Several months ago, I wrote a scathing article about The ManKind Project. I had researched the group and concluded that they were tied to the so-called “ex-gay” ministries.

I was wrong.

My friend, author Joe Kort, told me that the group was actually gay affirming. I looked into the topic more and this was true. However, what initially confused me was that several “ex-gay” ministries were praising the organization – because the group helped them get in touch with their masculinity. However, while the ex-gay ministries gave their stamp of approval to the ManKind Project, the organization never endorsed the ex-gay industry.

If this seems a bit confusing – it was. At the request of Kort, I spoke with the Executive Director of ManKind, Carl Griesser. I apologized to him for getting it wrong and wrote a follow-up article. However, I let it be known that The ManKind Project needed to clarify that it was gay-friendly, as it was not readily apparent to those researching. Griesser said he would look into the matter.

Well, today he made good on his promise and if you visit the site, there is a big rainbow flag that proclaims – “Gay Friendly.” If one clicks the flag, it leads to a clear statement on “Sexual Orientation and the ManKind Project.”

Congratulations to the group for its bold, affirmative step. Not only will gay men know that ManKind is a welcoming place, but the flag will make it more difficult for columnists like myself to screw up. Griesser deserves respect and praise for his excellent leadership.

By Wayne Besen

In 2001, David Bianco was at the pinnacle of his career in GLBT journalism. He was the founder of Q Syndicate, a content provider for gay media, and wrote, “Past Out,” a widely distributed GLBT history column. He was also the author of, “Gay Essentials: Facts for Your Queer Brain.”

With great irony, the man who made his living by revealing the glorious gay past was quietly reinventing his own personal history. He had allegedly given up sex with men and was rapidly moving towards Orthodox Judaism.

In September 2003, Bianco went public with his conversion in an interview with The Washington Blade. He denounced, “having all kinds of Internet hook-ups and doing the urban gay male lifestyle thing,” and said he could no longer remain closeted about his metamorphous.

“It was increasingly odd to be supervising content for the gay media on a day-to-day basis when in my own life I was moving away from gay identity,” Bianco said. Then he complained about the reaction he received from colleagues saying, “Nobody gets a parade for leaving the gay community…”

While his exit elicited no parade, Bianco did create a media circus – changing his name to Benkof and appearing on the “Ricki Lake” show to oppose same-sex marriage. Basking in his beloved spotlight — it seemed that Benkof was poised to become the right wing’ latest star.

Then, he just fell off the radar for nearly five years.

Unfortunately, he could not bear anonymity in our celebrity culture and burst back on the scene this year — using the California marriage decision to catapult him to newfound notoriety.

Benkof opened shop with a deceptively titled blog, “Gays Defend Marriage,” and started a new column, “Fabulously Observant,” in which he posed as a pro-gay activist who just happened to give up sex for religious reasons. (Read More)

In a startling turn of events, writer David Benkof – formerly David Bianco – has closed down his blog, Gays Defend Marriage, and vowed to stay out of the fight in California. In a statement to Truth Wins Out, Benkof said the following:

“I no longer feel comfortable being allied with the people running the Prop. 8 campaign, and the same-sex marriage movement in America in general, with a few exceptions – most notably Maggie Gallagher. I have made a tentative decision not to publicize the disturbing information that caused me to end my promotion of man-woman marriage in the United States. But there is very little that I know about those subjects that a journalist, blogger, or activist cannot find out through diligent googling and asking the right questions of the Prop. 8 campaign.”

Benkof had made waves in recent weeks with a string of high-profile anti-gay op-eds in major mainstream newspapers, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle.

We are pleased that Benkof has decided to do the right thing and step aside. It is also helpful that he has raised the red flag about the people running Prop. 8.

Focus on the Family leader James Dobson released his attack dogs today, viciously smearing me because I have shown him to be dishonest and distort research. In a screed on the group’s website it referred to me as an, “infamous homosexual activist” and urged his listeners to vote for him, so he could be in the Radio Hall of Fame:

“This attack is yet more evidence of why Dr. Dobson deserves a spot in the Radio Hall of Fame,” said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations at Focus on the Family.”For 32 years, he has been willing to take the unfriendly fire of the Wayne Besens of the world because that is the price to be paid for championing family values and defending biblical principles in the public square.”

What I found interesting is that Focus on the Family failed to mention the seven respected scientists who accused Dobson of distorting their work – which is the main reason Truth Wins Out launched its campaign in the first place. It seems that Dobson and his henchmen rather smear the messenger than legitimately answer why Dobson has distorted research and cherry picked the results to suit his political agenda.

Please vote against James Dobson today and SIGN OUR PETITION.

Also please consider a tax-deductible contribution for Truth Wins Out. Help us fight right wing propaganda and the “ex-gay” myth. Our work – the research, media advocacy and videos below cost money. We can’t do this without your help. We hope you will join our work by contributing today.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King, a conservative Republican Christian who has called homosexuality the ‘downfall of society,’ has been caught with his pants down-literally-in a gay sex scandal. King was reportedly nabbed having sex with a male assistant by his wife, Paige King, in the couple’ own bed. It is amazing – the more one condemns homosexuality, the more likely one is to be gay. It is a telltale sign, like freedom rings.

Such tragic stories show why it is so important to come out of the closet. The alternative is living a life of pain and denial. On Monday, I head to North Carolina to speak out against the “ex-gay” Exodus International conference. Exodus says they have more than 700 people already signed up.

Most of these people will realize they are being duped and walk away. Others will suffer for few years before they realize they have wasted time and money. Then, there will be the ones who remain and decide to live like Troy King. When I think of the Exodus conference, I think of Troy Kings in training.

How does this help the family?

In just two days, hundreds of Americans have signed onto Truth Wins Out’s letter to keep Focus on the Family leader James Dobson out of the Radio Hall of Fame. The Chicago Sun Times, Sirius Out Q and the Howard Stern Show has covered the story, as well as leading GLBT blogs and news sources:

Page One Q

Daily Kos

Pam’s House Blend

Good As You

The Bilerico Project

Box Turtle Bulletin

Queerty

TowleRoad.com

Minnesota Atheists

The Tucson Observer

Planet Out/Gay.com

The Advocate

The Christian Post

To fight back, TWO strongly urges fair-minded people to take three actions.

1) Sign TWO’s formal request to have James Dobson removed from consideration.

2) Contact Museum of Broadcast Communications CEO Bruce DuMont directly, brucedumont@museum.tv, to express your displeasure.

3) As an option, vote for nominees other than James Dobson or Laura Schlessinger (the general public may vote, and the other nominees are Bob Costas and Howard Stern).

It is urgent to act now, as voting comes to a close on July 15

Pam Spaulding – from the award-wining blog Pam’s House Blend – has revealed that Obama’s faith-based initiative plan will bar reparative therapy, proselytizing.

A source with Senator Obama’s campaign has now confirmed to Pam’s House Blend that under no circumstances will funds from the program will be granted to FBOs for proselytizing or reparative therapy. Under the Obama plan, MCC congregations, LGBT-welcoming Methodist and Unitarian congregations, and other affirming churches will have access to funds to do much-needed work in communities large and small of great importance — HIV/AIDS education, for instance, relief efforts, etc.

(Alan Chambers, Left)

In typical fashion, Exodus and Focus on the Family are fooling future victims with false advertising, pie-in-the-sky promises and semantic games. In hyping the Asheville event, Focus on the Family wrote an article that claimed the following:

** For 33 years, Exodus has been spreading a message of hope and freedom to a world impacted by homosexuality.

I would agree that Exodus is spreading a message of hope. Indeed, the entire organization is all about “messages” – even if their slick words conflict with the dark reality experienced by most of the people who will attend the group’ conference. The sad truth is, anyone can offer “messages” – but are these messages backed by substance or simply empty promises that will cause needless pain and suffering? The statistic-free Exodus refuses to show whether its rhetoric matches reality – because it doesn’t. In my view, the Exodus message machine borders on consumer fraud.

** Exodus President Alan Chambers said, “There is a biblical alternative, that we can find freedom from homosexuality.”

Once again, Chambers is word-smithing to make it appear as if Exodus is offering a magical cure. Chambers pathologically denies this, but wide-eyed, new conference-goers will surely see Chambers’ words as offering a new life as a heterosexual. After all, “freedom from homosexuality” implies that the alternative is heterosexuality. Anyone who says otherwise is flat out lying and exploiting people.

** Jeff Johnston, gender issues analyst at Focus on the Family, attended his first Exodus conference more than 20 years ago. It helped him gain victory over homosexuality, and he said he wants that message of freedom to spread. “You have some churches saying, “Homosexuality is OK; that’ how God made people,’ ” he said. “Exodus is proclaiming (the) truth and helping people find freedom.”

Johnston is also guilty of manipulating words to make conference attendees believe they will become straight – which they won’t. He is saying that people will “find freedom” and the text supports this by saying that Exodus helped him “gain victory.” For the vast majority of people paying their hard earned money in Asheville, victory means an opposite-sex spouse that they are actually attracted to. It means that when they are at the gym and see an attractive person of the same-sex, they will feel nothing sexual.

Exodus cannot promise such a transformation, and is thus immorally preying on people by offering promises they can’t deliver. Why doesn’t Exodus simply tell people the truth. Here are few honest slogans:

1) “Marry someone you aren’t attracted to and learn to have sex with them!” (Alan Chambers, Instructor)

2) “Improve your acting skills by playing straight! Free Haircuts!” (Melissa Fryrear, Instructor)

3) “Learn the Joys of Lifetime loneliness and Celibacy!” (Randy Thomas, Instructor)

Until Exodus is honest with people, they are nothing more than immoral sleaze merchants who peddle snake oil to the highest bidder. They ought to be ashamed. And, yes, Alan, Jeff and Randy – I’m talking directly to you.

The Radio Hall of Fame Should Not Reward Intolerance and Lies, Says TWO

NEW YORK – TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) launched a campaign today to keep Focus on the Family founder James Dobson out of the Radio Hall of Fame. The Museum of Broadcast Communications nominated the anti-gay leader even though Dobson has been accused of distorting research and smearing gay and lesbian people for political gain. For example, Dobson told The Daily Oklahoman on Oct. 23, 2004, “Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.”

“It is outrageous and insulting that James Dobson would be nominated for the Radio Hall of Fame,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “We believe that character counts and nominees should have careers based on honesty and integrity – not discrimination, distorting research and outright lying.”

“Incredibly, the Museum of Broadcast Communications has also nominated Dr. Laura Schlessinger to its Radio Hall of Fame and Rush Limbaugh was inducted in 1993. The pattern is clear.”

To fight back against this offensive decision, TWO strongly urges fair-minded people to take three actions. First, sign TWO’s formal request to have James Dobson removed from consideration. Second, contact Museum of Broadcast Communications CEO Bruce DuMont directly, brucedumont@museum.tv, to express your displeasure. Third, as an option, vote for nominees other than James Dobson or Laura Schlessinger (the general public may vote, and the other nominees are Bob Costas and Howard Stern). It is urgent to act now, as voting comes to a close on July 15.

In the past two years, at least seven researchers have accused Dobson of manipulating or cherry picking their results to back his anti-gay teachings. Letters and videos documenting the concerns of these respected professors can be viewed at TruthWinsOut.org.

Dobson also profits from intolerance. He founded a ministry, Love Won Out, that promises to “cure” homosexuals – even though the so-called “ex-gay” leader of Love Won Out, John Paulk, was photographed in a gay bar. Dobson also continues to promote dishonest psychological theories about gay people that are rejected by every respected medical and mental health association in America, including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association.

TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

By Wayne Besen

The last few weeks have shown that so-called pro-family organizations are some of the most useless, money-sucking scams in the world. With real families suffering from economic hardship in America, a declining birthrate in Europe and Google doubling the price of daycare for employees, the only thing right wing family groups want to discuss is their bizarre and all-encompassing fagela fetish.

Recently, The Brooklyn Paper, had a huge headline, “SPLITSVILLE: Brooklyn divorces up 30%.” The article cited a number of reasons including, “when the economy tanks, so do many marriages.”

One would think this would alarm so-called pro-family organizations and they would be out in force repairing marriages — or at least looking for economic solutions to take the stress off couples. Unfortunately, as I walked around my Brooklyn neighborhood, I saw not one representative from the American Family Association.

Well, I take that back. I did encounter one of the group’s representatives on CNN Headline News as we debated a Heinz mayonnaise ad in the United Kingdom that featured two men kissing. I’m sure the children of these broken marriages in Brooklyn will feel much better knowing Heinz pulled the ad and they can have gay-free mayonnaise at both mommy and daddy’s separate houses.

A new study by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University showed that in 2006, for the first time in U.S. history, a majority of births to women under 30 — 50.4 percent — were out of wedlock. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert points out that, “By comparison, when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, just 6 percent of all births were to unmarried women under 30.

One imagines that this report might have startled “pro-family” organizations and they would have put their millions of dollars towards stopping this trend. No such luck. Instead, they are investing huge piles of money and manpower to pass anti-gay marriage amendments in Florida, Arizona and California. The upshot for “pro-family” groups is that if heterosexuals keep screwing up marriage, by the time gay people finally win the right nationally, we won’t want to use it.

“Evangelicals of the older generation have become obsessed in almost a technical psychological sense in opposing gay rights,” David Weddle, a professor of religion at Colorado College told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “The irony is that homosexuality is not a biblical theme.”

Right wing organizations and their flocks want to be taken seriously, but their priorities and actions are reprehensible. For example, a middle school teacher was fired in Mount Vernon, Ohio last month after preaching in the classroom, refusing to remove his Bible and burning crosses onto the arms of pupils. You read that correctly — he seared crosses on the body parts of impressionable students, as if it were a gang ritual.

Surely, reasonable people can agree that such behavior is inappropriate in the classroom. But, oh no, some of the yahoos in Mount Vernon believe their religion places them above the Constitution – so they are holding demonstrations in the town square. I wonder if these zealots would have the same reaction if a teacher were burning a Stars of David or Muslim crescents on the forearms of students?

A recent New York Times magazine article, “Childless Europe,” explored why certain countries in Europe are losing population. The hopelessly out of touch Pope Benedict chimed in with his typically sunny advice. “Europe is infected by a strange lack of desire for the future,” the Pontiff said. “Children, our future, are perceived as a threat to the present.”

Instead of selfishness, as the Pope implied, it was the traditional values of the Pope that contributed to the problem. In societies that either offered a safety net or where men shared the burdens of child rearing, women were having more babies. However, when educated women were stuck at home and forced to do all the work – such as in Italy – they chose to have less children. Will the Pope now call on men to help out more at home or for countries to ensure daycare for families?

Finally, the Wall Street Wonder, Google, plans to raise the amount it charged for in-house day care by 75 percent. Under the revised plan, parents with two children in Google day care could see their yearly bill increase to more than $57,000 from around $33,000. This crushing blow to the family drove a few employees to tears.

Was the American Family Association in Silicon Valley raising hell and standing up for families? No, they ignored grimacing parents, so they could punish Ronald and Grimace by launching a boycott against McDonald’s for supposedly having a gay agenda. Maybe the delusional scolds at the AFA thought they saw rainbow color fries, in much the same way they once accused the cartoon character Mighty Mouse of snorting cocaine.

Right wing organizations can be considered many things – but certainly not advocates for the family. They inhale money, exhale anti-gay pollution and have done absolutely nothing for the traditional families they claim to represent. It seems the more such groups proliferate, the more the family deteriorates.