In case anyone is interested, Paul Cameron has come up with yet more “proof” that homosexuality causes an early death.
But if the press release is correct, Cameron has merely collected data comparing death rates from AIDS among various populations: showing that AIDS is correlated with a shorter lifespan. This is tragic, of course, but no surprise to anyone.
Cameron’s proof that homosexuality itself contributes to shortened life, is that heterosexuals with AIDS, on average, died later in life than gays with AIDS:
The CDC reported that 9% of heterosexuals who died of AIDS were at least 65 years of age. But less than 4% of homosexuals and IV drug abusers who died of AIDS reached 65.
Unless I’m missing something, that fact by itself doesn’t show anything. Wouldn’t the simplest explanation be that those gays who died of AIDS in the past decade contracted the virus at a younger age than heterosexuals who also died of AIDS?
I’m not even sure how to address the implied assumption here: that all gay people will eventually die of AIDS. I’m sure Paul Cameron would deny that this is his intended message, but it’s hard to read the press release any other way.
The PTA has turned down a request from PFOX to exhibit at its annual show, while approving a request from PFLAG.
Now, why exactly would PFOX want to appear at a K12 Education trade show to begin with? To help all those little ex-gay elemementary school kids escape persecution from people trying to force them to be gay? Probably not. Maybe their purpose was to remind teachers that it’s okay to tolerate discrimination against gay students, because, after all, gay students “choose” to be different. Yep, that could be it.
Rick Sincere has a post on his blog today, discussing new research that documents a decline in sexually transmitted diseases with the advent of gay marriage in Europe.
Proponents of gay marriage have long argued that the stabilizing effects of marriage could promote responsibility and reduce risky behavior among gays–specifically gay men. Now we’re seeing the first evidence that this is true…
It seems to me that anyone who sincerely wants gay people’s lives to be better can only take the position of supporting gay marriage.
NY Times is reporting that the mayor of Spokane, Wash., James West (a Republican and outspoken opponent of gay rights), has been accused of molesting two young boys when he was a Scout Master, years ago.
West was married to a woman and insists that he is not gay, although he does admit to having sex with other adult men; apparently when he was filling out his gay.com profile (RightBi-Guy) he was “confused.”
Read more…
Some of you might be interested in seeing this 30-year timeline of the anti-gay movement compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
I consider myself pretty informed about the Religious Right’s war on gay people (and on civil liberties in general); even so, it’s jarring to see the details laid out like this. It also reminds me that those of us who live in safe urban conclaves can’t afford to be too complacent.
There are people out there whose goal is to undermine the principles of Liberty and relgious freedom this country was founded on–and we’re their main target. It is a war, waged by them, against us. They never forget that, and neither should we.
I’m sure many of you have already seen this article from the Galveston Daily News, highlighting efforts by local Christian groups to counter the anti-gay message fostered by South Houston’s recent "Love Won Out" conference. Still, I wanted to link to it because it’s great to see moderate Christians responding to the tactics of the extreme right with a more genuine, Christ-like message of love. It’s also important to remember that the Christian Family is a more complex place than the leaders of the Religious Right would have us believe.
Along those same lines, Christian author Jack Hitt has an op-ed in today’s LA Times calling Americans on the carpet for "politicizing Jesus." I question blaming the media for this (surely Christian leaders bear some responsiblity for conflating their cause with the GOP’s?), but regardless, the point needs airing. The fact is, no one group can claim to speak for Jesus, and we ought to be suspicious of people who speak as if there is only "one true" Christian stance on a given political issue.
Although the article doesn’t mention gay rights, this is especially true when it comes to gay issues. Ex-gays and their supporters love to pretend that there is only one Christian stance on gay rights, and they openly question the faith of people who disagree with their agenda. But the fact is, there are many, many Christians on our side. Often, they are afraid to speak out and risk having their faith called into question.
If gay rights are ever to advance in this country, we will need our moderate Christian friends to stand firmly with us. It’s wonderful to see some of them stepping up.
It’s encouraging to see the spate of recent articles like this opinion piece from the Palm Springs Desert Sun, talking honestly about certain kinds of reckless behavior in the gay community (in this case, use of crystal meth) and how we can combat them.
I question the emphasis on low self-esteem as the scapegoat for the gay community’s ills–I’d rather we emphasize self-control and personal responsibility–but we’re clearly going in the right direction in taking up this conversation.
I bet you’ve already guessed how I’ll link this back to the ex-gay question, right? If you read the testimonials of famous ex-gays (Steve Bennett, John Paulk, etc.) you can’t help but notice that when these people were out as gay they completely lost their sense of boundaries and of right and wrong. Later, as "ex-gays," they blame the various dysfuntions they indulged in (drug abuse, bulimia, prostitution) on the fact that they were gay.
Blaming the "gay community" sure seems like a convenient way for them to avoid taking responsibilty for their own behavior, dontcha think? Still, there’s probably a kernel of truth there… Chances are, their gay friends were not questioning their reckless behavior, and in fact may have been enabling it. Sometimes we out gays are reluctant to encourage responsible behavior in our friends because we don’t want to be viewed as another moralizing voice. While the "gay community" isn’t responsible for the bad choices of Paulk, Bennett, et al, it’s possilbe we did contribute to driving them into the arms of the ex-gay movement. If I thought my only options were to be a drug-addicted slut or ex-gay, I’d choose ex-gay every time.
I’m no prude, and I’m not saying that gay people need to hold to moral standards we find arbitrary–but I do think engaging in a dialogue about creating a more meaningful life is a great idea. Let’s have fun (life is fun! sex is fun!), while remembering to love ourselves, and each other, and act responsibly.
In case anyone is curious, I’d like to fill you in on how I came to be an XGW contributor. It actually started with a negative review I wrote of XGW over at my own blog, questioning the notion that there is a need for a site such as this. That post initiated a conversation between Mike and me which led me, ultimately, to change my mind: I now firmly believe in the important work of sites like XGW. I think I can speak for Mike in saying that we are here not to bash individual ex-gays, but to call attention to the people pulling the strings behind the Ex-Gay Movement. It is with those people, not with individual ex-gays, that we take issue.
Here’s a portion of that original post:
In my experience, the singular distinguishing feature of ex-gay groups is their ongoing obsession with the gay community. I’ve always considered this obsession with gay people (and the specific focus on gay sex) a manifestation of the generally unhealthy atmosphere that accompanies the ex-gay experience.
I think we can all agree that one salient feature of happy, functional people is that they don’t spend a lot of time obsessing about groups of people they oppose and/or despise. My life is better for not having given much thought to what the ex-gays are up to.
I want to clarify that all of this is still true. I have no issue at all with individual ex-gays: their choices are their own, and those choices do not harm me one bit.
However, I DO have an agenda in writing for XGW, and that is to counter the campaign of misinformation that teaches that conversion to heterosexuality is the only route to happiness for gay people. There are many, many routes to personal happiness. As much as possible, I hope we can try not to judge how each person creates his own path.
I’m not sure if it’s true, but it has the folks at the Conservative Voice all atwitter.
The press release comes complete with an approving quote from Exodus rep Randy Thomas. It’s a good reminder that the real agenda of the Ex-Gay movement is to halt advancing civil rights for gay people.
We at XGW fully support the right of ex-gay people to live as they wish and to define their sexuality in whatever way they choose. We respectfully request that they not try to deny us that same liberty.
Covered by Agape Press and followed, of course, by the requisite bleating press release from Warren Throckmorton, denouncing the reported findings. Blah, blah, blah.
On a philosophical level, getting bogged down in the genetics debate will get us absolutely nowhere. Is homosexuality genetic? I believe it to be, but until someone proves (or disproves) it definitively the argument is a dead end. For now, who cares?
That conversation is fruitless because it’s simply hair-splitting about how we got here. I’m far more interested in the fact that we ARE here…and now that we are, what everyone is going to do about it. Let’s try to stay grounded in reality here.
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