Reparative Therapy-"We recognize the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers
reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their
homosexual lifestyle. No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to
this type of therapy."
That was the "punchline," this was the set up:
Homosexuality-"Homosexuality is a chosen behavior that is contrary to the fundamental
unchanging truths that have been ordained by God in the Bible, recognized by our nation’s
founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an
acceptable alternative lifestyle, in public policy, nor should family be redefined to include
homosexual couples. We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or
creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally,
we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith,
conviction, or belief in traditional values."
40 pages, and a disparate amount of them devoted to smearing gays:
Equality of All Citizens-"We deplore all discrimination. We also deplore forced sensitivity training and urge repeal of any mandate requiring it. We urge immediate repeal of the Hate Crimes Law. Until the Hate Crimes Law is totally repealed, we urge the Legislature to immediately remove the education curriculum mandate and the sexual orientation category in said Law."
It is clear that they hate their own LGBT citizenry, it's just too bad they can't admit it.
(If being gay [same-sex attracted] is a sin and we’re all sinners all the time forever no matter what, wouldn’t the term “ex-gay” be tantamount to claiming that one is an “ex-sinner” and thus be blasphemous and a sin in and of itself? Which begs the question, How in the universe would God even take the victimhood complaints of blasphemers seriously?)
In August alone, the ex-gay community has been the victim of a number of injustices by high-ranking officials. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law that outlaws therapy for children who wish to overcome unwanted same-sex attractions, some of whom developed such attractions in the wake of sexual abuse at the hands of homosexual predators. Also, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld California’s law banning therapy for minors who wish to go from gay to straight, despitestatistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing an increase in HIV infections by MSM(men who have sex with men) aged 13-24.
I believe the hyperlink was placed and worded very carefully in the original article. It’s a CDC PDF and it is true, according to the GRAPH on page 7 you will find that the largest HIV increases are occurring in the 13-24 year old age range.
Read it on the original article and -- correct me if I’m wrong -- does it not read like they’re insinuating that the Court dismisses evidence of a connection between same-sex attraction -- in and of itself -- raping kids, turning them gay and giving them AIDS?
--
Titles? Tags? One-liners? … Anyone?
Boy Scouts of America
Monday, Jan. 28, 2013
Attributable to: Deron Smith, Director of Public Relations
“For more than 100 years, Scouting’s focus has been on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. Scouting has always been in an ongoing dialogue with the Scouting family to determine what is in the best interest of the organization and the young people we serve.
“Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation. This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs. BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families.
“The policy change under discussion would allow the religious, civic, or educational organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting to determine how to address this issue. The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents. Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs.”
On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
~~~ ~~~
Sexual orientation is not a “moral” issue, it’s an intrinsic part of the human condition.
However, to designate that part of the human condition to be immoral for some and not others IS immoral.
Be “morally straight,” as your oath puts it, and do the right thing on this, BSA.
In America, it is estimated that up to 1.6 million youth are homeless each year and that up to 40% of them identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Cyndi Lauper and youth from the True Colors Residence, The Door, Safe Space and Green Chimneys in New York City share why we all need to get informed and get involved in bringing an end to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness. It is time that we stand with America's next generation, so they can stand on their own. Share this video and be a part of the Forty to None Project!
Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch finds Conversion therapist, Floyd Godfrey on the Linda Harvey show with an interesting take on the nature of homosexuality.
Tashman: "Mission America president Linda Harvey this weekend hosted ex-gay therapist Floyd Godfrey, who describes his own path to “healing” his homosexuality by befriending more men..."
Godfrey: I … went on to take beginning softball, basketball, weight lifting and gymnastics … I even got a job at a Chevron gas station so I could be around guys and learn mechanics. Little by little, I felt myself growing as a man … I was becoming what I was attracted to in others ["True" heteroseuxal masculinity].
Tashman: ..."Harvey and Godfrey claimed gays and lesbians were most likely abused as children or have such envy for same-sex peers that they develop sexual feelings for them… just like cannibals who eat their own leaders."
(Just FYI, Harvey’s Mission America site should only be viewed on an empty stomach.)
To distill Godfrey's use of cannibalism as a means to describe the nature of (male) homosexuality: Gay men are devoid of true masculinity and therefore feel compelled to "consume" it from other men.
So, full picture, in order to sate one’s same-sex “appetite” for men, they should bond with them non-physically, but to bond with another man physically -- and on every other level of being -- only prolongs one’s “appetite” for them???
---
Incalculable irony notwithstanding, both believe homosexuals can fully transform into heterosexuals.
Harvey, via the Family Research Council (pdf): "Thousands of men and women have testified to experiencing a change in their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual."
And Godfrey, from his own healing homosexuality site: "There are scores of individuals who have experienced a shift in their orientation from homosexual to heterosexual."
(Those statements sound remarkably similar, not that I'm implying anything...)
Not even Exodus International “the largest informational referral ministry in the world addressing homosexual issues” makes such an absolutist claim. The president of the organization, Alan Chambers, admits he’s never even heard of such a complete, or even any sort or kind of consistent level of transformation, by a factor of 99.9%.
But Godfrey, he'll set you straight right over the phone, for a cost (not including the price):
If you are interested in contacting us about professional counseling, our offices are located in Mesa, Arizona. If you are not within distance of attending sessions, you may schedule telephone sessions. The cost is $100-$120 per session and sessions run 45-50 minutes.
Oh, and,
Yes, make sure your therapist knows about the lifetime of trauma caused by coming out of your mother's womb.
~~~
Godfrey: ...Dr. Elizabeth Moberly had talked about homosexuality like cannibalism because we’re so hungry. And that is what it feels like to those who struggle with homosexual feelings...
Sexual feelings are a form of hunger, Godfrey, which makes everyone with sexual feelings cannibalistic. In fact, the metaphor can be quite apropos, and when lyricized and set to music, delightfully entertaining.
We’ve been keeping track of this at SoulForce, so the following is based on the highlights of that thread. --- Thanks to Anita Bryant and her “fans,” there’s been a gay adoption ban in Florida since 1977. --- Last November, an Orlando Sentinel published an article titled: “Miami judge rules against Florida gay adoption ban”
“A Miami Dade Circuit judge [Cindy S. Lederman] ruled today that a gay man and his partner should be able to adopt the two foster children they have raised for four years. [Saying,] “There is no rational basis to preclude homosexuals from adopting”
That article is now gone from the original link. Fortunately, Matt Algren who started the thread, published it in full on SoulForce (linked above) and on his blog, and just in case you think I’m a lying because I’m a militant homosexual activist, here’s a Google search on the matter. Go nuts. --- Frank Martin Gill and his partner have been taking care of these kids for years now, and asked the ACLU to help them adopt the boys. Here’s a brief profile on the family:
Fighting Florida's Gay Adoption Ban ACLULGBT November 25, 2008
And here’s a news clip of the event:
Florida Gay Adoption Ban Unconstitutional seth3481 November 25, 2008
For the record, you can see my transcription of the news clip here.
The salient point is thus:
Reporter Gary Nelson: Well this ruling here in Miami Dade County today sets a precedent, one that the state’s conservative Attorney General promised to immediately appeal.
Voiceover: But the ink was scarcely dry on Judge Lederman’s ruling when the state announced a challenge.
State's Spokeswoman: We have filed a notice of appeal with the court, on this order already this morning.
On December 11th, of last year, Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel, wrote a commentary titled: “State’s hypocrisy on gay adoptions could tear apart this family
This article also disappeared. At the time, I emailed Mike Thomas about the missing article, and did not receive a reply. So I then found the cached versions, which have now also disappeared.
Fortunately, Matt took screen caps of the article: Page 1 and Page 2.
I don’t know if “politics” were involved in the deletion of those articles (and the cached pages of the commentary), but there are a few things of interest to note.
Mike Thomas: The attorney general's main expert witnesses was George Rekers, a Miami clinical psychologist and Baptist minister who believes gays are immoral and has written that gay activists are trying to legalize pedophilia. He argues gays are more prone to depressive disorders, substance abuse and unstable relationships, disqualifying them as adoptive parents.
He adds that the state paid $60,000 for Rekers’ quack testimony.
Now, these are the portions of Mike Thomas’ commentary that caught my eye:
DCF is fighting Gill because it fears a political backlash from social conservatives if he is allowed to adopt the boys. They could bring intense political pressure to ban gay foster parents. That would be devastating, particularly as the economy worsens, the number of abuse cases rises and the state's resources dwindle.
This is not about what's best for kids. It's a political agenda by people who consider homosexuals sinful deviants. And the image of gays living in stable relationships, driving minivans, and caring for damaged children undercuts their cause and their moral superiority. And now among their allies they can include DCF Secretary George Sheldon, Gov. Charlie Crist and Attorney General Bill McCollum.
Enough to make you wanna puke.
Finally, I found this article today, from Tampa Bay Online:
Now the state Legislature is faced with a bill aimed at overturning the state's 1977 ban on gay adoption, and Florida's Third District Court of Appeals must resolve a lawsuit over the issue stemming from Gill's case. The case is likely to move on to the Florida Supreme Court...
...The legislation is expected to die without coming to a vote before the Legislature adjourns next week...
...Former state legislator Baxley and other conservatives want the state to maintain its gay adoption ban and support the Department of Children and Families' decision to fight Lederman's ruling and the Legislature's decision for a seventh straight year to maintain the law.
They say it's better for the children to remain in foster care and keep their chance to be adopted by a heterosexual person or couple than to be adopted by a gay person or couple. More than 3,000 children in Florida's foster care system await adoption, most of them having suffered abuse or neglect.
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?”
The Christian conservative version might go something like this:
"What do you think? If gay couples can provide loving and nurturing homes to 3000 children, and one of them has the chance to be adopted by a heterosexual couple, wouldn’t Christian conservatives leave the 2,999 to languish in foster care for the chances of that one?”
Dr. Phil: Well, the world is changing, science is changing, there’s just no question about that. We’re learning more, but is it all helpful? What we’re going to do is put up links about this transgender issue, so you can go and hear both sides. And don’t just go to the side that you agree with, go to the side that you don’t agree with. Read, hear, see what they have to say, so you can consider everything and make an informed decision. You know I clearly have stayed on neutral ground here, because what I want to do is advance the dialogue, advance the debate. So I know I’ll hear from you on the message boards.
Do me a fave, Dr. Phil and try this one on for "size.":
Transcript:
Wayne Besen: Truth Wins Out went to Salt Lake City to interview Lisa Diamond, an associate professor of psychology and gender studies at the University of Utah. Diamond says the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, known as NARTH, distorted her research on human sexuality. NARTH manipulated Dr. Diamond’s work to say that people can choose to change their sexual orientation. Her work said no such thing.
Dr. Lisa Diamond: The women who I’ve studied, have experienced changes in the way that they characterize and experience their sexuality over time, are quite clear about the fact that they don’t experience those changes as willful. And if anything, sometimes they actively resist them. So the notion that they’re chosen simply because there’s variability, is simply isn’t consistent with what I find. If NARTH had actually read the study more carefully, they would find that that isn’t supported by my data at all.
I started my study, I knew that it was potentially controversial and I knew that it was potentially open to distortion. I have bent over backwards to make it difficult for my work to be misused, and to no avail. When people are motivated to twist something for political purposes, they’re going to find a way to do it.
Wayne Besen: Dr. Diamond has a message for NARTH’s co-founder, Dr. Nicolosi, for distorting her work.
Dr. Lisa Diamond: Dr. Nicolosi, you know exactly what you’re doing. I have been more than explicit in my work about what constitutes a misuse of my findings, what conclusions can and cannot be drawn from my research. So there’s no chance that this is a misunderstanding, or simply a different scientific interpretation of the data, that’s simply not possible. This is a willful misuse and distortion of my research. Not an academic disagreement, not a slight shading of the truth, it’s willful distortion. And it’s illegitimate, and it’s irresponsible, and you know that, and you should stop.
Wayne Besen: Dr. Diamond has a few words to say about so-called reparative therapy.
Dr. Lisa Diamond: The APA has found that the majority of these therapies are being misrepresented, that therapists are saying, we can change your orientation, when in fact all of the data, all of the data, suggests that that’s not the case. Sometimes they’re successful at helping people to change their behavior, just like any of us can alter our behavior at will, but they say that the attractions, the same-sex attractions will disappear, they don’t.
These therapies are marketed inaccurately. They don’t actually have the effect that the therapists claim that they will have, and they do additional damage, by using these sort of aversive techniques that leave people feeling greater shame, greater guilt, feeling worse about themselves as a result. So they do, do harm.
Wayne Besen: Dr. Diamond said she would like if NARTH stopped using her research.
Dr. Lisa Diamond: My choice would be that they don’t use it at all. If there’s any upside to this at all, it may be that it actually introduces some people to real science, on these topics, which can give them a lot better information, than the non-science that is being perpetrated on a lot of these websites.
Wayne Besen: Dr. Diamond urges scientists to speak out when the research is distorted.
Dr. Lisa Diamond: There are a lot of scientists who would say, you know what, I just produce the data and then how it’s used is not my problem, but I think knowing that we have a culture that actually treats scientific findings very seriously in terms of support for public policy, that would be inappropriate. We have to be very vocal about what constitutes an unscientific use of the data, and that’s why I think it’s important to speak out.
I’m pretty accustomed at this point to the fact that these sorts of distortions will occur. My hope is that by doing something like this, we can hopefully have a more scientifically literate society, and sort of consumer culture, that will get better at recognizing distortions when they occur, and will not simply take the citation of a scientific paper as evidence that that paper has been appropriately used. My hope is that readers and thinkers in general will take a look at the sorts of work that’s presented on NARTH, and say well, maybe I better look at that work myself before I take at face value, what they are telling me that it says.
Wayne Besen: If you are a scientist, and your work has been distorted, misrepresented, cherry-picked, or misquoted by the right wing, contact TruthWinsOut.org
--
And just in case you didn't quite catch the impact of it the first time, Dr. Phil, Let’s listen to the most pertinent part of that interview again:
Dr. Lisa Diamond:“Dr. Nicolosi, you know exactly what you’re doing. I have been more than explicit in my work about what constitutes a misuse of my findings, what conclusions can and cannot be drawn from my research. So there’s no chance that this is a misunderstanding, or simply a different scientific interpretation of the data, that’s simply not possible. This is a willful misuse and distortion of my research. Not an academic disagreement, not a slight shading of the truth, it’s willful distortion. And it’s illegitimate, and it’s irresponsible, and you know that, and you should stop.”
Still wanna play the “neutral ground” card, Dr. Phil?
Remember, the Google is your friend.
Oh, and PS, all that just scratches the surface of Nicolosi's ethical meanderings. And I haven’t even gotten to the slitherings of Glenn Stanton yet.
And for posterity's sake, one for the road. This is my favorite anti-gay moment of all time. I've watched this dozens of times and it still cracks me up. He's standing there, calmly nodding his head to what the interviewer was saying, and then suddenly, without warning, he just walks off camera in a huff of a hissy-fit.
~ I don't think anything has made me want to punch a baby more :
~ Oh...Oh god...How dare the use children like that!
~ Oh, hi child exploitation.
~ this is fucking terrible.
~ Those poor children.
~ talk about indoctrination.
~ excuse me while I vomit up my lunch in the corner.
~ frankly, at times I wish your God were real, because the thought of you roasting in hell for manipulating these innocent children is a pleasant one.
~ This is like bizarro sesame street. I wish I could vote 0 on a video.
~ There really is no low to which this side won't sink.
