The wingnutters have gone into a frenzy filing amicus briefs with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Candidly, it's probably a good thing for our side since such briefs in the past have been filled with utter lunacy and may have helped tip justices to the pro-gay side. Karen Ocamb has a great overview at LGBT Pov that highlights some of the most interesting insanity. The brazenness of some of the groups filing is at times breath taking - like the brief filed by JONAH - the exgay "cure" program run by Arthur Goldberg who Wayne Besen and I and others exposed as a convicted Wall Street con artist who went to prison for fraudulent bond transactions. Oh, and did I mention that two of JONAH “clients” of have allege sexual misconduct by the so-called therapist. That pretty much reveals the caliber (or lack thereof) of some of the entities submitting briefs.*
Not surprisingly, once again the bogus "choice myth" has been trotted out as a justification for anti-gay discrimination and legal inequality. Never mind that none of the legitimate medical and mental health associations in the USA give the "choice/cure" myths an ounce of credibility. Karen says this on this point:
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The Western Center for Law & Policy filed an amicus brief on behalf of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Desert Streams Ministries (which I went to undercover for a Genre story wherein I tried to get changed. Boy, was that an experience!). In the introduction to the 37-page brief, the center lawyers wrote: “the sole issue addressed in this brief is whether same-sex attraction is a fixed and immutable characteristic.” Timothy Kincaid at Box Turtle Bulletin looks at the PFOX amicus brief.
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The Western Center for Law & Policy filed an amicus brief on behalf of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Desert Streams Ministries (which I went to undercover for a Genre story wherein I tried to get changed. Boy, was that an experience!). In the introduction to the 37-page brief, the center lawyers wrote: “the sole issue addressed in this brief is whether same-sex attraction is a fixed and immutable characteristic.” Timothy Kincaid at Box Turtle Bulletin looks at the PFOX amicus brief.
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For the who's who of wingnut organizations involved, check out Karen's post. Oh, and in terms of the PFOX brief, Timothy Kincaid said in part as follows:
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They [PFOX] argue instead that “sexual orientation is a complex and amorphous phenomenon that defies consistent and uniform definition” and that it is a “mutable characteristic which can shift over time and does so for a significant number of people.” They assert that “both the evidence at trial and the evidence embodied in this brief clearly show that many people freely choose and change their sexual orientation.”
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Now, I dare say that it probably is easier at times to define a person’s sexual orientation than it is their race, especially in California. And if the number is so significant or the choosing so free, than why do they present the same handful of people over and over?
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Ah, but PFOX has evidence. To prove that there are thousands of men and women who have successfully left “unwanted homosexuality” behind them and who now “live happy heterosexual lives”, they present four . . . .
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All you need is Jesus. He’s a miracle worker.
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Funny how the Christianists never seem to be able to produce more than a handful of "success" cases and even then, most are on a ex-gay "ministry" payroll. As I have said time and time again, the ONLY thing that justifies the arguments of the proponents of Proposition 8 is religious belief. The rest of their blather is bullshit.
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They [PFOX] argue instead that “sexual orientation is a complex and amorphous phenomenon that defies consistent and uniform definition” and that it is a “mutable characteristic which can shift over time and does so for a significant number of people.” They assert that “both the evidence at trial and the evidence embodied in this brief clearly show that many people freely choose and change their sexual orientation.”
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Now, I dare say that it probably is easier at times to define a person’s sexual orientation than it is their race, especially in California. And if the number is so significant or the choosing so free, than why do they present the same handful of people over and over?
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Ah, but PFOX has evidence. To prove that there are thousands of men and women who have successfully left “unwanted homosexuality” behind them and who now “live happy heterosexual lives”, they present four . . . .
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All you need is Jesus. He’s a miracle worker.
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Funny how the Christianists never seem to be able to produce more than a handful of "success" cases and even then, most are on a ex-gay "ministry" payroll. As I have said time and time again, the ONLY thing that justifies the arguments of the proponents of Proposition 8 is religious belief. The rest of their blather is bullshit.
1 comment:
What IS a matter of choice is religion. I'd cut off tax breaks and any recognition of any of them.
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