New York Republicans Who Backed Gay Marriage See Campaign Coffers Soar

The haters and self-enriching whores at the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") have threatened to fund opponents of the New York Republicans who voted for marriage equality last month - no doubt trying to circumvent the state's campaign finance disclosure laws in the process so as to hide the identities of NOM's big money sponsors. Meanwhile the targeted Republicans are enjoying increased support from supporters of marriage equality and those who are sick to death of the cow towing and special privileges given to the hate merchants of the Christian Right- using the term "Christian" very loosely, of course , since these people are anything but true Christians. Modern day Pharisees yes, true Christians no. CNN's political tracker looks at aftermath of last months vote. I encourage readers to make donations to these brave legislators. As for Connie Mack's comments, I'm sorry, but anyone on Family Research Council's pay roll makes the most sleazy, tawdry prostitute look virtuous. Here are some highlights from CNN's coverage:
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Republicans in New York's state Senate who crossed party lines to legalize gay marriage in the state have seen sharp increases in their campaign coffers, leading conservative activists to allege their votes were bought.

State Sen. Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, for instance, amassed just $30,000 from May 1 to June 24, the day same-sex marriage was approved. But in the two-and-a-half weeks after his vote, Grisanti reported receiving $73,000 in contributions – including huge donations from high-profile gay rights supporters like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Tim Gill, who is based in Colorado.
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For State Sen. Roy McDonald, whose districts include Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, the weeks following his vote proved even more lucrative. After receiving $31,000 in the two months preceding the vote, McDonald garnered approximately $90,000 in just 17 days, more than doubling his total haul for all of 2011, according to Bill Mahoney, legislative operations and research coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
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Three of the four Republican supporters of gay marriage denied multiple requests for comment on the spikes. But conservatives were quick to decry the flood of donations. . . . . some right-wing Republicans vowed that the senators would pay for their votes at the ballot box.

"We understand that the gay money, particularly in New York, is a bit overwhelming; however, the base of the Republican Party is going to have something to say," said Connie Mackey, president of the political action committee for the Family Research Council, a coalition of Christian conservatives.
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The fact these senators are being threatened with primary challenges, due to their vote on one issue, raises a broader question: How open are Republicans to divergent views? Alesi said the GOP would make a grave mistake by setting up primaries for one's vote on the gay marriage issues alone.
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Kevin Nix, director of communications for the Human Rights Campaign, said opponents of marriage equality were "trying to tarnish the courageous position" of the senators. "How is doing what the majority of the people want you to do any less than democracy in action?
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Whether or not the Chrsitianists - and that includes the Catholic Church hierarchy - like it or not, they are going to be on the losing side of history and one can only hope that very soon they will be viewed as little different that George Wallace did when he stood in the school house door and and ranted about "segregation today, segregation forever." The Christianists will be the cause of the death of Chrristianity yet. And my thoughts should Christianity die (at least the Christianists version of it)? Good riddance. Far too many lives have been lost or ruined because of this pestilence like sourge that seems to have hate and intolerance as its only fruit.

A Scientist's View on Sexual Orientation

With all the media attention focused on the use of fraudulent "ex-gay" therapy at Marcus Bachmann's "clinics" at the expense of tax payers and Tom Pawlenty's (Pawlenty is pictured at left) disingenuous efforts to pretend that the verdict is still out on whether or not sexual orientation is an immutable trait as opposed to a "choice" that is subject to "change" through prayer , a/k/a brainwashing and guilt, Dean Hamer, a molecular biologist, has a timely op-ed piece at The Advocate that basically rips the Christianists like Marcus Bachmann and Pawlenty a new one and makes it VERY clear that there is no question - at least not to those who inhabit the rational, tethered to reality world - that sexual orientation is an immutable, genetic based characteristic that cannot be changed regardless of pious efforts to "pray it away." Yes, individuals can play mind games, endeavor strenuously to deny who they really are (I did that for 37 years), and buy into all the anti-gay religious doctrine bullshit, but at the end of the day, they are still gay and ALWAYS will be. Here are some op-ed highlights:
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In a recent interview, Tim Pawlenty was asked “Is being gay a choice?” The presidential hopeful replied that “the science in that regard is in dispute.” As a working molecular biologist, that was certainly a surprise to me.
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In fact, the scientific community has long regarded sexual orientation – whether gay, straight, or somewhere in between – as a phenotype: an observable set of properties that varies among individuals and is deeply rooted in biology. For us, the role of genetics in sexual behavior is about as “disputable” as the role of evolution in biology. Come to think of it, pretty much the same folks are opposed to both ideas.
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The empirical evidence for the role of genetics in sexual orientation has steadily mounted since I first entered the field in the early 1990s. . . . Each of these studies has led to the same fundamental conclusion: genes play a major role in human sexual orientation. By contrast, shared environmental factors such as education, parenting style, or presumably even exposure to Lady Gaga, have little if anything to do with people's orientation.
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[T]here is a solid scientific explanation for how genes that increase same-sex attraction might persist or even increase in the population. Careful family studies by two groups of investigators show that the same inherited factors that favor male homosexuality actually increase the fecundity of female maternal relatives, and that this effect is sufficient to balance out the decreased number of offspring for gay men and maintain the genes over the course of natural selection. This explanation may not be the only one, but it serves to show that the evolutionary paradox is not necessarily overwhelming.
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Given the accumulated evidence, why might Pawlenty assert that the scientific community is still debating the role of biology in sexual orientation? Probably because that's what the religious fundamentalist groups that vehemently oppose LGBT rights want people to think, and have spent considerable time, effort and money trying to promote.
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There is good reason for their opposition to the scientific findings. Studies in college classrooms have shown that exposure of students to information about the causes of sexual orientation has a direct, positive influence on their opinions about LGBT civil rights.
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Basic rights are just that – basic. But it is essential to acknowledge that lack of scientific knowledge can actually result in having our rights and freedoms taken away through the actions of misinformed voters, legislators and judges.

Saturday Male Beauty

Is Corporate America Beginning to Leave the Christian Values Network?

It would appear that more and more of corporate America's leading companies are waking up to the toxicity of being viewed as aligned with conservative Christian organizations which often are little more than hate groups hiding behind the veil of religion. These groups hate not only gays, by pretty much all minorities and in truth they have little regard for the constitutional liberties of other citizens. As a result, many companies are removing their online store from the “Christian Values Network” (CVN). Why? Because when an item was purchased, a donation would be made to a "charity" of the purchaser's choice - "charities" like Focus on the Family and even groups certified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Fortunately, long term the tide seems to be turning against anti-gay bigotry, but until these types of foul organizations and the parasite like leaders are thrown on the trash heap of history, no forward thinking corporation should want to be alienating the larger population by underwriting hate and bigotry. Sadly, many mainstream corporations have yet to walk away from CVN. If you see a company you utilize listed, take the time to contact it and tell it that it needs to join the exodus if it wants to keep your business. Here are highlights from Change.org on the growing exodus from CVN:
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Pressure is increasing on Apple to remove their online store from the “Christian Values Network” (CVN), after several other corporations have removed their stores this week. More than 3,500 people have signed Western Washington University student Ben Crowther’s Change.org petition to Apple. CVN is used as a fundraising tool by several anti-gay, anti-women organizations like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.
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Late Thursday, the Wells Fargo and Delta Airlines online stores were removed from CVN. Prior to removing their store, Wells Fargo was offering up to $300 to the religious charity of the shopper’s choice, money that could be donated to “Focus on the Family” or the Family Research Council. Delta offered $3.00 per ticket.
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On Wednesday, BBC pulled the BBC America Shop from CVN. “BBC America Shop was not aware of CVN.org's current donation policies,” April Mulcair, BBC’s VP of Publicity, told UK Gay News in a statement. “We have ended our relationship with this affiliate effective immediately."
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On July 7, Microsoft pulled their online store from the Christian Values Network after a Change.org petition started by Seattle resident and Microsoft customer Stuart Wilber highlighted several anti-gay groups raising money through the Christian Values Network.
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Last weekend, CVN beneficiary Focus on the Family came under fire after TOMS shoes expressed “regret” in a statement sent to to Change.org for a Focus on the Family speaking engagement by founder Blake Mycoskie after learning about Focus on the Family’s anti-gay and anti-women views.
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Dozens of major companies like Netflix, Target, Best Buy, USA Today, Walgreens, REI, and even Sesame Street participate in CVN’s service. When customers make purchases through CVN, a donation is made to the religious charity of the customer’s choice. For example, USA Today will donate $5.25 per subscription, and 2.5% of the purchase price for products bought through Apple iTunes store can be donated to groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.
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Celebrities Stephen Baldwin and Michael Lohan helped launch the Christian Values Network, an online service that raises money for various religious groups from the purchase of goods and services. More than 700 companies are listed at www.cvn.org, the Christian Value Network’s domain hosting links to various corporate online stores. Both Baldwin and Lohan are outspoken about their anti-gay views. Stephen Baldwin told the Guardian in 2010 that he supports so called “ex-gay” therapy, a harmful practice that falsely claims to “cure” people of their sexual orientation. Michael Lohan told reporters in 2008 he would not walk his daughter, Lindsay Lohan, down the aisle if she chose to marry her same-sex partner.
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Former Governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is a Christian Values Network advisor and spokesperson who has posted videos on YouTube supporting the company. In the past, Huckabee has equated being gay with bestiality, necrophilia, and pedophilia.

Friday Male Beauty

Jerry Brown Signs California Gay History Bill - Christofascists Go Berzerk

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed the landmark Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act that mandates the contributions of LGBT people be included in school lesson plans. Its legislation that in my view is long overdue and will over time result in students learning that LGBT individuals have been around throughout history and that we've often accomplished amazing things. Moreover, since California is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks, there will be an indirect impact in other states as well. Not surprisingly, the usual hate groups are beside themselves and one needs foul weather gear not to be drenched by the spittle flying as the haters convulse. Here are highlights from The Advocate on the historic law:
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The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act was introduced by gay state senator Mark Leno partly as a way to combat bullying of students who are gay or perceived to be. The FAIR Act passed the Senate in April and the Assembly earlier this month. Aside from ensuring that the contributions of gays and gay rights are included in textbooks, the legislation adds sexual orientation to the state's existing antidiscrimination protections that prohibit bias in school activities, instruction, and instructional materials.
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For the sane and rational, the law should be a non-issue. But to hate groups that seek to depict LGBT individuals as depraved alcoholics, drug users, and overall failures, the law strikes at the heart of their usually propaganda. Here's a sampling of the hysteria coming from the usual suspects via Joe.My.God:
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Catholics For The Common Good: Claims that this bill is needed to reduce bullying against children that are experiencing gender confusion or take on 'gay' or 'lesbian' identities are absurd. Children must be taught respect for all persons because of their intrinsic value, not because they agree with their behavior or like their characteristics. In fact, reducing people to merely a sexual identity obscures the fact that they are so much more than that.
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Traditional Values Coalition: SB 48 was priority number 1 for Traditional Values Coalition. We committed all the resources we had to try to make sure that SB 48 failed. We are talking about molesting the minds of young impressionable youth, as young as Kindergarten, with an agenda and message that is not age-appropriate and that is offensive to the values of a vast majority of California’s families. We have failed at our core educational mission and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. It’s absurd and offensive.
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Save California: It's ridiculous that Jerry Brown says he's making history 'honest'. The bill he signed prohibits teachers and textbooks from telling children the facts that homosexuality has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, higher cancer rates, and earlier deaths. These important facts about lifestyles children will being forced to admire will be omitted. And Brown calls this 'honest'? This revisionist history will actually make more children believe a lie -- that homosexuality is biological, which it's not, and healthy, which is isn't."
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Can't you just feel the Christian "love"?

Cloyne Report in Ireland Implicates Vatican in Abuse Cover Up

It really isn't a surprise to those of us who have followed the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal since it first exploded in Boston nearly a decade ago. The pattern is always the same: the deliberate cover up of sex crimes against children and youths by bishops and the shuffling of known predators from parish to parish - all of which was condoned by the Vatican which as the Cloyne report indicates allowed bishops to disregard governmental reporting requirements. One has to wonder when rank and file Catholics will get the message that by remaining passive sheep in the pews they are aiding and abetting criminal conduct. Worse yet, they are sending a message to bishops and Rome that they can continue engaging in the same criminal manner. Thankfully, Ireland's Justice Minister is talking about implementing legislation that would make the failure to report abuse an offense that would land clergy - including bishops - in prison for five years. A similar law needs to be implemented world wide. First these highlights from the Irish Times:
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The welfare of children and their protection from predators were low on clergy’s priorities. IRISH BISHOPS and the Vatican have played a major role in exacerbating the tragic story that is clerical child sex abuse in Ireland.
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The Cloyne report has found that the Vatican’s reaction to the (Irish bishops’) 1996 framework document was “entirely unhelpful” to any Irish bishop who wanted to implement it and gave individual Irish bishops freedom to ignore it.
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The Vatican refused to give the document “recognitio”; told the Irish bishops it was “not an official document of the Episcopal Conference but a study document”; and warned that it could be in breach of canon law. It also said the document’s advice on mandatory reporting gave rise to “serious reservations of both a moral and a canonical nature”.
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The Vatican did so in a confidential letter circulated by the then papal nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Luciano Storero to every Irish bishop in January 1997, a year after the Irish bishops’ guidelines came into play. Nor has the Vatican ratified or given the “recognitio” to the Irish Catholic Church’s 2005 updated guidelines. The papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza refused to explain any of this to the Cloyne commission, as was the case beforehand with the Murphy commission.
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Bishop Magee [of Cloyne] joins a long line of Irish Catholic bishops who have been found, by three statutory reports, grievously wanting where child protection in their dioceses was concerned.
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Given the Catholic Church's refusal to protect children and youth from sexual predators within the clergy, Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced his intention to regulate the Catholic Church and see that future failures to report crimes will land priests, nuns and bishops in prison. A place where many of the members of the Church's cesspool like hierarchy ought to be currently. The BBC has coverage on the potential legislation:
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The Cloyne Report found that allegations of abuse by priests made since 1996 had not been properly handled by the then Bishop of the Diocese, John Magee. In his tough response to the report, Mr Shatter announced his intention to introduce legislation later this year which would make it an offence to withhold information about child abuse from the authorities.
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Under the new legislation, cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns would be prosecuted for failing to disclose or report instances of clerical child abuse. Failure to do so could result in a five-year prison term. And in a move which some Catholic clergy have admitted came as a surprise, the justice minister said he would not exclude the priest-penitent confidentiality of the Confession box.
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Father O'Hagan said: "In the wake of the Cloyne Report, news of legal remedies that would challenge or seek to remove the 'privileged' status accorded by many civil jurisdictions, including the Republic of Ireland, to information exchanged between priest and penitent will come as a surprise. "Legal remedies to the failures, personal and institutional, revealed by the Cloyne Report should be proportionate."
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It is long past time that the special privileges and deference afforded to clergy - religion in general for that matter - come to an end. These people cannot be allowed to be above the law. Put their foul asses in jail if they fail to protect children and youths.

Eric Cantor Hit For Potentially Profiting From U.S. Default

I have previously looked at the issue of the weasel like Congressman Eric Cantor who is potentially seeking to reap a personal financial find fall through pushing the USA into a default on its debt obligation. As previously noted, Cantor has invested in a fund that will sky rocket in value should the debt limit impasse not be resolved. Democrats have belatedly found some back bone and a resolution is being circulated that puts a spot light on Cantor's duplicitous conflict of interest. Cantor's behavior truly needs to be made front page news. The man is disgusting and an embarrassment to Virginia. As noted before I suspect the man would sell his own mother for the right price in his quest for power - and based on Cantor's madness for power, I suspect that the price might not be all that high. Here are highlights from Huffington Post on the Democrat backed resolution the text of which can be found at the HuffPo page:
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House Democrats are circulating a resolution accusing House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) of having a conflict of interest in the debt ceiling debate, a move that could provide an awkward C-SPAN moment for one of the lead Republicans in the budget negotiations. The resolution goes after Cantor's investment in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF, a fund that "takes a short position in long-dated government bonds."
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The fund is essentially a bet against U.S. government bonds. If the debt ceiling is not raised and the United States defaults on its debts, the value of Cantor's fund would likely increase.
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The Democratic resolution, obtained by The Huffington Post from a Democratic source on the Hill, argues that Cantor "stands to profit from U.S. treasury default, which thereby raises the appearance of a conflict of interest," and that he "may be sabotaging [debt ceiling] negotiations for his own personal gain."
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The resolution is a question of privilege, which deals with the rights, dignity, safety and integrity of the proceedings of the House of Representatives. It has direct access to the floor, meaning that at any time, a lawmaker can rise and question the privileges of the House and offer a resolution. It must then be read in its entirety, as soon as it is presented. The resolution is unlikely to be ruled valid by the parliamentarian, but it could certainly create an uncomfortable bit of political theater when it's read.
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"Given the language in this resolution, obviously that would be incendiary, if you chose the right moment," said a House Democratic aide who added that right now, it appeared the party was still shopping around for a member willing to put it on the floor.

Obama DOJ Flips Gay Americans the Finger and Files To Reinstate DADT

Why is it that every time I start to have a slight feeling that maybe I've been unduly harsh on the faux "fierce advocate" in the White House, Obama and his minions again do something to throw LGBT citizens once again under the bus and prove my misgivings on the man to be well founded? I ask myself at times whether the man bi-polar or what when it comes to abusing those who might like to be his supporters? Personally, I am tired of supporting Obama simply because he's not as big of an enemy as the GOP alternative. It's definitely hard to have enthusiasm.
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The latest example of Obama's on again off again betrayals of LGBT Americans is the reported decision by the Department of Justice - you know, that office that operates under Obama's appointee, the Attorney General - is moving to file a request that the 9th Circuit reconsider its ruling that reinstated the world wide ban on enforcement of DADT. Obviously, the ban could easily have been allowed to remained in place until the supposed legislative repeal of DADT is finally completed. Not that I even trust Obama at this point not to betray LGBT Americans on that process somehow. Given the current make up of the U. S. Supreme Court with gay haters like Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito on the Court, if DOJ's games ultimately take the case before that court, there is no guarantee that the 9th Circuit ruling would be upheld. WTF is Obama doing? Does he think these games will make the GOP base hate him less? Here are highlights from the Log Cabin Republicans on this unfortunate development:
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The Obama Department of Justice is filing an emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals pleading with the court to reconsider its order vacating the stay. The Ninth Circuit last week removed a stay against the worldwide injunction awarded in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, effectively halting ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’
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“This latest maneuver by the President continues a pattern of doublespeak that all Americans should find troubling. All this does is further confuse the situation for our men and women in uniform,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director, combat veteran and captain in the United States Army Reserve. “Let me be clear – the president is asking the court for the power to continue threatening servicemembers with investigation and discharge, and the right to turn away qualified Americans from military service for no reason other than their sexual orientation. Even if the administration never uses that power, it is still wrong, and the Ninth Circuit was clear that there is no justification for continuing the violation of servicemembers’ constitutional rights.
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"The motion that the government filed today has no other purpose than to request - on an emergency basis - that the military be permitted to investigate and discharge servicemembers, and block new enlistments, based solely on those individuals' sexuality,” said Dan Woods, partner of White & Case and lead attorney in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States. “The government's request is inexplicable on any other basis."
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As I have noted before, I would welcome a primary challenge to the "Follower in Chief" whose main attribute is double talk and the total lack of a spine. I fear that he's setting the up Democrats at the national level for a reprise of what happened in Virginia in 2009.

Thursday Male Beauty

Quote of the Day - Michele Goldberg Takes Down the Bachmanns

Some may think that I've focused far too much on the Michele/Marcus Bachmann reparative therapy story. However, the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and the myth that gays can "change" are the lynch pins to the Christianist message in opposition to LGBT equality on all fronts. Once the public at large realizes that being LGBT is an unchangeable and immutable characteristic, Christianist anti-gay efforts begin to crumble and all they have left in their arsenal is unadulterated religious based discrimination. Moreover, if sexual orientation is immutable, it then falls within constitutional equal protection rulings and analysis. This fact terrifies the Christianists. Michele Goldberg has some powerful statements in the Daily Beast. Here are some of the best:

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But reparative therapy is dangerous no matter how good the intentions behind it. It doesn’t work, and it exacerbates the self-loathing that leads gays and lesbians to seek it out in the first place. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “The potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient.” The American Psychological Association condemned reparative therapy in a 1997 resolution, affirming the principle that “psychologists do not make false or deceptive statements concerning...the scientific or clinical basis for...their services.”
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So Bachmann’s clinic, which has received $137,000 in Medicaid funds, is subjecting people to psychologically damaging techniques with no scientific basis. Wiertzema’s approach is not unique there. Indeed, the clinic sells copies of Janet Boynes book Called Out: A Former Lesbian’s Discovery of Freedom, which argues, “Homosexuality, like any sin, separates us from God, for He cannot tolerate sin in His presence.”
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Neither Bachmann nor many of his therapists, it’s important to note, have serious psychological training. His Ph.D. comes from the Union Institute, a Cincinnati-based correspondence school; in 2002, it was cited by the Ohio Board of Regents, which said, “Expectations for student scholarship at the doctoral level were not as rigorous as is common for doctoral work.” As Politico has reported, he’s not licensed with any of the boards that certify mental-health professionals in Minnesota, one of the few states that allows unlicensed people to practice mental-health care. Similarly, Wiertzema’s M.A. comes from Argosy University, a for-profit diploma mill.
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Why does any of this matter? Bachmann may be dishonest about his practice, but he’s not the one running for president. Yet in describing herself as a small-business owner, Michele Bachmann clearly takes partial credit for Bachmann & Associates, and so its activities reflect on her. Besides, she’s made it clear that Marcus exerts authority over her, telling one church audience that she bowed to her husband’s instructions to study tax law because “the Lord says be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands.” That means his character and beliefs are more germane to her candidacy than those of other political spouses. He’s the head of the woman who wants to be the head of country. He’s also a man with dubious qualifications running a clinic whose counseling techniques can ruin lives.

Christian Dominionists Warn GOP Against Nominating Mitt Romney

Once again the Christian Right Frankenstein monster that the GOP leadership happily created is threatening to derail the GOP in 2012 if Mitt Romney - gasp, a Mormon - is nominated to be the GOP candidate to oppose Barack Obama. While the real reason they hate Romney is his Mormon faith, a group of leading Christianist hate merchants has cobbled together a laundry list of supposed sins Romney has committed, not the least of which is to blame him for the advent of gay marriage in Massachusetts. Never mind that the Massachusetts Supreme Court played a pivotal role in marriage equality in that state. The question for the GOP leadership is when will it stand up to these vile and nasty people and exile them back to the political wilderness where they belong. Right Wing Watch has coverage on the ultimatum delivered by this group who's principal message is fear and hatred of all others who do not drink from the same vat of poisonous Kool-Aid. Here are some highlights:

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Right-wing activist and former California legislator Steve Baldwin has organized an open letter to “Conservative, Catholic and Evangelical Leaders” asking them to refuse support for Mitt Romney’s campaign for president. Already a number of activists including failed US Senate candidate and Tea Party hero Joe Miller; Rick Scarborough of Vision America; Brian Camenker of MassResistance; Linda Harvey of Mission America; Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association; Ted Beahr of WND and Movieguide; Gary Glenn of American Family Association-Michigan, Kelly Shackleford of the Liberty Institute; Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation; Floyd Brown of WND; Dick and Richard Bott of Bott Family Radio, and the leaders of a number of anti-choice groups have signed the letter.
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The letter says that “a Romney candidacy would be disastrous for the conservative movement and for the country,” writing that he is insincere in his conservative beliefs and “continues to support many aspects of the homosexual agenda even today.” The activists claim that “the flatly illegal charade of ‘gay’ marriage exists solely in Massachusetts due to Governor Romney’s illegal actions,” and lists numerous other issues including abortion rights and health care reform where Romney has reversed himself: “Romney has also been both in favor and against minimum wage legislation, capital gains taxes, gun control, amnesty for illegal aliens, campaign finance reform, the Kyoto agreement, gambling, gun control, and many other issues.”
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They conclude by warning that nominating Romney “would be a disastrous mistake”: Most disturbing is the key role Mitt Romney played in accelerating two of the greatest threats to our Judeo-Christian culture and free enterprise system: Homosexual marriage and government control of health care. In both instances, the actions Romney took – or didn’t take – on homosexual marriage and RomneyCare have done lasting damage to our country. . . . . As such, Romney has done more damage to America in his four years as Governor than any Democrat officeholder we can think of.
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I have no sympathy for the GOP. The leadership knowingly and deliberately courted these people and worse yet did much to give them legitimacy. It is they, not Mitt Romney who constitute a serious threat to constitutional government in the USA.

Michele Bachmann: Being Gay is "Part of Satan"

Fellow LGBT Blogger Summit participant Jeremy Hooper at Good As You - who's even smarter than he is cute - has once again demonstrated that he's the best when it comes to unearthing past statements and demagoguery by opponents of LGBT equality. His latest "gold strike" is a 2004 video of Michele Bachmann at a National Education Conference in the Twin Cities area in 2004. Very little has changed in Bachmann's hate and fear based extremism over the last seven years and LGBT Americans remain her whipping boy of choice. And given her husband's now documented promotion at the ex-gay myth and reparative therapy, it's not too much of a stretch to see that the 2004 anti-gay rant (see the video below) was possibly calculated to be good for the Bachmann household's bottom line financially.



Obviously, only time will tell whether or not Michele Bachmann and her lisping, mincing husband truly believe the "ex-gay" rhetoric or if they are merely laughing all the way to the bank. Either way, the situation shows that both Bachmann's are ethically challenged and that she's unfit for high office. Here are highlights of what Jeremy unearthed:
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Well there's something that's happening in our schools, and one of the reasons why I felt I was called to take up this issue, of bringing a constitutional amendment to the state of Minnesota before our people — I was the chief author in the MN state senate — is because of the profound impact this [legal recognition of same sex couples] would have on every man, every woman, every child in the state of Minnesota.
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Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle—we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It’s a very sad life. It’s part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It’s anything but gay.
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The Love Won Out conference was here not too long ago in the Twin Cities, and it’s profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female.
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this new legal enforcement of a new status—homosexuality, lesbianism, bringing it into the mainstream, if you will, giving it a legitimacy if you will -- that will impact not only the gay community, but every man, woman and child, particularly the schools."
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As Jeremy notes, the Dump Bachmann Blog has a full hour of her anti-gay batshitery> It it she goes on to say this about being LGBT:
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“It leads to the personal enslavement of individuals. Because if you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. Personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. And that’s why this is so dangerous.
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Frankly, if there's anyone suffering from personal bondage and enslavement, it's Ms. Bachmann and her lisping husband. They are in bondage to their false and discredited medical and mental health beliefs about LGBT individuals. One can only hope that the general public will wake up and see how such vitriolic homophobia points to Bachamann's own emotionally and mentally disturbed state.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Dallas Cowboys Star Michael Irvin Supports Marriage Equality

I will admit that even living in a region inhabited by an excessive number of Redskins fans, I've continued to root for the Dallas Cowboys. Partly it's because it's perverse fun to aggravate the Redskins fans. But it's also likely a hold over for the years I lived in Houston when the Oilers were so incredibly terrible that Dallas was the next closest team that was sort of "hometown" team in relative terms that one could root for. But, Michael Irvin has given me another reason to support his team. In an interview with Out Magazine, Irvin comes out strongly for LGBT equality. Irvin has a gay brother and - unlike Michele Bachmann and her lisping, mincing husband - learned a thing or two from the experience. The sub-headline of the article is "NFL Hall of famer Michael Irvin talks for the first time about his gay brother and explains why he’s on a pro-gay mission from God." Would that we had more sports stars who had the courage of Irvin to speak out for the LGBT cause. Here are some highlights from the Out story:
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Irvin is ready to talk about [his gay brother] Vaughn. More than that, he’s become a passionate supporter of gay athletes and equal rights for same-sex couples. Today, Irvin is a widely respected football commentator with weekly appearances on the NFL Network. He hosts The Michael Irvin Show on Miami’s WQAM with former World Football League player Kevin Kiley. For two years, the pair has delved into gay issues; in recent months, they have turned their attention to the subject of athletes, coaches, and team executives coming out of the closet. Now, Irvin is waiting for the day when America has its first openly gay active athlete in one of the top four professional sports leagues.
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Growing up, Irvin greatly admired his brother Vaughn, who was a successful bank manager while still living in “the ’hood,” says Irvin. That success made him “God” in his younger brother’s eyes. “He was the smartest, most charismatic man I’d ever seen in my life. We would all say, ‘Can you believe -- white people put Vaughn in charge of all that money?!’ ” The boys had similar personalities: Both were gregarious and got along with just about everyone. As the 15th child of 17, Irvin wore Vaughn’s hand-me-downs as a boy, and they grew up in close quarters. Even as Irvin kept the secret of Vaughn’s sexual orientation, he remained close to him until Vaughn died of stomach cancer at the age of 49 in 2006.
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Years with this secret[of his brother's sexual orientation] have given Irvin a glimpse into the solitary confinement so many closeted athletes feel locked inside. “I’m not gay, but I was afraid to even let anyone have the thought. I can only imagine the agony—being a prisoner in your own mind -- for someone who wants to come out. If I’m not gay and I am afraid to mention it, I can only imagine what an athlete must be going through if he is gay.”
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Irvin is certain that, in light of today’s relatively more enlightened attitudes, a team would have no choice but to embrace their gay teammate. . . . Irvin wants to eradicate homophobia in every corner of American society. He points to churches that have skewed the word of God to persecute those who don’t share their dogma; he shakes his head at the black culture he says has gone adrift in a sea of homophobia; and he said it’s time to end the second class–citizen status of gays in the eyes of the law.
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“I don’t see how any African-American with any inkling of history can say that you don’t have the right to live your life how you want to live your life. No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality and everybody being treated equally, I don’t want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn’t deserve equality.”
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Love him or hate him, Michael Irvin doesn’t care. He’s on a mission. He hopes opening closet doors for gay people will be a key chapter in his life story. “I have to make sure we do things to bring people together. The Super Bowls will be the footnotes on my resume.”

The GOP's Sick, Misplaced Priorities

I continually find it ironic that the Republican Party has become a political arm of this country's Christian Taliban even as the policies the GOP pursues are the antithesis of what anyone respectful of Christ's true Gospel message ought to be seeking to further. Yes, ignorant, self-centered loons from the Tea Party hold some sway, but over all the Christianists and the professional Christian set are in lock step with the anti-Christian (in terms of following the Gospel message of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and assisting the poor) policies currently championed by the GOP. Hate, greed and demagoguery are the three pillars of today's GOP. Robert Scheer has a post on Huffington Post that reviews just how depraved the policies of the GOP have become under the toxic influence of the Christianists and the Tea Party crowd. It's worth repeating because it underscores the unbridled hypocrisy of the supposed "family values" party that claims to honor Christianity above all other religions. Here are some highlights:
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How deceptive for politicians to stress "entitlements" when they talk about gutting Social Security and Medicare, two programs long paid for by their beneficiaries. The Republicans make it sound as if they're doing us a favor, cutting government waste by seeking to strangle America's two most successful domestic programs. And now Barack Obama seems poised to join their camp in undermining the essential lifeline for most of the nation's seniors, many of whom lost their retirement savings in the banking meltdown.
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These threatened programs are not government handouts to a privileged class, like defense contractors and bailed-out bankers, who do feel eminently entitled to pig out at the federal trough. On the contrary, Social Security and Medicare have been funded by a regressive tax that falls disproportionately on working middle-class income earners, while caps in the system leave the wealthy -- most notably the hedge fund hustlers who helped cause today's economic crisis -- largely untaxed.
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These programs have nothing at all to do with a national debt that has spiraled out of control in the past four years as a result of untethered corporate greed. In that time the debt -- already inflamed by two wars fought on the credit card while President George W. Bush cut taxes for the wealthy -- rose a whopping 50 percent as a consequence of the deepest recession in 70 years, brought on by the banking collapse.
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Social Security is a particularly weird whipping boy for what ails us, since the program has been solvent since its inception and will be so for the next quarter of a century. . . . . Presidents both Republican and Democrat have routinely dipped into the Social Security trust fund to float the national debt, and yet critics from both parties have the effrontery now to treat as some sort of indulgence a program for which seniors, current and future, have paid. Seniors are as much "entitled" to the payback on their investment as the folks who buy Treasury notes, people who will be at the forefront of those protected by a rise in the debt ceiling.
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Yes, there are more pressing issues with Medicare. Those have to do with cost containment in the medical industry, a situation aggravated when the Republican Bush expanded prescription drug coverage. Unfortunately, health care cost containment was not a serious focus of Obama's health care reform, and without a national policy alternative it is difficult to contain the cost for seniors who are medically the most needy and therefore the most vulnerable.
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Even more troubling than potential Medicare cuts is the threat to Medicaid, a program that provides health care to 68 million needy children, disabled individuals, pregnant women and poor seniors. These people are "entitled" to such aid only as a matter of government-recognized decency that has historically been supported by both Republican and Democratic presidents. That Obama is now even considering reducing support for the most vulnerable in the current harsh economy has brought written opposition from two-thirds of Senate Democrats.
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It is absurd that Medicaid, along with Medicare and Social Security, is on the chopping block when there is no serious effort to find savings in a defense budget equal to that of the rest of the world's nations combined, and still at Cold War era levels despite the lack of a sophisticated military enemy. And that the GOP-led House has gotten a supposedly progressive president to consider doing serious damage to our most vulnerable population in order to placate Republicans determined to continue massive tax breaks for the wealthy is morally obscene.

Coverage of Marcus Bachmann's Bogus Therapy Expands

Personally, I find few things sleazier than the Christianist efforts to perpetuate the "ex-gay" myth which is promoted for two reasons, the first is political and relates to the far rights efforts to dupe the public into believing that sexual orientation is a choice and, therefore that no legal protections should be afforded to LGBT citizens. The second, of course, is money. Desperate individuals and their parents are often willing to pay big bucks to "de-gay" themselves or their children. It's bad enough that individuals have been paying for this snake oil, but Bachmann & Associates has likely been letting tax payers pick up the check for the unethical and ineffective "therapy" via Medicaid reimbursements to the tune of almost $140,000.00. Kudos to my old friend Wayne Besen and John Becker of Truth Wins Out for confirming Bachmann's use of the discredited and fraudulent Fortunately, the media does seem to be smelling the blood in the water that this farce represents for Kool-Aid drinking GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Yesterday and last night saw growing coverage. Here's a sampling of the coverage. *
Anderson Cooper's 360:
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Lawrence O'Donnell's show:
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The Ed Show on MSNBC:
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Chris Mathews on Hardball:
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Needless to say, the Christofascists are big time unhappy that the fraudulent nature of reparative therapy and its proponents like the Michele and Marcus Bachmann is getting so much mainstream play. Expect more flying spittle from Peter LaBarbera and other anti-gay hate group spokespersons. The last thing they want is for the general public to realize that the ex-gay myth is a deliberate and cynical lie.

HRBOR July Third Thursday - July 21st, 6PM at Green Onion, Virginia Beach

HRBOR will be hosting it's next Monthly Member Business Net-Working event on Thursday, July 21, 2011, at the Green Onion in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms in attendance to give our members a State of Virginia Beach Address as it relates to the LGBT and Allied community. HRBOR networking events are always a lot of fun socially and a great way to build one's business through meeting others in the LGBT and LGBT friendly business community. Here are details of the event:

HOST: The Green Onion At Great Neck: A Creative Bistro Style Menu in a Modern and Chic Atmosphere.



Who: Hampton Roads Business OutReach

What: Third Thursday Business Net-working Event

Where: The Green Onion, 1336 N Great Neck Road, Virginia Beach VA 23454 Telephone: 757-248-3474 ttp://www.thegreenonionrestaurant.com

When: Thursday, July, 2011 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Parking: Ample parking available around restaurant.

Beverage Sponsor: Cash Bar, Special Drink Prices

Food Sponsor: Annette Stone, The Green Onion

Cost: Free to Members; $15.00 for non-members

Wednesday Male Beauty

Did Big Business Send the GOP A Message?

Given the stunning turn around by the Republican Party leadership - well most of the leadership - yesterday on the nation's debt ceiling circus like debacle, many are assuming that belatedly the business community sent the GOP a message: stop playing games and get a resolution worked out NOW! The treat to the nation's economy and big business were the nation to go into default mode is huge and one can only imagine that large corporations poised to back political contenders suggested in blunt terms that the money spigot would be closed if the childish posturing and brinksmanship continued. Yes, the lunatics in the Tea Party will be pissed of, but they are not the ones with the big bucks. The Washington Post has a story that looks at the likely intervention that cause McConnell and Boehner to change their song and dance. Here are highlights:

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A sprawling coalition of Wall Street and Main Street business leaders sent an unmistakable message to lawmakers Tuesday: Enough squabbling. Get the debt ceiling raised. The message, sent in a letter to President Obama and every member of Congress, puts pressure on GOP lawmakers, who have staked out an uncompromising stance against raising taxes in the partisan wrangling over the country’s borrowing limit.
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Republicans rely heavily on corporations for political support and have regularly cited the opinions of these “job creators” in their opposition to new tax revenue. Many of the House GOP freshmen most opposed to a compromise were swept into office with the help of financial support from groups behind the letter.
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But the business community, which has largely kept quiet on the issue until now, does not uniformly share the Republican orthodoxy on taxes, according to some lobbyists who helped craft the statement.
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The letter, signed by hundreds of senior company executives and groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, said that “it is critical that the U.S. government not default in any way” and urges lawmakers “to put aside partisan differences and act in the nation’s best interest.”
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“The business community in large numbers is saying to our leaders in Washington, ‘Do your job,’ ” said Business Roundtable President John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan. “Failure to raise the debt ceiling would strike an immediate and serious blow to any economic recovery, and failure to make significant progress on long-term debt reduction will continue the uncertainty which is hampering our investment climate.”
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Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the business groups’ warnings. . . . . The developments underscore the increasingly awkward marriage between corporate leaders and the ambitious House GOP freshman class, which has joined the business lobby in opposing Obama’s health-care law and financial regulations but has shown no sign of budging on the debt ceiling.
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Lobbying groups for Wall Street — a sector that would take a direct and devastating hit if the debt ceiling is not raised — have largely avoided public statements on the issue. . . . . Wall Street lobbyists and other business groups preferred private meetings with GOP members to educate them on the consequences of a default.
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In their letter, the business groups warned that even a “technical default” is “a risk our country must not take.” . . . Treasury securities influence the cost of financing not just for companies but more importantly for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and student debt. A default would risk both disarray in those markets and a host of unintended consequences.”
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The business community action definitely represents a bitch slap to sleaze bag weasels like Virginia's Congressman Eric Cantor. :)

British Study: Sexual Orientation in Women is Genetic

More bad news for the flat earth crowd in the Roman Catholic Church and "ex-gay" myth supporters in the Christian Taliban such as Michele Bachmann and her lisping, mincing husband: a new study out of the UK finds that sexual orientation in women has a genetic basis. That's right, it's more proof that sexual orientation is not a choice and is not changeable. Therefore, folks going to "ex-gay" ministries might just as well be giving their money to a snake oil merchant or witch doctor. Of course these new findings will likely do little to change the minds of in my view mentally disturbed far right Christians or folks laughing their way to the bank like Marcus Bachmann. The study was conducted at Queen Mary University in London. Here are highlights from a university release on the findings:

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Sexual orientation and ‘gender conformity’ in women are both genetic traits, according to new research from Queen Mary, University of London. It is well recognised that there consistent differences in the psychological characteristics of boys and girls; for example, boys engage in more ‘rough and tumble’ play than girls do.
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Studies also show that children who become gay or lesbian adults differ in such traits from those who become heterosexual – so-called gender nonconformity.
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Dr Andrea Burri and Dr Qazi Rahman from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences report that a shared set of genes and shared set of random environmental factors is partially responsible both for gender nonconformity and female sexual orientation.
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[T]here is an association between these psychological traits and sexual orientation because they all develop under common biological drivers; like the development of brain regions under the influence of genes and sex hormones.”
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Dr Rahman is mindful that the results may carry the risk of stereotyping, adding: “Stereotypes like ‘sissy’ or ‘mannish’ have not been helpful in promoting respect for gay people, and those who don’t match those stereotypes may find it hard to accept they are gay or lesbian."
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But he believes the team’s findings are increasingly important to researchers concerned with the mental health of sexual minorities. Dr Rahman concludes: “We know that gay people who are strongly gender nonconforming report more anxiety and depression symptoms.
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“Poor mental health in gay populations is partly due to societal stigma and victimisation. Our results suggest that being gender nonconforming and lesbian comes from ‘within’; there is little you can do about it. So gender nonconformity does not cause mental health problems, but it may trigger negative reactions from other people (like parents and peers) leading to mental health problems.”