YAY SAME SEX MARRIAGE!!!! :) SYLVIA LYDIA MORELOS, A CIVIL LIBERTARIAN CONSERVATIVE FEMINIST. SYLVIA LYDIA MORELOS
Media Yawns At Landmark Study On Same-Sex Parenting
Thursday, July 10,
2014, 2:59:24 PM | Luke Brinker
A landmark new study finds that children of same-sex couples are happier and healthier than children raised by heterosexual parents – a finding that major media outlets have largely ignored despite its potential significance in the legal fight for marriage equality.
On July 4, researchers at the University of Melbourne unveiled the results of a study that looked at how children of same-sex and heterosexual couples fare on a variety of health and wellness measures. The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families (ACHESS) is the largest study of its kind to date. Controlling for factors like socioeconomic status and parental education, researchers examined 500 children of 315 same-sex parents. An estimated 80 percent of the children were raised by female parents, with 18 percent raised by male parents. The Guardian summarized the researchers’ findings:
The children raised by same-sex partners scored an average of 6% higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion. They were equivalent to those from the general population on measures of temperament and mood, behavior, mental health and self-esteem.Researchers did identify one hurdle often confronted by children of same-sex parents: anti-LGBT stigma, which about two-thirds of the children reported experiencing.
The Australian study is noteworthy not only given its unprecedented size and scope, but also because of its potential significance in the ongoing legal fight for marriage equality.
Fox News Defends Hate Speech With Misinterpretation Of The First Amendment
Thursday, July 10,
2014, 12:27:24 PM | Michelle Leung
Fox News suggested HGTV ran afoul of the First Amendment when it canceled an upcoming reality show following reports of the hosts' extreme anti-gay and Islamophobic activism.
HGTV cancelled its forthcoming reality show Flip It Forward following revelations that the hosts, Jason and David Benham, had an extensive history of anti-gay, anti-choice, and anti-Muslim activism. Examples of the brothers' reported hate speech include David Benham likening the fight against gay marriage to that against Nazi Germany, and participation in protests against "homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation." Benham has publicly highlighted Leviticus' punishment of death for gay sex and protested in front of mosquesshouting "Jesus Hates Muslims."
After rushing to defend the brothers by claiming they were being punished for their Christian views, Fox News is now suggesting HGTV's decision to cancel the show violated the Benhams' First Amendment right to free speech.
On July 10, Fox News host Steve Doocy interviewed Jason and David Benham while an on-screen graphic declared they had been "fired for faith." Doocy argued, "You were fired for having an opinion. I mean, there's this thing called the First Amendment where people are entitled to their opinion and their Christian beliefs as well."
But the First Amendment does not protect individuals from being fired by private employers, as it does not limit the actions that private employers may take based on employees' speech. The First Amendment Center explained:
The First Amendment does not limit private employers. The Bill of Rights -- and the First Amendment -- limit only government actors, not private actors. This means that private employers can restrict employee speech in the workplace without running afoul of the First Amendment.HGTV did not violate the First Amendment rights of the Benhams by dropping their show. As Columbia Law's Suzanne Goldberg pointed out in an interview with CNN, it was most likely a decision to protect the business' brand following widespread outcry against the Benhams' comments. Even David Benham told CNN that he does not hold a grudge against the network, telling Erin Burnett, "It was too much for them to bear and they had to make a business decision."
Previously:
How Fox News Is Helping Homophobes Hijack Christianity
Jason Benham: Christians Have A Duty To "Destroy" Ideas God Doesn't Like, Including Marriage Equality :(
Fox News’ Defense Of Anti-Gay Discrimination At NYC’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Watch A Child Dismantle Fox's Panic Over Gender-Neutral Restrooms
Thursday, July 10,
2014, 11:49:39 AM | Carlos Maza
Fox & Friends continued its bizarre attack on Illinois State University for designating gender-neutral restrooms, but even a group of “Fox fans” didn’t seem fazed by the school’s attempt to accommodate LGBT students.
Illinois State University recently announced that it would be relabeling several of its single-stall “family” restrooms on campus as “all-gender” restrooms. Though the decision won’t alter the functionality of any of the restrooms, the move is meant to accommodate transgender and gender-variant students, who often face harassment and even violence in public restrooms. All-gender restrooms will be identified by a new sign that “will include a symbol of a half of a man and half of a woman.” :(
On July 9, the cast of Fox & Friends mocked the decision, calling the new sign confusing and blaming the change on the “P.C. police.”
On July 10, Fox & Friends continued its criticism of the university’s decision. Co-host Steve Doocy produced a massive mock-up of an “all-gender” sign and asked a group of “Fox fans” outside the studio what they thought the sign meant.
But none of the fans, including a young boy, seemed to share Doocy’s confusion or outrage over the sign:
The exchange was an awkward moment for Doocy, who was seemingly hoping to get a more negative reaction from the “Fox fans.” One chyron during the segment read “Bathroom Boondoggle: Are New Gender Signs Just Too Confusing?”: [yes]
Doocy’s co-hosts seemed equally surprised at the “Fox fans” unfazed reaction. Brian Kilmeade admitted “they’re better people than us. I could not figure it out and we had the story in front of us. It makes no sense.”
Designating gender-neutral bathrooms is not an unusual practice. Many colleges and universities have adopted gender-neutral facilities in order to better accommodate the demands of growing LGBT student populations. Such basic adjustments might cause havoc and confusion on the set of Fox & Friends, but in the outside world, even “Fox fans” can’t figure out what the big deal is.
Previously:
Fox & Friends Laughs At University's Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Fox & Friends Blames The “P.C. Police” For Gay-Inclusive Federal Forms
Fox News Has A Meltdown Over Gender-Neutral Marriage Licenses In WA
<em>Fox & Friends</em> Laughs At University's Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Wednesday, July 09,
2014, 12:44:32 PM | Carlos Maza
The hosts of Fox & Friends mocked Illinois State University’s decision to accommodate LGBT students by designating certain campus restrooms as gender-neutral.
During the July 9 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox’s Heather Nauert reported on Illinois State University’s decision to re-label a number of single stall restrooms on campus, designating them “all-gender” restrooms rather than “family” restrooms. The change is expected to affect approximately 10 restrooms and won’t affect the functionality of any of the facilities. Designating gender-neutral restrooms on campus is a common practice aimed at accommodating growing populations of transgender and gender-variant students, who often face harassment and even violence in public restrooms.
Nauert, who incorrectly identified the university as Indiana State University, attributed the decision to the “P.C. police.” Members of the Fox & Friends crew could be heard laughing throughout the segment, and Nauert concluded by stating “we’re all a little confused by it”:
Previously:
Fox & Friends Blames The “P.C. Police” For Gay-Inclusive Federal Forms
Fox News Has A Meltdown Over Gender-Neutral Marriage Licenses In WA
Fox & Friends Mocks, Criticizes Gender-Neutral Housing Policy
How Houston Media Can Fix Its Coverage Of The City's Non-Discrimination Fight
Tuesday, July 08,
2014, 12:33:38 PM | Luke Brinker
As Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) faces a repeal effort at the ballot box, Houston media outlets need to do a better job of correcting right-wing misinformation about the ordinance, holding its opponents accountable, and ensuring that LGBT advocates are no longer pushed to the sidelines of the debate.
On May 28, the Houston City Council voted 11 to six to approve HERO, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. A coalition dubbing itself "No Unequal Rights" immediately launched a repeal drive, and the campaign's July 3 announcement that it had collected nearly three times the required signatures sets the stage for a divisive four-month slog. The repeal fight is likely to be especially damaging for Houston's LGBT community; scholars note that public referenda on LGBT rights can easily become dominated by misinformation campaigns.
In the coming months, Houston media outlets have the opportunity to correct their frequently problematic and misleading coverage of HERO . Here's how:
Debunk Anti-LGBT Myths
HERO opponents have focused particularly on the measure's protections for transgender people, asserting that affording transgender individuals equal access to gender-appropriate facilities will make it easier for sexual predators to assault women and children. But the transgender bathroom myth is completely baseless. Independent experts in states and cities that have already adopted transgender protections report no problems stemming from the laws, with one sexual assault victims' advocate calling the myth "beyond specious."Still, in the month after HERO passed, local media outlets in Houston gave significant play to the transgender bathroom myth.
Don't Buy Into HERO Opponents' Framing
The coalition leading the repeal crusade might be called "No Unequal Rights" - ostensibly because the ordinance grants "special rights" to the LGBT community. But the ordinance establishes the same non-discrimination protections that already exist in several Texas cities.Outlets should note that HERO isn't just an LGBT ordinance.
It bans discrimination based not only on sexual orientation or gender identity, but also sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, genetic information, or pregnancy.
Gay Pride Parades Are Still Funny On <em>The O’Reilly Factor</em>
Tuesday, July 08,
2014, 10:23:21 AM | Carlos Maza
The O’Reilly Factor aired a segment mocking
San Francisco’s LGBT pride parade, playing on a number of tired and disparaging
tropes about gay people.
The segment touched on a number of typical right-wing stereotypes
about gay people and pride parades; Gay people are promiscuous and predatory
(and wear tight pants)! Why are there no straight pride parades? Gay pride
parades shove homosexuality down people’s throats!
At the end of the segment, Watters assured O’Reilly that none of the parade
attendees had “assaulted” him.
Fox Nation picked up the segment, spotlighting one attendee who told Watters she wanted a “gay world”:
This isn’t the first time the Factor has used the “Watters’ World” segment to mock an LGBT-inclusive parade. Last July, Watters ridiculed Brooklyn’s historic Mermaid Parade, opining that gay people “like parades! They’re into pageantry, they like to show off their wares.”
Fox Nation picked up the segment, spotlighting one attendee who told Watters she wanted a “gay world”:
This isn’t the first time the Factor has used the “Watters’ World” segment to mock an LGBT-inclusive parade. Last July, Watters ridiculed Brooklyn’s historic Mermaid Parade, opining that gay people “like parades! They’re into pageantry, they like to show off their wares.”
Previously:
Fox News' O'Reilly And Watters Ridicule "Transvestites," "Gays" At Mermaid Parade
O'Reilly: Why Were School Children Laughing At "Gay Apparel"?
O’Reilly Jokes About “Gay” Penguins: “They Wear Tight T-Shirts”
No, JPMorgan Chase Doesn't Have An "LGBT Loyalty Test" For Employees
Monday, July 07, 2014,
12:25:10 PM | Luke Brinker
The conservative media is falsely accusing JPMorgan Chase of giving its employees an "LGBT loyalty test" thanks to dishonest reporting by a number of anti-LGBT activists.
In a June 29 blog post, National Organization for Marriage (NOM) co-founder Robert George shared a message from an employee at JPMorgan Chase, who alleged that an internal employee survey had included a question asking employees to indicate whether they were any of the following:
1) A person with disabilities;George baselessly asserted that the survey was a warning to anti-LGBT employees:
2) A person with children with disabilities;
3) A person with a spouse/domestic partner with disabilities;
4) A member of the LGBT community.
5) An ally of the LGBT community, but not personally identifying as LGBT.
The message to all employees is perfectly clear: You are expected to fall into line with the approved and required thinking. Nothing short of assent is acceptable. Silent dissent will no longer be permitted.Breitbart.com's resident anti-LGBT extremist Austin Ruse picked the story up shortly thereafter, accusing Chase of giving its employees an "LGBT loyalty test":
Ruse also reported that a second source had confirmed the existence of the Chase survey after questions were raised about the authenticity of George's original report.
In a July 4 blog post for Crisis, Ruse brought his characteristic paranoia to bear, declaring that the workplace is now "hostile territory" for anti-gay conservatives and warning that "the dominant sexually correct mafia" was coming for their jobs:
NRO’s Dennis Prager: Heterosexual AIDS Is An “Entirely Manufactured” Myth
Wednesday, July 02,
2014, 3:32:19 PM | Carlos Maza
Conservative columnist Dennis Prager claimed that “heterosexual AIDS” is a crisis “entirely manufactured by the Left,” continuing his years-long campaign of peddling dangerous and inaccurate AIDS denialism.
Prager’s July 1 syndicated column featured a defense of the Washington Redskins’ name. Prager accused the “American Left” of being preoccupied with “manufactured” controversies and crises, including “heterosexual AIDS”:
The great majority of American Indians understandably just don’t care. Like heterosexual AIDS and so many other crises, this has been entirely manufactured by the Left. Since 1947, there has been a movie theater, the Redskin Theatre (with the same logo as the football team), in Anadarko, Okla., a city whose population is divided evenly between Indians and whites and that calls itself the “Indian Capital of the Nation.” Why, in 67 years, have the Indian populations of Anadarko and Oklahoma not changed this theater’s name? Because the Left hadn’t made it an issue. It’s not an Indian issue; it’s a left-wing issue. [emphasis added]Prager’s comparison is the latest in his long and bizarre history of falsely asserting that HIV and AIDS aren’t issues for heterosexuals. As Adam Serwer wrote for The American Prospect in 2008, Prager exemplifies a strain of “AIDS denialism” that suggests that “AIDS is a ‘gay’ problem, and so heterosexuals don’t have to worry about it.”
In a 2007 column titled “Does the Left Value Truth?,” Prager wrote:
The homeless, heterosexual AIDS and rape. For years, mainstream liberal news media purveyed false information supplied by Mitch Snyder, the major liberal activist on behalf of the homeless. Likewise, we were told by gay and AIDS activist groups that AIDS "doesn't discriminate," meaning that heterosexuals in America were as likely to contract the HIV virus as homosexuals. It was never true in America (Africa may be another story for other reasons). [emphasis added]According to Prager, AIDS activists invented the myth of heterosexual AIDS in order to generate hysteria about the disease. During a June 2008 edition of his radio show, he equated heterosexual AIDS with other purportedly exaggerated threats, including climate change and secondhand smoke:
How The <em>Hobby Lobby</em> Decision Could Undermine The Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Tuesday, July 01,
2014, 2:53:49 PM | Carlos Maza
The Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision might make it harder for millions of LGBT Americans to access treatment that could revolutionize the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. has sparked debate over whether the court’s opinion grants business owners the right to discriminate against LGBT customers and employees on religious grounds. The decision is already being celebrated by a number of anti-LGBT activists who see it as a license to ignore non-discrimination laws, while some commentators have argued that the decision was tailored to avoid creating a blank check for homophobic business owners.
But the Hobby Lobby decision’s most significant implication for the LGBT community may be its impact on Truvada, a controversial “miracle drug” that blocks HIV infection and may revolutionize the battle against HIV/AIDS.
In May 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed Truvada, which is a pre-expsure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment combining two different antiviral drugs, for use by patients deemed at risk for HIV/AIDS. When taken properly, Truvada reduces the risk of HIV by more than 99 percent effective.
Despite its effectiveness, Truvada remains a hotly debated topic in the LGBT community, with critics warning (incorrectly) that Truvada users are more likely to engage in unsafe sex and deriding users as promiscuous and irresponsible.
In April, USA Today noted the similarities between the controversy surrounding Truvada and conservative opposition to birth control:
Demetre Daskalakis, the Mount Sinai doctor, said the Truvada debate recalls the way birth control was viewed in some quarters in the 1960s — as an accessory to promiscuity.
"Anyone who takes Truvada, someone is looking at them and saying they're licentious," Daskalakis said. "When this becomes more normalized, we'll be fine."
Houston Media Helped Spread Lies About The City's Non-Discrimination Ordinance
Monday, June 30, 2014,
11:01:28 AM | Luke Brinker
Houston media outlets helped spread misinformation about the city’s newly enacted non-discrimination ordinance, parroting the talking points of anti-LGBT groups working to repeal the measure.
On May 28, the Houston City Council voted 11 to six to approve the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which
prohibits discrimination based on categories including race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Opponents of the ordinance, led by the Houston Area Pastors Council, immediately announced a repeal drive and have spent the month of June attempting to collect the 17,000 valid signatures needed to put the measure up for a vote in November.
Anti-LGBT activists, like Texas Values’ Jonathan Saenz and Fox News’ Mike Huckabee, focused particularly on the measure’s protections for transgender people, asserting that the protections will make it easier for sexual predators to sneak into women’s restrooms. That myth has been extensively debunked by independent experts in states and cities that have already adopted similar protections.
But the transgender bathroom myth played a prominent role in local media coverage of the ordinance. During the month that HERO opponents collected signatures for a repeal effort, Houston news outlets repeatedly cited the myth without attempting to debunk it according to an Equality Matters analysis:
What’s especially disconcerting is how local
reporters themselves often appeared to buy in to the transgender bathroom smear.
A June 26 report from Fox affiliate KRIV’s Andrea Watkins illustrated this kind
of problematic coverage:
Ben Carson Is Keynoting For Another Anti-LGBT Hate Group
Friday, June 27, 2014,
10:26:14 AM | Carlos Maza
Fox News contributor Ben Carson is slated to keynote an event hosted by the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) – an anti-LGBT hate group that is notorious for inventing a fake story about a transgender teen harassing people in a public restroom.
In a June 27 email, PJI announced that Ben Carson would be the keynote speaker at its October “Celebration of Justice” event:
PJI was added to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) list of anti-LGBT hate groups in February due to the group’s history of extreme and dishonest attacks on the LGBT community. The group has led the charge against even basic protections for LGBT youth, supported harmful “ex-gay” therapy for minors, and is a regular fixture on Fox News.
Last October, while fighting against a measure that would allow transgender students to use their preferred restroom facilities in school, PJI was caught fabricating a bogus story about a transgender girl harassing other students in a women’s bathroom. The story was eventually debunked, but the transgender girl cited in PJI’s report was placed on suicide watch due to the tremendous amount of negative attention PJI’s lie brought her.
PJI isn’t the first anti-LGBT group Carson has aligned himself with. Last October, he was the keynote speaker at a banquet for the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), another SPLC-designated hate group. Earlier this month, Carson was the keynote speaker at the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) gala event.
Previously:
Fox's Ben Carson To Keynote Anti-Gay Group's Gala Dinner
Fox's Ben Carson: Putin Is Right For Calling America "Godless"
Ben Carson Scheduled To Give Keynote Address To Notorious Anti-Gay Hate Group
Has NOM Run Out Of Electoral Power?
Wednesday, June 25,
2014, 11:59:00 AM | Luke Brinker
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) suffered a defeat at the polls on June 24, when pro-marriage equality Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) fended off a conservative primary challenge from NOM-backed candidate Claudia Tenney in New York’s 22nd congressional district. The loss marks the latest sign that NOM - which one promised that supporting marriage equality would be a “career ender” for New York Republicans - is running out of electoral power.
Hanna, one of three House Republicans who support marriage equality, defeated Tenney by a margin of 53 to 47 percent after a primary campaign in which he came under attack from social conservatives and Tea Party groups. NOM publicly announced its support for Tenney on June 23 and spent $20,724 supporting Tenney and $10,743 attacking Hanna.
NOM and its supporters might explain Tenney’s loss by citing the $700,000 the pro-equality American Unity PAC spent supporting Hanna.
But it wasn’t that long ago that NOM stridently proclaimed that supporting marriage equality would prove fatal for Republican candidates.
In 2011, the group sought to punish Republicans in the New York State Senate who voted for the state’s marriage equality law. NOM dropped six figures running Internet ads, erecting billboards, distributing mailers, organizing rallies, and supporting anti-equality primary challengers. While two out of three Republicans in contested primaries prevailed over NOM-backed candidates, one NOM-endorsed primary challenger managed to topple an incumbent.
Shortly thereafter, NOM announced plans to spend big in a host of states in order to oust pro-equality Republicans. The group promised to spend $250,000 each in Illinois, New Hampshire, and Washington state – to no avail.
The Slow, Awkward Death Of NOM's IRS Conspiracy Theory
Tuesday, June 24,
2014, 3:47:44 PM | Luke Brinker
For two years, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has been peddling the theory that the IRS intentionally leaked its donor list to a gay rights organization as part of an Obama administration conspiracy. Two separate investigations and a ruling by a Reagan-appointed judge have debunked that theory. But right-wing media, which have widely touted NOM's initial accusations, have largely ignored or denied the conspiracy theory's demise.
In the spring of 2012, an IRS employee inadvertently leaked an unredacted list of NOM’s donors in response to a public records request. The pro-equality group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) got its hands on the list, highlighting past contributions to NOM by prominent conservatives like then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Noting that key HRC officials were prominent supporters of President Obama’s re-election campaign, NOM alleged a conspiracy between the organization and the Obama administration aimed at embarrassing NOM and its supporters.
In April 2012, NOM filed a formal letter of complaint to the IRS. Conservative outlets like The Daily Caller and The Weekly Standard touted the complaint, focusing particularly on the revelation that Romney was one of the group’s donors. For most of the next year, however, media interest in the story was scant.
That changed in the spring of 2013. In May, U.S. Attorney General Eric holder ordered the FBI to begin a criminal probe into allegations that the agency had targeted tax-exempt conservative political groups. While the IRS actually scrutinized progressive groups more extensively than conservative ones, the IRS “scandal” became a rallying cry for right-wing media. The controversy also meant newfound interest in NOM’s allegations against the agency.
Mainstream and conservative media outlets were quick to pick up on NOM’s call for an investigation into the IRS’s activities.
From Politico:
Texas Values' Jonathan Saenz: Gay Activists Are Trying To "Put People In Jail"
Tuesday, June 24,
2014, 9:22:59 AM | Luke Brinker
Texas Values president Jonathan Saenz agreed with a right-wing radio host that gay activists are trying to put Christians in concentration camps, asserting that the gay rights movement wants "to put people in jail" if they disagree with marriage equality and "the homosexual lifestyle."
In a June 20 interview with Raging Elephants Radio, Saenz condemned a recent Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruling affirming that a Denver-area baker had violated the state's non-discrimination law by refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex couple. Host Claver Kamau-Imani asked Saenz whether the ruling was tantamount to sending the baker to a "concentration camp." Saenz agreed, asserting that there's "no question" gay rights supporters ultimately aim to imprison opponents of LGBT equality:
KANAU-IMANI: Alright, let's get back to Colorado. So you have a baker that does wedding cakes and they say they don't want to do a two-man wedding cake or a two-woman wedding cake with the little figurines on top or whatever. And so the homosexual couple, whether it's man and man, woman and woman, whatever, they go to this specially created commission to deal with this, file a complaint against the business, and so the commission says 'No, you're gonna make this cake, plus, you're going to go to concentration camp,' essentially. Is that what you're telling us, Jonathan?
SAENZ: That's right, that's right. You know, they tried to do something like that here in Texas - I think it was a bill by Sen. Rodney Ellis that dealt with hate crime stuff, where they would've forced you to participate in an event of the quote-unquote community that you had offended. And so we testified against this legislation and it ended up dying on the Senate side. But I mean, this is what they want. I mean, there's no question. I've seen it. I've seen them try to do it with legislation here in Texas at the state level. It is a goal of theirs to put people in jail that disagree with homosexual marriage, without question - or the homosexual lifestyle. [emphasis added]
Fox Contributor Erick Erickson: Gay People Need To Overcome; The Struggle Of Homosexuality
Friday, June 20, 2014,
1:33:34 PM | Carlos Maza
Fox News contributor Erick Erickson suggested that people might not be born gay, compared homosexuality to alcoholism and adultery, and warned that gay people who don’t repent won’t be “saved on the last day.”
In a June 20 blog post for RedState.com, Erickson expressed his support for Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry, who was criticized last week after comparing homosexuality to alcoholism. In his post, Erickson claimed that the science around sexual orientation wasn’t settled, warning gay people not to “give in” to their temptations and repent for their homosexuality in order to be “saved”:
So, again, fewer and fewer voices are willing to speak up. Those of us who can, should speak up. So I will say it – I largely agree with Governor Rick Perry and appreciate him speaking up.Erickson’s suggestion that gay people can “overcome” the “struggle” of homosexuality is similar to the claims of many proponents of dangerous, ineffective “ex-gay” therapy.
While most of my generation is pretty accepting of the idea that a person can be born gay, there is no settled science on the matter. There certainly is no settled science on pick your own gender adventures. But to say so is apostasy in this secular world. It really does not matter though. Whether one is born gay or not does not mean God made a person gay. And whether it is the unrepentant alcoholic, homosexual, adulterer, liar, or any of the others the Duck Commander listed, none are going to be saved on the last day without repenting. [ :(]
No one said life was easy, but too many are too ready to give in instead of repenting. Too many tire of the struggle and decide the struggle is just another form of normal. And frankly, it is apart from God. That too is why so many want to drive God out of the public square. God gives us Hope to overcome the struggles of this world, including the flesh. Left to our own devices, Romans 1 tell us we get exactly what we are getting. But we are not creatures of this world — none of us. We are passing through to eternity. YOLO is a lie and if it feels good it does not mean we should do it. The zeitgeist of the present age tells us otherwise, but the Holy Spirit calls us to a higher and better and more eternal purpose.
Gertrude Himmelfarb wrote, “What was once stigmatized as deviant behavior is now tolerated and even sanctioned; what was once regarded as abnormal has been normalized . . . .As deviancy is normalized, so what was once normal becomes deviant. The kind of family that has been regarded for centuries as natural and moral – the ‘bourgeois’ family as it is invidiously called – is now seen as pathological” [emphasis added] [ :(]
While debate continues over the precise origin of sexual orientation, the scientific community is largely in agreement that sexual orientation is an immutable part of a person’s identity. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation." Research has demonstrated that a person's sexual orientation is "primarily neurological at birth." According to molecular biologist Dean Hamer, sexual orientation is regarded in the scientific community as a phenotype and is "deeply rooted in biology."
This isn’t the first time Erickson has warned gay people that they face damnation if they don’t “repent.”. Last year, Erickson wrote that gay couples trying to get married were on the “road to hell.” He claimed that A&E was “destined for hell fire” after suspending Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson following his homophobic remarks. And in February, Erickson warned that businesses involved in same-sex weddings were “aiding and abetting” sin.
Erickson is closely linked to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a group working internationally to help criminalize homosexuality.
Previously:
Extreme Anti-Gay Group Is Hosting "An Evening With Erick Erickson"
Fox’s Erickson: Businesses That Serve Gay Couples Are “Aiding And Abetting” Sin
Fox Contributor Erick Erickson Solicits Donations For Group Working To Criminalize Homosexuality
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