Recruitment, An Oldie But A Goody

Well you'd think that at this point the whole "homosexuals want to recruit our children!!" bit would have been laid to rest. I mean when even prominent ex-gay and anti-gay voices are admitting that homosexuality isn't something one chooses (even if they then go on to compare it to alcoholism or disease) you'd think the idea that anyone could be "recruited" would seem universally ridiculous. And yet Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, an organization accused of being a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is claiming that Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project is all about "teh gays recruiting teh childrenzz!!"

I suppose calling being gay and out (along with being transgendered) "some other kind of perversion" is par for the course for the FRC at this point. What really frustrates me though is that these are the same people who will go on national television, debate their point as politely as possible and then look all shocked and hurt when someone calls them a bigot. "Heavens no," they protest, "we love the homosexual, we just want to help!" And they'll grin, looking all innocent and genuine, and most of the audience will never get to see their real face. Most of America will never see this garbage, the hate they're willing to spew when they know it's only the proverbial choir listening. This is the kind of stuff that needs to get dragged out every singe time these charlatans try to pass themselves off as innocent moderates being called all sorts of nasty names (by those mean homosexualists of course), and all just for holding to their religious beliefs.

It is time that these groups and individuals were exposed, and more importantly, that their underlying beliefs are exposed. Here's the reality of what people like Perkins really believe about gay people, in their minds we are: mentally ill, perverted, disgusting (or at least doing something disgusting), trying to recruit innocent children (likely through molestation), broken, diseased, unhappy and "part of Satan" as Michele Bachmann put it. This letter is just a bit of the proof. So next time you see or here one of these guys playing the victim, pretending like theirs is a reasonable, moderate position, just remember what they really believe.

Tony Perkins Agrees With Me About Sexual Orientation Change

I've argued here before that all ex-gay ministries really change is behavior and identification, not a person's core sexual orientation. Well now Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, has himself said the same thing. In the Washington Update feature over at frc.org Perkins says the following (emphasis mine):

Journalists' "fact-checking" services can be just as prone to bias and factual error as the politicians they're checking. PolitiFact analyzed former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's recent statements on the origins of homosexuality. Meet the Press host David Gregory had asked: "Is being gay a choice?" Pawlenty began his response by saying, "Well, the science in that regard is in dispute." PolitiFact rated that lone sentence as "false." But the "choice" question is meaningless unless you also define what you mean by "gay." Same-sex attraction is not a choice, but homosexual conduct and homosexual self-identification are choices. Pawlenty ignored the silly "choice" question and answered the more relevant one--what causes homosexuality?--accurately. He went on to say, "There's no scientific conclusion that [homosexuality is] genetic." PolitiFact rated this statement "mostly true"--but grudgingly. 

Most of their "analysis" was devoted to explaining that if Pawlenty had said it's not "biological" (rather than "genetic") it would have been false. They quote the American Psychological Association's research on "possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences" and concede, "no findings . . . permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation . . . is determined by any particular factor." Pawlenty is right. And PolitiFact's contradictory conclusion that "scientists do believe that sexual orientation is caused by biology" is wrong.

Of course Perkins' claim that scientists do not believe that sexual orientation is caused by biology is patently false. It is true that the scientific community is still unsure as to exactly which factors cause homosexuality (much as they are still unsure about what factors cause left-handedness) and to what extent those various factors effect sexual orientation relative to one another. But there is little disagreement over the fact that biological factors do indeed play a significant role. Studies of fraternal birth order, gay twins and brain structure have all indicated the significant likelihood of strong biological factors in the development of homosexuality. Of course Perkins et. al. won't be admitting that any time soon...

Family Research Council Caught In Lie, Responds With More Lies

During Wednesday's DOMA repeal hearings Senator Al Franken called out Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family for misrepresenting a Health and Human Services study about family structure and children's health and well being. Well the Family Research Council wasn't too happy about that, and responded:

"Homosexual activists are gloating over an exchange Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) had with Tom Minnery (of Focus on the Family affiliate CitizenLink) at yesterday's hearing on a bill to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Minnery had cited a December 2010 federal study which showed that children raised in a "nuclear family" have better health outcomes. Franken, however, triumphantly noted that a 'nuclear family' was defined (in part) as one headed by 'two parents who are married to one another'--not two opposite-sex parents. But did Franken forget the law he wants to repeal? DOMA says, 'In determining the meaning of . . . any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States , the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.' 

Since this was a federal study published by a federal agency based on a federal survey conducted by federal (Census Bureau) employees, its definition of 'married' is bound by DOMA. Even if, by chance, the interviewers or authors violated that law, the survey data was collected from 2001 to 2007. During that time (and only from mid-2004 on) there was only one state (Massachusetts) in which homosexual couples could 'marry.' The vast majority of homosexual couples raising children fall in the categories of 'unmarried biological or adoptive family,' 'blended family,' or 'cohabiting family'--all of which have poorer outcomes for children than the traditional 'nuclear family.'

 This would be a pretty good take down of Senator Franken, except that Debra Blackwell, lead author of the study, has said that Franken was correct:

" 'Sen. Franken is right,' the lead author of the study told POLITICO. The survey did not exclude same-sex couples, said Debra L. Blackwell, Ph.D., nor did it exclude them from the 'nuclear family' category provided their family met the study’s definition. 

The study’s definition of nuclear family is: 'one or more children living with two parents who are married to one another and are each biological or adoptive parents of all the children in the family.' 

That means the study does not provide evidence that straight couples’ children necessarily fare better than same-sex couples’ kids, as Minnery claimed."

The sad thing is that there is some grain of truth in what the FRC said about gay couples not being able to be married and thus not being counted. I'd imagine that there weren't remotely as many same-sex couples surveyed by the study as opposite-sex couples, and certainly not enough to make any concrete conclusions from the data. But this just points to the reality that children in families headed by same-sex couples are being disadvantaged by laws like DOMA and other anti-equality measures. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if these groups really cared about children and families they would want to ensure that all children in all families receive all the benefits of having two legally married parents.