Ex-Gay Watch

-The Australian Senate votes to extend legal recognition to same-sex couples.

-Paul Varnell reminds us that we still have much to be thankful for.

-The African nation of Burundi outlaws homosexuality.

-Religious Right spokespersons explain how they oppose gay rights because they love us.  Interestingly, Margie Phelps recently explained that Westboro Church’s activism is also an act of love.

The Dutch Government is giving public money to ex-gay groups in the Netherlands. RefoAnders received 84,000 euros (about $108,000), while Onze Weg received 50,000 euros ($65,000).

Dutch newspaper De Pers accused the organizations of supporting reparative therapy to try to “cure” gays, though the groups denied it. Critics have labelled the decision to award the grants a “compromise” with conservative Christian political party ChristenUnie.

Emancipation Minister Ronald Plasterk defended the subsidies, however, saying that such organizations had overcome “important hurdles” in making homosexuality discussable among Christians, “where there would otherwise be no homo-emancipation at all.”

Despite the controversy, the Netherlands is traditionally regarded as one of the most progressive countries in the world on issues of sexuality and equality, such as same-sex marriage.

As a young gay man steeped in the evangelical subculture, Patrick Chapman grew up feeling deeply conflicted about his sexual orientation. As so many individuals in his situation do, he poured much of his time and energy (and a decade of his life) into attempting to become heterosexual, first through pastoral counseling and later through an ex-gay ministry. And as with most who pursue that path, he was forced to rethink the assumptions he had been taught when it became apparent that the change he was promised was never going to happen.

Although Dr. Chapman’s life experiences are not the primary focus of Thou Shalt Not Love: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays, his firsthand understanding of ex-gay ministries – and the evangelical subculture that spawned them – helps to make his book a vital resource for anybody hoping to better understand why the gay and evangelical communities are so sharply at odds, and why the term “gay Christian” isn’t the oxymoron that so many evangelicals insist it must be. Read more…

-Box Turtle Bulletin shares reports and photos from last weekend’s Join the Impact rallies across the country.

-The California Supreme Court agrees to hear challenges to Proposition 8.

-Focus on the Family announces another round of layoffs.

-eHarmony to extend its matchmaking services to gays and lesbians.

-Bill O’Reilly smears San Francisco in a “documentary” tailored to “prove” that secular liberalism will destroy America.

-2008 U.S. Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee declares that gays haven’t been beaten enough to merit using the title “civil rights movement.”

-A new report finds that scientific study has been hindered by political controversy, forcing scientists to either censor their briefs or abandon endeavors.  “Red flag” words include gay, lesbian and AIDS, among others.

-Vermont lawmaker John Campbell receives a bomb threat after announcing plans to introduce legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

From GraphJam. H/T Wil Wheaton.

I attended the “Join the Impact” protest of Proposition 8 at City Hall in the heart of Philadelphia, PA on Saturday. Getting there was a snap since I live in South Philly. I made 5 signs the night before and dragged them along on the subway, distributing all but one to the empty-handed once I arrived.

The protest was peaceful. A small police presence was there, but I suspect they were mostly there to keep the flow of traffic. Usually at our local gay events there are “Christian” counter-protesters, but I didn’t see any. City Hall consists of a large building in the center of a block, surrounded by open “public square” type space – benches, trees, stairs, and pavement. This is where we gathered. People came with many different kinds of creative signs. The crowd was diverse and included people of all different races and sexual orientations. Families brought their kids with them, showing the public a side of gay life many in the “pro-family, protect marriage” crowd willfully ignore. Chants included “Gay, straight, black, white – marriage is our equal right!” and “2-4-6-8 Separate the Church and State!” Papers were handed out with lyrics to the chants, and instructions for keeping the protest peaceful and safe:

There are likely to be homophobic counter protesters here today. Please do not engage them; part of their tactics is to antagonize and insult us, and taking their bait puts us all at risk.

After we all gathered at 1:30, we stood and chanted for a bit and waved to the passing traffic. Then the hundreds in attendance literally took to the streets, encircling City Hall in a lane of traffic that seemed to be set aside for the protest.  We circled the building a couple of times before settling in the center of the square once again. Many honks of approval came from passing cars.

I took quite a few pictures and shot some video footage, some of which can be seen in this post. For the complete photo album, visit this link.

I thank everybody out there who participated in this historic international event. It was exciting for me to be a part of such history.

-Ex-Gay Expose wrap-up: Peterson Toscano reports on the weekend’s activities: press conference and demonstration held outside the NARTH conference in Denver, followed by a gathering of ex-gay survivors.  Christine Bakke also shares her reflections.

-Utah State Senator Scott McCoy calls the LDS Church’s bluff.

-Dan Savage takes on the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins.

-Nate Silver debunks myths about race and Prop 8.

-Dale Carpenter suggests an alternative to targeting Mormons in anti-Prop 8 rallies.

-JoinTheImpact plans “Fight the H8” protests for tomorrow (November 15) in every state in the US. Some people have dubbed this the “new Stonewall.” The official website has grown immensely in only a week. See their amazing growth timeline here.

Danish researchers are to publish a study whose findings will challenge the claims of anti-gay propagandists Paul (pictured) and Kirk Cameron.

Epidemiologists Morten Frisch and Henrik Brønnum-Hansen will publish “Mortality Among Men and Women in Same-Sex Marriage: A National Cohort Study of 8333 Danes” in the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The study finds that since 1996 the mortality rate among gay men in same-sex marriages has been virtually equivalent to that of heterosexuals.

Their conclusions directly contradict the Camerons, whose notoriously flawed study claimed that gay males had an average lifespan of 42 years. True to the Camerons’ intentions, the results have been used to bolster the arguments of anti-gay groups eager to portray homosexuality as a destructive “lifestyle.”

Evidently not one to mince his words, Frisch earlier told ex-gay-supportive Warren Throckmorton that Cameron’s report was “agenda-driven, pseudo-scientific gobbledygook,” and that its “methodological flaws are of such a grave nature that no decent peer-reviewed scientific journal should let it pass for publication.”

Psalms 51:8 (Psalms 51:6 in Christian texts) tells us that G-d desires truth from one’s inner-most self. Proverbs 25:18 says that lying about your neighbor is as bad as inflicting physical harm upon them.

I’m sitting here contemplating these very basic and powerful lines of scripture, all the while wondering why Exodus International doesn’t just go for broke and start its own PAC.

XGW posted an entry putting to light Randy Thomas’ continued contempt for legalized LGBTQ equality and Alan Chambers’ “conflicted” feelings regarding Proposition 8. Despite an official stance of being apolitical, Exodus has chosen to once again embody a very Orwellian definition of something they espouse. Mike Airhart notes that joining Randy and Alan, Mike Ensley (Exodus’ Youth specialist) has engaged in his own political actions. Airhart also reports that a post in Randy’s personal blog has been promoted by the Exodus Youth newsletter. The topic of the post? “Far-Left Hate Mongering.”

Mike Ensley’s new facebook-helmed Conservative Education Project touts an idealized portrait of Ronald Reagan – the man who voted against a proposition to ban openly gay teachers while governor of California. Among the rules listed in the group, promotion of pro-liberal arguments is prohibited, as this is apparently not a group intending to reach across the aisles. Rather, Mike Ensley is determined to keep tabs on President-Elect Barack Obama’s agenda:

Hey everyone, I’m gradually posting items from the Obama agenda (directly from his site) and would like your thoughts. Responses in any area where you have increased interest or experience would also be greatly appreciated!

There have been a number of movements gelling to fight against the “extreme liberal” agenda of the new administration. The Heritage Foundation, a group Ensley recommends to members of his group, is especially alarmed about the “resurgent left.” This kind of enthusiasm is coming from a man who advocates spreading gossip about school Gay-Straight Alliances, so really there isn’t that much surprise.

If Exodus is so adamant about freedom of choice – freedom to live the way one wants to live – then why are they so determined to make life more difficult for sexually honest gays?

The British LGBT charity Stonewall has awarded politician Iris Robinson the title of “Bigot of the Year” after she publicly denounced homosexuality as “disgusting, nauseous, loathsome, shamefully wicked and vile.” The MP also told the British Parliament that “sodomy” was worse than “sexually abusing innocent children.”

Mrs Robinson, the wife of Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, caused controversy when she appeared on a radio show in June this year, labelling homosexuality an “abomination” and saying that gays were “set apart from society because of their behaviour.” She endorsed ex-gay therapy, claiming she knew former homosexuals who had “turned around and become heterosexual.” Read more…