Laundering of Junk Science

Two weekends ago, I was embroiled in an intense discussion about gay parenting on the webpage Truthwinsout.org

Comments had gone back and forth, spurred by someone who spouted what he thought was credible information proving that gay marriage was not a good idea.

The subject drifted to gay parenting. Naturally the person did not agree with the idea and he cited information by a group called the American College of Pediatricians (ACP) that supposedly proved his point.

I took a look at this group's webpage and from what I saw, it looked like a group masquerading as a legtimate medical organization while spouting religious right dogma about the lgbt community.

Mike Airhart, a writer employed by Truth Wins Out and a very good friend of mine, broke it down like this:

The “American College of Pediatricians” screens its membership according to a pro-life philosophy spelled out on its “Core Values” page and an anti-gay philosophy spelled out here. The organization’s Bible Belt charter members are listed here.

According to Concerned Women for America, ACP formed in retaliation against the American Academy of Pediatrics after AAP released scientific studies finding no significant harm to children in same-sex parenting. ACP accuses the AAP of “bad science” but does not say how AAP’s studies were flawed.

The ACP’s family resources page links primarily to religious-right organizations. In contrast to the scientific approach of the AAP, ACP employs what it considers a predetermined “moral” filter to pediatrics.

Translation: The American College of Pediatricians is a group masquerading as a legtimate medical organization while spouting religious right dogma about the lgbt community.

I pretty much said the same thing already, but didn't Mike say it much better than me?

Seriously though, I took a look at the work ACP put out about the lgbt community, particularly a piece called Homosexual Parenting: Is it Time for Change?

What I found was a hot mess of the usual lies put out by the religious right. I'm sure those who keep up with this blog have heard these before but I'm a stickler for consistency when it comes to religious right distortions, so bear with me.

The distortions of the ACP piece can be broken down in three brackets:

1. Outdated data

The paper says:

Homosexual partnerships are significantly more prone to dissolution than heterosexual marriages with the average homosexual relationship lasting only two to three years

As proof of this, the ACP paper cites sources from over 15 years ago:

David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison, The male couple: how relationships develop (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1984), pp. 252-253.

M. Saghir and E. Robins, Male and female homosexuality (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1973), p. 225; L.A. Peplau and H. Amaro, "Understanding lesbian relationships," in homosexuality: social, psychological, and biological issues, ed. J. Weinrich and W. Paul (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1982).

M. Pollak, "Male homosexuality," in western sexuality: practice and precept in past and present times, ed. P. Aries and A. Bejin, translated by Anthony Forster (New York, NY: B. Blackwell, 1985), pp. 40-61, cited by Joseph Nicolosi in Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991), pp. 124, 125.

To make matters worse, the ACP is inaccurately using the data to generalize about all lgbt couples.

The authors of The Male Couple said their book could not be used to generalize about the lgbt community:

“We always have been very careful to explain that the very nature of our research sample, its size (156 couples), its narrow geographic location, and the natural selectiveness of the participants prevents the findings from being applicable and generalizable to the entire gay male community.”

Another outdated source the ACP piece uses is:

A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: a study of diversity among men and women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309

Homosexualities was published in 1978. And with it, the APC paper continues to inaccurately generalize about lgbt couples.

A passage in Homosexualities clearly says:

“. . . 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.”

Generally speaking, if you looked at all of the sources in the ACP paper, you see that the majority of them are over 10 years old. And many of the ones that can be construed as current are misused.

But that is the next section.

2. Misusage of studies

Many of the studies the ACP uses to claim that children will suffer adverse effects in lgbt households in fact did not have anything to do with looking at children in lgbt homes at all. They include:

A. Marie Xiridoui, et al., "The contribution of steady and casual partnerships to the incidence of HIV infection among homosexual men in Amsterdam," AIDS 17 (2003): 1029-1038. [Note: one of the findings of this recent study is that those classified as being in "steady relationships" reported an average of 8 casual partners a year in addition to their partner (p. 1032)]

As pointed out in a post two weeks ago , this study only looked at casual relationships between gay men. It had nothing to do with the lesbian population and certainly nothing to do with children in lgbt households. The ironic thing is that this study has been used to also claim that lgbts have no concept of monogamy in marriage even though the data was compiled before marriage was even legalized in the Netherlands.

B. Joanne Hall, "Lesbians recovering from alcoholic problems: an ethnographic study of health care expectations," Nursing Research 43 (1994): 238-244.

In my 2007 book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, I talk about how this article in Nursing Research was distorted. The author of the article, Joanne Hall, Ph.D. of the University of Tennessee’s College of Nursing, wrote me a letter outlining how it was being misused. She said that not only did the study have nothing to do with gay parenting but also:

“My study was an investigation of experiences of lesbians who ALREADY have self-identified as having ‘had an alcohol problem.’

They were not recruited as ‘alcoholics,’ ‘addicts’ or such terms, because I realized people have different understandings and preferences about ‘labels.’ These women were not necessarily under treatment at all, but living in the community. I did not ‘verify’ either their sexual orientation (that was also self-identification), nor a ‘diagnosis’ of substance abuse. They responded to a flyer. They all lived in the Bay Area. 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 . . . . "

C. Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, "Intimate violence in lesbian relationships: discussion of survey findings and practice implications," Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.

Again a study having nothing to do with children in same sex households. The original study was conducted in 1985 at a Michigan Women’s Music Festival. It included only 1099 participants and all were lesbian.

According to a reviewer of the study, Suzana Rose, Ph.D., of the 1099 lesbians participants, most were white and between the ages of 20-45. - Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications, Journal of Social Science Research, 1991

D. "Sex survey results," Genre (October 1996), quoted in "Survey finds 40 percent of gay men have had more than 40 sex partners," Lambda Report, January 1998, p. 20.

Not only did this Genre article have nothing to do with children in same sex households but check out the entire citation. The Lambda Report was an anti-gay publication put out by an old friend of ours - Peter LaBarbera - before he began Americans for Truth.

So in all honesty, it can be said that the ACP paper does not misuse Genre article because it does not cite the article at all, but what LaBarbera (a man with an anti-gay bias) claims the Genre article says.

3. Researcher complaints

A consistent factor of religious right studies is how they inaccurately use studies even after complaints by the work's original author. There are two in the ACP paper:

A. It cites the infamous 1997 study Canadian study as proof that lgbts have a short life span even though the study's authors complained in 2001 of its misusage by the religious right. (This is getting to be a favorite citation of mine. In almost every religious right paper I've talked about on this site, the distortion of the Canadian study is included.)

B. Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, "(How) Does the sexual orientation of parents matter," American Sociological Review 66 (2001): 174, 179.

Judith Stacey has said repeatedly that nothing in her work says that same sex parenting is a bad idea.

Finally, the most interesting thing about the ACP paper is that it is not original. Some of the citations and passages in the paper are identical to a Family Research Council paper, The Negative Effects of Homosexuality.

This is the same paper is considered "outdated" by the Family Research Council.

So basically, the American College of Pediatricians is a puppet organization that can do damage if no one researches its background.

The folks who founded this organization are clearly sacrificing the integrity of their profession by laundering religious right propaganda as credible medical research.

And it makes one wonder as to how many other "groups" like ACP are out there. And also what can we do to bring attention to these groups.

Monday midday news briefs

For those interested, I have updated the timeline on my Anti-Gay Lies and Liars webpage to include events happening in 1986, 2000, 2007, and 2009. Chief among them - Dick Hafer's hateful anti-gay comics, The "Fistgate" nonsense, the James Holsinger controversy, and various things happening this year including Carrie Prejean and NOM, Jim DeMint's lying letter, and various attacks on Kevin Jennings. Pan down to the timeline to see the new entries.

Her name is Candi, but her agenda couldn't be less sweet - Ugh. Another anti-gay spokesperson. The lgbt community seem to collect them like roaches. I don't have the strength so Jeremy, she is all yours.

Washington's Bishops: Repealing Domestic Partnerships is "Justified Discrimination" - Justified discrimination? Are they serious? Who gets to decide that sort of thing?

Sports Figure Latest Victim Of Ugandan Anti-Gay Offensive - Kudos to Box Turtle Bulletin for keeping this issue in the forefront.

FACT CHECK: The Right-Wing Smear Campaign Against Kevin Jennings - ThinkProgress to the rescue and not a moment too soon either.

Gay folks and the black church - shake your booty for Jesus

Sometimes I don't understand the perceived hell that the black church supposedly gives to gay folks.

Goodness knows there are so many of us in the church.

Now far be it from me to throw out innuendoes but the following clip sets off my gaydar as well as my eardrums (particularly a certain individual on stage and a certain individual in the audience. When you see it, you'll know.)

Talk about contradiction city:

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy is a brilliant comedian who has not really received his due but let's not forget how ugly his routine used to be.

In this clip (starting at .40 seconds), Murphy's comments about gay men and the audience's appreciation of those comments gives a perfect example of how just how far the lgbt community has come.

If some comedian would dare to say some this stuff now, he would be roasted.

Which goes to prove that so-called "political correctness" has its good points.

And by the way, I am not going to go into detail about that 1997 incident with Murphy being caught with a transsexual prostitute in his car. Nothing was proven and he was not arrested. Also, in all honesty, Murphy had already apologized for his nasty anti-gay humor long before the incident took place.

Should white women be teaching children?

Because of the recent Frank Lombard controversy, the case of the gay Duke University official who is accused of raping his adopted 5-year-old son, the religious right and conservative pundits in general have been accusing the media of playing down Lombard's homosexuality due to political correctness.

World Net Daily has even accused CNN, the Associated Press,and ABC News of not even mentioning the fact that Lombard is gay.

Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage says that we must ask questions about these things (i.e. how much did Lombard's orientation lead to him being allowed to adopt the child) and not let homophobia dissuade us.

I say they have a point and this why:

Ranee Sue Proper, a 42-year-old former music teacher, was arrested for allegedly having sex with two students in a classroom. She was sentenced June 3 to nine months in jail and years probation after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct.

Melissa Weber, a 27-year-old New York City social studies teacher is accused of having sex in her classroom with a 14-year-old male student. She was arrested May 28.

Jennifer Rice, a 33-year-old former Tacoma, Wash., elementary school teacher was found guilty on April 20 of having sex with a 10-year-old student and his 15-year-old brother.

Kelsey Peterson, a former Nebraska middle school math teacher, was sentenced on April 23 to eight to 10 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a minor. Peterson fled to Mexico with a 13-year-old student in October 2007.

Wendie Schweikert, a 37-year-old former South Carolina elementary school teacher, pleaded guilty to having sex with an 11-year-old student. In June 2007, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Debra Lafave, a former Florida middle school teacher, was sentenced to house arrest and probation in 2005 after pleading guilty to charges that she had sex with a 14-year-old student.

That's six recent cases of teachers having sex with minors. And what's the similarities between all six cases? These teachers were white women.

So why is the media downplaying this? There does seem to be a problem with white women not being able to keep their hands to themselves in teaching environments. If one case of a gay man molesting a child should warrant an outcry, then six cases of white women molesting children should warrant at least a 20/20 investigation.

And we shouldn't let political correctness keep us from asking crucial questions that may protect our children.

Questions like:

Aren't white women potentially susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior? There could be a point in this. How many black or Latino women do you see on those "Girls Gone Wild" commercials?

Aren't there more white female porn stars than any other ethnic group?

Look at Paris Hilton. She is a white woman. Would you want her teaching your child?


You know what . . . stop.

If you are still reading and are somehow angry at what I have just written, then you need to understand sarcasm.

The fact of the matter is that white women are not susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior and should not be judged as a whole on the behavior of those who have gotten into trouble.

And what Frank Lombard possibly did (he has not been tried yet) was wrong. It was vile and nasty. But any attempt to judge all gay men on him is equally vile and nasty.

No matter how it is spun, that is what the religious right and other pundits are trying to do. They don't see this case as a child being victimized.

They see it as an opportunity to get their agenda across. They see it as an opportunity to get some face time on places like Fox News or get some money sent in by naive folks who read and believe their drivel.

For ever one Frank Lombard, there are thousands of adopted lgbt parents who love, protect, and nurture their children to the utmost of their ability.

I happen to know a few.

In the long run, it doesn't matter what sexual orientation, gender, or ethnic identity Lombard is.

A child has been potentially hurt; scarred for life.

His well-being is the only thing that truly matters in this case.

Anything, and I mean anything that distracts from that should be dismissed.

Friday midday news briefs

It's a slow news day so I figured I would get this out of the way. Also, I have a fraternity luncheon to attend (that's right - this little gay black duck was a member of a college fraternity).

But on deck for today's later installment of Know You LGBT History is a doozy. Trust me on that one.

Vaccine for HPV Effective in Men - Shhh! Don' t tell the religious right. It would devastate them.


Accusations continue in dispute over lesbian pastor's speech at Castro Valley school - This is a dumb lawsuit. Why is it when people hear that lgbts are making speeches, they think we are talking about sexual intercourse. And now they are trying to bilk the school district.

Pastor: Obama has no 'black experience' to speak of - Now One News Now is deciding who can talk about the "black experience." It is to laugh.

Black gay men, AIDS, and no community support

AIDS is killing off black gay men and lack of lgbt community support may an unfortunate factor:

Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit. These tightly interconnected networks make the rapid spread of HIV more likely. In a study1 looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, H. Fisher Raymond and Willi McFarland, from the San Francisco Department of Public Health in the US, show that social barriers faced by Black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.

. . . Black gay men are the least preferred of sexual partners by other races. Black men are perceived to be riskier to have sex with, which can lead to men of other races avoiding Black men as sexual partners. They are also perceived as less welcome in the common social venues of gay men in San Francisco. As a result, Black men are three times more likely to have sexual partners that are also Black, than would be expected by chance alone.

In the authors’ view, the combination of attitudes on the part of non-Black gay men, friendships and social networks that are less likely to include Blacks, and the environments found in gay venues serve to separate Black gay men from other groups.

So the personal ad phrase "no fats, no olds, no fems, no blacks" is now taking on sinister proportions. It's not that I'm passing judgement on people's personal dating choices. But it does go farther than that. The lgbt community can sometimes be consumed with the gay ghetto clique mentality. And as you can see, it's killing those who are generally not allowed to be in the "clique."

But hey, at least the black community supports us . . . when we seem to be at death's door. That's when folks make these lovely speeches about "it's not just a gay disease," and "let's not stop until we find a cure."

I got an idea - how about giving us a little support while we are healthy. How about not isolating us or making our lives seem dirty by using the word "lifestyle" like it's a pooper scooper.

So both the lgbt and black community have work to do. I can only hope the work gets done before too many lgbts of color suffer.

Support Sean's Last Wish and Kevin Jennings

The Fourth of July holiday is almost upon us and I am going to accomplish something during my time away from work.

I will be updating my Anti-Gay Lies and Liars webpage. The update is sorely needed because I haven't put anything new in the timeline since before the Ms. California/Perez Hilton nonsense.

But there are two things that I ask that you do for me.

The first is to look at the following video featuring Elke Kennedy, head of Sean's Last Wish.

Elke began this organization after her son, Sean, was murdered in a vicious hate crime in 2007. She travels the country educating people on the need for the lgbt addition to hate crimes legislation as well as ways to stop violence against lgbt youth.



Unfortunately, the man who murdered her son, Stephen Andrew Moller, was released from his 5-year suspended sentence today; a week before he was supposed to be released.

He was indicted for only involuntary manslaughter and sentenced on June 11 2008 to a 5 year sentence suspended to three years.

His sentence had already been reduced by two months after receiving a good behavior credit for receiving his GED while in prison.

I've said it once and I will say it again: that's some bull@!*&

The second thing involves Kevin Jennings.

Goodness knows I've talked enough about how the religious right is playing the game of character assasination against him since his appointment as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

The organization that Jennings founded, GLSEN, has an online petition that you can sign thanking US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for Jennings's appointment and asking that he hold firm against these attempts by the religious right to smear Jennings:

Dear Secretary Duncan,

We are thrilled that you have selected Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), as the new Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. This appointment is a tribute to Kevin’s many contributions to education and his commitment to the safety and well-being of all students.

Having worked in education for more than 20 years, first as a teacher and then as an advocate for student safety, Kevin has devoted his life to improving the educational environment for all of America's youth. His nearly 20 years of work with GLSEN has helped propel the issue of student safety to the forefront of education reform efforts, and we are delighted that he will be able to continue his groundbreaking work in this new capacity.

With gratitude,

I've already signed it. Please sign it too. We can't let the right impugn Jennings or the good work he has done for lgbt youth.

Other HB/HM posts on Kevin Jennings and the religious right:

The religious right thinks that character assasination is a Christian virtue

The war against Kevin Jennings - now it's getting pathetic

Attacks on Kevin Jennings sleazy, un-Christian

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act''

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

Thursday midday news briefs

My Post-Pride Dream: Memories, Observations and Hopes for a Fragmented Community - The single best piece I have ever read on the state of the lgbt community. And I am not talking about our fight for equality. When that is over (after we have won), the lgbt community will have to face just how homophobia has damaged us as a people in terms of how we relate to each other.

X-Factor Comic Gets First Gay Kiss - Rictor and Shatterstar kiss. Makes me sorry I got rid of my action figures of the two.

As gay discharges continue, sailor is murdered - This ain't good at all.

Obama White House Not Appealing Transgender Ruling - Good.

KC volunteer assaulted at Omaha Gay Pride - I'm all for "killing with kindness," but if someone puts me in a headlock, I'm kicking his ass.

Maggie Gallagher Just Doesn't Trust Men Who Want Children - Gee Maggie, why don't you just say it directly instead of hemming and hawing. Yet another religious right figure exploiting the Frank Lombard situation.

And because I believe in a diet rich in fiber, a bit from One News Now:

'FistGate' tapes go public; GLSEN doesn't deny - Another attempt to attack Kevin Jennings. Long story short - of course GLSEN did not deny the accuracy of the tapes because neither GLSEN nor Jennings had anything to do with the so-called Fistgate incident.

Famous lgbts of color

With all of the efforts to play the divide and conquer game on the gay and black communities, it's important to remember those who intersected both identities:

The rights of a child

This is somewhat of a respost but I like it so much that I want it to stand alone:

It galls me how religious right groups try to undermine every type of parenting except for the one they approve of.

It especially drives me crazy how they try to reduce the complexity of parenting to a single irrelevant talking point of "every child has a right to a mother and a father."

Well here is what I feel a child has a right to:

A child has a right to have a home full of love and support.

A child has a right to clean clothing, good hygiene, and a full satisfied stomach every day.

A child has a right to be able to laugh for no reason at all.

A child has a right to good advice and good discipline.

A child has a right not be feel loved or unwanted.

A child has a right not to be kicked, slapped, verbally, or sexually assaulted by anyone; especially a so-called loved one.

A child has a right to have his or her tears wiped away with a soft hand and a kind word.

A child has a right to as many good Christmases and birthdays as possible.

A child has a right to be applauded to the point of embarrassment for his or her participation in a sport event, a school event, or just for the hell of it.

A child has a right to be indulged every now and then by adult participation in water balloon fights, pillow fights, and imaginary tea parties.

A child has a right not to tolerate any type of bullying.

A child has a right to have someone there to tell him or her not to be afraid of thunder or the dark.

Lastly a child has a right to be nurtured into a responsible adult.

I have absolutely nothing against "two-parent mother and father" households. But until someone can tell me that those households have the patent on these things that a child needs, I refuse to give them precedent over any other household, especially same-sex households.

Feel free to spread this to as many folks as possible.