Last month, an equality advocate named Sai launched a new viral site called gayhomophobe.com. The site (which is already receiving critical acclaim, even from across the pond!) features a countdown tally at the top of the page listing the number of days since a prominent homophobe was caught in a gay-related scandal (the currently-featured ex-homophobe is John Smid of Love in Action, who came out of the closet and recanted his “ex-gay” teachings eight days ago) along with a list of previous notables including Eddie Long, George Rekers, Larry Craig, and Mark Foley.
According to the site, Sai’s goal is to list people “who used a position of power to promote or support an anti-gay agenda, and turned out to be a closet case,” regardless of political or religious affiliation. He also includes people such as Ken Mehlman and Roy Ashburn who reversed their anti-gay views after their respective scandals and came out publicly in support of LGBT rights, in order to show that people can change (not from gay to straight, but from self-loathing to self-accepting). Check it out — it’s a very handy resource!
And now, for some news: Truth Wins Out is honored to announce that Sai has decided to donate all of the ad revenue from gayhomophobe.com to TWO in support of our work fighting anti-LGBT religious extremism and the “ex-gay” myth. Additionally, equality supporter and Google employee Lee Colleton used his employer’s gift matching service to double Sai’s contribution.
All of us here at Truth Wins Out — Wayne, myself, Evan, and the rest of the team — are humbled by and grateful for the investments that Sai, Lee, and all of our other contributors make in our work for LGBT equality. We very truly could not do it without your support.
My sincere hope is that every time Truth Wins Out stands up to anti-LGBT extremism, breaks a major news story, and fights “ex-gay” lies with facts — every time we strike a blow for equality, whether it’s convincing Apple to nix an “ex-gay” iPhone app, holding celebrities like Tracy Morgan accountable for homophobic remarks, or exposing the Bachmann clinic for its use of “ex-gay therapy” — our contributing members like Sai and Lee are aware of how great a share they have in each and every victory, and how truly thankful we are that they help to make them possible. Thank you!
To visit Sai’s site, go to gayhomophobe.com
If you’d like to join Sai, Lee, and many others in contributing to Truth Wins Out, click here.
In this last segment of Anderson Cooper’s stellar series on the “Sissy Boy Experiment,” in which discredited laughingstock George Rekers used a live child to test his ridiculous, bigoted theories about “preventing homosexuality,” which allegedly caused so much long term damage to the child that he committed suicide as an adult, Anderson speaks to Truth Wins Out friend Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin, who has done extensive research on Rekers’ experiments and their effects.
As far as I’m concerned, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews should ban the Family Research Council’s (FRC) President, Tony Perkins, from appearing as a guest. Indeed, all respectable media outlets should take this congenital liar off of their rolodexes and give precious airtime to more respectable spokespeople.
I reached my verdict after watching Perkins square off against the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Mark Potok. Perkins was livid because the SPLC had just categorized FRC as an official, certified hate group. One of the primary factors that placed FRC on the list was the group’s tendency to distort the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
It was fascinating to watch Perkins defend his organization by trotting out more lies – thus proving that FRC earned its dubious classification. The spouting of anti-gay falsehoods seems so deeply ingrained, that even for this short television segment, Perkins was unable to curb his compulsion to fudge the facts.
During the show, Perkins deftly shifted the conversation about FRC’s transgressions into one about pedophilia. Without flinching, Perkins smeared gay men by falsely saying they were more likely to molest children. To back his bogus claim, he cited the discredited American College of Pediatricians.
In case you missed it, The American College of Pediatricians made national news this year after one of its chief activists, Dr. George Rekers, was caught vacationing with an escort he met on Rent Boy.com. Only weeks before the scandal, this hypocritical group sent a letter to every public school superintendant in the nation. The pseudo-scientific letter condemned homosexuality and referred school officials to an anti-gay website, “Facts About Youth”, that was packed with junk science.
The website cherry picked quotes from legitimate researchers, including University of Minnesota scientist Dr. Gary Remafedi, who charged that the American College of Pediatricians was “knowingly misrepresenting research findings”.
Of course, this is no surprise. The American College of Pediatricians is a small, anti-gay sham group that purposely tries to confuse itself with the credible American Academy of Pediatrics. The American College of Pediatricians is run by politically-motivated charlatans that do not produce peer review research on LGBT people.Meanwhile, The American Academy of Pediatrics is a group of legitimate researchers that actually do produce respected peer review science on homosexuality.
Citing the American College of Pediatricians on homosexuality is like citing the cigarette lobby on the health benefits of smoking. Of course, Tony Perkins knows this, yet he was still sleazy and dishonest enough to cite the group, proving SPLC’s original point that FRC’s misrepresents the facts in an ugly effort to demonize LGBT people.
Similar to Perkins, United States Rep. Michele Bachann (R-MN) is severely truth challenged. On Nov. 3 she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that Obama’s upcoming trip to India would “cost the taxpayers $200 million a day.” Bachmann went on to say that, “He’s taking 2,000 people with him. He will be renting out over 870 rooms in India. And these are five-star hotel rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.”
The problem with her assessment, of course, was that it wasn’t true. Yet, it is a fair bet that Bachmann will be invited back on the air to spew her fabricated garbage. But given her lack of credibility, why do cable networks provide a soapbox? Is this really about greedy corporations that control newsrooms pressuring booking departments into choosing reprobates and hate mongers who will rant for ratings?
The truth is, giving a platform to unrepentant liars and propagandists has harmed this country. For example, this week’s Pentagon report on repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell concludes that much of the concern in the armed forces about openly gay service members was driven by misperceptions and stereotypes, and that fears were “exaggerated and not consistent with the reported experiences of many service members.”
In essence, the biggest problem with lifting Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell is not having actual gays serving openly, but having to unravel the insidious lies peddled about gays in the military.
If the cable networks insist on setting the stage for those who tell whoppers, the least they can do is carve out time the following evening to correct the mistruths. Without such consistent follow-up, these programs become little more than unwitting conduits for misinformation.
I get the need for ratings, but how about balancing it with respectability?
I just watched Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC. There was a debate between The Family Research Council’s (FRC) Tony Perkins and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Mark Potok. Perkins was mad because the SPLC rightfully just categorized FRC as an official, certified hate group.
The conversation shifted to pedophilia. Without flinching, Perkins smeared gay men by falsely saying they were more likely to molest children (Had he confused us with Catholic priests?) To back his bogus claim, he cited the discredited American College of Pediatricians.
This a small, anti-gay sham group that purposely tries to confuse itself with the credible American Academy of Pediatrics, which is supportive of LGBT people. The American College of Pediatricians is full of politically-motivated charlatans that do not produce legitimate peer review research on LGBT people. Meanwhile, The American Academy of Pediatrics is a qroup of researchers that actually does produce respected peer review science on homosexuality.
Citing the American College of Pediatricians on homosexuality is like citing the cigarette lobby on the health benefits of smoking. Of course, Tony Perkins knows this, yet he was still sleazy and dishonest enough to cite the group, proving SPLC’s original point that FRC is a certifiable hate group with the sole aim of demonizing LGBT people.
The American College of Pediatricians is now infamous because one of its chief researchers, George Rekers, was caught vacationing last spring with an escort he met on Rent Boy.com. (see picture above)
On the next Hardball, I sure hope Chris Matthews brings up the fact that Tony Perkins gets his “research” on homosexuality from a closeted hypocrite who was exposed as a fraudulent sex fiend.
Today, Truth Wins Out threw a fun protest in Philadelphia! The occasion was the annual convention of NARTH [National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality], which is most famous for having a board member named George Rekers, who was caught coming back from a European Holiday of some sort with a young male escort procured through Rentboy.com. Other than that, they have contributed very little to the national discourse, at least from an educational or scientific perspective. Anyway, as you can see in these pictures, fun was had by all, and if you hop over to JoeMyGod, you’ll see that Joe has a great round-up of today’s events, and a lot more pictures. He even has a lovely photo gallery of the douchebags who came there because they inexplicably support NARTH, like Christopher Doyle, and Matt Barber, who has the same goatee I have! The only difference is that I’m cute. Oh, and I’m not a professional liar? There is that.
Joe’s comment on Christopher Doyle is awesome, so I have to quote it here, because it made me LOL:
The tall bald guy is Christopher Doyle, an “ex-gay” who is on the board of PFOX and who is on staff with “ex-gay” whackadoodle Richard Cohen as a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” at the International Healing Foundation. If that wasn’t enough for this professionally “former” c*cksucker, he writes newspaper editorials arguing against the Day Of Silence. Anyway, I don’t think pillow-whacker Richard Cohen has totally gotten Doyle is touch with his “natural masculine nature,” because when I kept taking photos, Doyle put his hand on his hip and hissed, “I don’t need this. Why don’t you just sssssssstop!”
And that is why we like to invite Joe to do things.
Anyway, enjoy these pictures and then click on over to JMG.
Meet LGBT Bloggers Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God) and Jeremy Hooper (Good As You) at Demonstration
What: A coalition of local and statewide LGBT organizations will protest the annual conference of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), on Saturday, Nov. 6 (noon-1:30 PM). The so-called “ex-gay” group falsely believes that homosexuality is a psychological condition that can be cured through prayer and therapy. The organizations protesting want to send the message that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are fine just the way they are, and that you can’t “pray away the gay.”
The LGBT advocacy groups will be joined by mental health professionals, survivors of “ex-gay” therapy and nationally known LGBT bloggers. The demonstrators will point out that “ex-gay” therapy is harmful, ineffective and a fringe practice that is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association in America. The protest takes on new urgency, following a series of teen suicides due to anti-gay bullying.
Theme: The notorious “ex-gay” group NARTH is hoping that Americans have amnesia and don’t remember that its most “prominent” board member, George Rekers, was forced to resign in May. Rekers stepped down after he was caught vacationing with a male escort he met on RentBoy.com. When asked why he had hired the young man, Rekers said it was to, “lift his luggage.” The theme of this event is “Lift My Luggage” and protesters are urged to bring luggage to the protest (pink luggage would be ideal). If you don’t have luggage, bring a drawing of luggage or just yourself to show support.
Transportation: For the first 90 people, there will be busses leaving The William Way LGBT Community Center at 11:30am on Saturday and returning after the protest. (1315 Spruce Street – Philadelphia, PA 19107)
Who: The Lift My Luggage demonstration is co-sponsored by Truth Wins Out, Equality Pennsylvania, PFLAG-Philadelphia, Equality Forum, The William Way LGBT Community Center, MCC Philadelphia, The Mazzoni Center, ex-gay survivor Chaim Levin, mental health professionals Drs’. Michele Angello and Dr. Maureen Osborne, Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God), Jeremy Hooper (Good As You) and Zack Ford (ZackFordBlogs.com).
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism. TWO monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their misinformation and exposes their leaders as charlatans. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
Bonus: SoulForce will be hosting a symposium in Philadelphia exposing the lies of the ex-gay myth. Please attend all events!!
If you can’t be there, please show your support with a tax-deductible contribution to Truth Wins Out. Fighting back against the “ex-gay” industry takes money and we cannot succeed without your help.
Truth Wins Out
337 College Street, #12
Burlington, Vt. 05401
Gay Groups To Protest ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Organization NARTH In Philadelphia, Saturday, Nov. 6
Demonstration Takes On New Urgency Following LGBT Teen Suicide Crisis
What: A coalition of local and statewide LGBT organizations will protest the annual conference of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), on Saturday, Nov. 6 (noon-1:30 PM). The so-called “ex-gay” group falsely believes that homosexuality is a psychological condition that can be cured through prayer and therapy. The organizations protesting want to send the message that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are fine just the way they are, and that you can’t “pray away the gay.”
The LGBT advocacy groups will be joined by mental health professionals, survivors of “ex-gay” therapy and nationally known LGBT bloggers. The demonstrators will point out that “ex-gay” therapy is harmful, ineffective and a fringe practice that is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association in America. The protest takes on new urgency, following a series of teen suicides due to anti-gay bullying.
Theme: The notorious “ex-gay” group NARTH is hoping that Americans have amnesia and don’t remember that its most “prominent” board member, George Rekers, was forced to resign in May. Rekers stepped down after he was caught vacationing with a male escort he met on RentBoy.com. When asked why he had hired the young man, Rekers said it was to, “lift his luggage.” The theme of this event is “Lift My Luggage” and protesters are urged to bring luggage to the protest (pink luggage would be ideal).
Who: The Lift My Luggage demonstration is co-sponsored by Truth Wins Out, Equality Pennsylvania, PFLAG, Equality Forum, The William Way LGBT Community Center, MCC Philadelphia, The Mazzoni Center, ex-gay therapy survivor Chaim Levin, Pam Spaulding (Pam’s House Blend), Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God), Jeremy Hooper (Good As You) and Zack Ford (ZackFordBlogs.com).
Bonus: November 5th-7th Soulforce will host a symposium exposing ex-gay quack therapy that will feature Jay Bakker, Dr. Daniel Helminiak, Peterson Toscano, Christine Bakke. It will be a great weekend of protest and learning about the ex-gay myth.
From the American Family Association’s hilarious “news” arm, OneNewsNow:
A prominent pro-homosexual group isn’t satisfied with benefits already being offered by 337 major American businesses to their homosexual employees.
General Motors, Bank of America, IBM, Ford Motor, AT&T, Walgreen Co., Target, Citigroup — those companies (and scores more) got a 100-percent favorable rating on the 2010 Corporate Equality Index [PDF], an annual business ranking published by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest homosexual activist organization in the country. [Caution: The previous link goes to a pro-homosexual website]
OMG! Caution! What if the rubes who read OneNewsNow for informational purposes accidentally clicked a clicky and fell under the spell of gayness?! Caution: the above link goes to one of the most unintentionally funny websites on the entire internet. Proceed with giggles, y’all!
But HRC is now demanding those corporations offer unlimited healthcare coverage for transgender employees — or lose the highest ranking offered under the Corporate Equality Index. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality tells OneNewsNow the group is simply escalating “its blackmail campaign against businesses.”
“In order to get a 100-percent rating, you now have to provide funding for sex-change operations for transsexuals,” he explains. “So…they keep ramping up the demands to get the 100-percent rating, knowing that companies are bragging about having the rating.”
If companies brag about having the rating, that implies that they know it’s good for their business to have a good rating from the HRC, and Peter LaBarbera, as a conservative, should understand that businesses in the Free Market should never be criticized for doing things that influence their bottom line in a positive way.*
Here’s another funny part from the ONN piece:
In an interview with CitizenLink, the president of the National Association for Research and Therapy for Homosexuality urged caution regarding HRC’s costly new requirement. “Medical treatments for transgender issues are very risky procedures — and it’s an irreversible path to take,” said Dr. Julie Hamilton. “There should be a lot more research done before these types of procedures become the main path to take.”
Um, shouldn’t the president of NARTH be spending a little bit more time monitoring her board members’ for signs of Luggage Lifting and spending a little less time pretending she represents a respected medical association? I mean, really, guys…
Joe Jervis got a response from the Human Rights Campaign on this issue:
The new CEI requirement is for insurance coverage to pay for medically necessary treatment for transgender people including sex affirmation surgeries. These surgeries are medically necessary according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and have been endorsed by the AMA among others. It is our hope that the new CEI criteria will make a difference in the lives of transgender people.
Funny, how their response cites endorsements from grown-up medical organizations. Oh wait, no it’s not. Science and medicine are always on our side in these battles.
*Oh, shush, you know I’m just playing Devil’s Advocate and pointing out how inconistent and stupid conservatives are when it comes to understanding their own purported ideology.
I was relaxing on vacation in Nova Scotia with my parents when my father called me over to the computer. He pointed to a shocking article about a new “study” written by Walter Schumm (pictured), a Kansas State University family studies professor, claiming that children of gay parents were 1.7 to 12.1 times more likely to become gay as the children of heterosexual parents.
AOL’s Paul Kix breathlessly trumpeted the supposedly groundbreaking “research” as a “detailed analysis”, while positioning Schumm as a martyr to political correctness.
“Walter Schumm knows what he’s about to do is unpopular: publish a study arguing that gay parents are more likely to raise gay children than straight parents,” wrote Kix. “But the Kansas State University family studies professor has a detailed analysis that past almost aggressively ideological researchers never had.”
In truth, Schumm is no brave hero who is pushing the envelope against the establishment. His biased new paper is a disgrace and so shoddy that the terms “Schumm Study” and “Sham Study” could be considered interchangeable.
The goal of Schuum’s work is political. He is desperately trying to show that homosexuality is a choice that can be overcome. If he and others of his ilk can prove this, they believe that they can make a powerful case to fearful Americans that LGBT people should be kept away from children and that LGBT students should not receive support, because it might influence their sexual orientation.
It is appalling that AOL’s Kix was so gullible that he failed to see the hidden agenda of Schumm or do his homework to find out who Schumm was. Or, maybe his own sympathies are with the anti-gay researcher and opportunistically exploited this paper as a way to further anti-gay lies on a major website?
Once upon a time when there were journalistic standards, Kix would have been fired for media malpractice. However, instead of the unemployment line, hacks like Kix now get headlines on major online services. It is an indictment of the modern media that this story ever saw the light of day, given the tragic and fatal flaws of this so-called “study”.
When analyzing Schumm’s bogus conclusions, it is critical that people understand that he did not actually produce one shred of genuine research. He simply commented on the academic work of others, inserting his personal prejudices. So, calling this charlatan’s slanted critique a “study” is like confusing a film critic’s movie review with the actual production of a movie.
The study itself is betrayed by common sense and reality. If being around gay parents makes a child gay, then how does Schumm explain the inconvenient fact that the vast majority of LGBT adults had heterosexual parents?
Of course, once one starts looking at the actual paper, all of this quickly becomes academic, because the research techniques are so unprofessional that they immediately invalidate the conclusions. The fatal weakness is that Schumm does not draw his samples from other scientific studies. But instead finds them by perusing a random collection of unscientific literary books on gay parenting. This is the kind of “science” that one can do on an off day at Barnes & Noble.
Indeed, the author of one book cited by Schumm, Abigail Garner, purposely selected half of the children featured in her book to be the gay children of gay parents. Yet, Schumm idiotically used this deliberately skewed sample to show that gay parents are more likely to produce gay children.
“To run statistics on this non-statistical (or anti-statistical) sample would be like judging the ratio of giraffes to chimpanzees in Africa by comparing the populations selected by the zookeepers at your local zoo,” wrote Box Turtle Bulletin Editor Jim Burroway, who carefully debunked the study.
Not surprisingly, Schumm is tied to Paul Cameron whose anti-gay junk science had him expelled from the Nebraska Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association. Cameron’s disdain for LGBT people ran so deep that he wanted to brand HIV+ people and exterminate homosexuals.
Yet, knowing his disreputable background, Schumm still elected to be on Cameron’s editorial board when he launched his ill-fated online publication, Empirical Journal of Same Sexual Behavior (EJSSB). Schumm also testified in a Florida gay adoption court case alongside Dr. George Rekers, who was recently caught with a male escort he met on Rent Boy.com.
The larger question is what disciplinary action does Kansas State University plan to take against Schumm, considering the unethical and dishonorable nature of his shoddy work? His unscientific screed is an academic embarrassment and blight on the reputation of this university.
Unfortunately, no matter what happens, it is too late. An AOL hack teamed up with an anti-gay quack and the damage is done. In light of the recent gay teen suicides, one would hope that more care would be taken before irresponsible and inaccurate studies are reported and celebrated in the mainstream media.
Today, I was on the popular podcast Feast of Fun, produced out of Chicago by Fausto Fernós and his partner, Marc Felion.
I just watched Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC. There was a debate between The Family Research Council’s (FRC) Tony Perkins and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Mark Potok. Perkins was mad because the SPLC rightfully just categorized FRC as an official, certified hate group.
Theme: The notorious “ex-gay” group NARTH is hoping that Americans have amnesia and don’t remember that its most “prominent” board member, George Rekers, was forced to resign in May. Rekers stepped down after he was caught vacationing with a male escort he met on RentBoy.com. When asked why he had hired the young man, Rekers said it was to, “lift his luggage.” The theme of this event is “Lift My Luggage” and protesters are urged to bring luggage to the protest (pink luggage would be ideal).
I was relaxing on vacation in Nova Scotia with my parents when my father called me over to the computer. He pointed to a shocking article about a new “study” written by Walter Schumm (pictured), a Kansas State University family studies professor, claiming that children of gay parents were 1.7 to 12.1 times more likely to become gay as the children of heterosexual parents.
