The Christian Right Continues to Disseminate Paul Cameron's Discredited Lies

It will soon be thirty (30) years since the American Psychological Association revoked Paul Cameron's membership because of his ethical violations (Cameron is pictured at right). Later, in 1986, the American Sociological Association passed a resolution condemning his "research" work - because it was fraudulent and falsified. And those in the leadership of Christian Right/anti-gay hate groups cannot help but be well aware of the thoroughly discredited nature of Cameron's anti-gay propaganda. Yet they continue to quote from it and disseminate it to the ignorant and uninformed in an obvious effort to breed hatred and contempt towards LGBT individuals. It's amazing how those in the Christian Right and individuals like Maggie Gallagher believes that they somehow have a special dispensation from abiding by the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness. Brady's Notes & Scribbles has a piece on Cameron's extremely vile "Medical Consequences of What Homosexuals Do" which is still in wide circulation. In the instance that prompted the reference post, the brochure was being disseminated at an information counter at a local Christian school in Reno, Nevada and is likely made available in many other venues. Here are some highlights on this toxic piece of propaganda:
*
I never expected to find out that “Medical Consequences of What Homosexuals Do” is not only still in print, but widely, and I do mean widely used and quoted. . . . His “research” and “facts” are still being told over and over and used as proof by other “Christian family” groups and churches . . .
*
A further simple google search for only 2010 lead me to a vast number of sites and organizations that post, quote, link and publish in full Mr. Cameron’s work and deem it as scholarly and scientific. These groups include: pro-family groups in multitudes of countries, ProLifeBlog, The Road to Emmaus, countless churches in many denominations in the US and worldwide, Aryan Nation/White Supremacist groups, people running for political offices in the US, Life & Liberty Ministries, BibleBelievers.com, and American Family Association, The Family Research Council, the Illinois Family Association, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, Concerned Women for America and Coral Ridge Ministries.
*
[I]t is extremely important to bust these myths wide open. Here at home, in places like Uganda and in places where Mr. Cameron has and is spreading his poison. As you read it, remember, this is being presented as scientific fact today.
*
The tract is broken down into sections:
•Oral sex and the “fact” that almost all homosexuals “verge on consuming raw human blood”. Delightful, Paul.
•Rectal sex with carrots, bottles and even gerbils. Yup, gerbils. I even heard Mr. Cameron say it in a talk in a 2010 video.
•Fecal sex. Hey, did you know that 80% of gays “admit” to ingesting “medically significant accounts
•The medical consequences of homosexual sex and the effects on lifespan. Did you know less than 2% of gay men make it to “old age”? And they are 116 times more likely to be murdered and 18 times more likely to die in car accidents. Could I possibly make this stuff up?
•The “gay legacy” of AIDS will destroy most gay people.
•The “biological swap meet” of saliva, urine, feces, blood across country borders will be exported by this “drunken and high” uber-traveling population.
•Watch out for “the pattern of infection” of not only HIV/AIDS, but scarlet fever too (which, by the way, is not a sexually transmitted disease.)
•“Genuine compassion” must be shown to this group of people who are “troubled people engaging in dangerous activities”.
*
This is dangerous stuff. This divides families and churches, this alienates people, this kills others, this poisons the minds of those that think they are “protecting the family”. This is utter deception and demonization and completely non-Christian.
*
Un-Christian is an understatement. Cameron and those who peddle his trash as "science" are despicable hate merchants. They make a very strong argument for walking away from Christianity if they now embody what it represents. I'm 100% with Anne Rice on that point.

Why Defeating Paul Cameron Originated Lies Matters

Even before I inadvertently become an activist of sorts back in 2003 when I collaborated with a client and Wayne Besen to expose high profile "ex-gay" Michael Johnston as a fraud, I followed a number of Christianist and "ex-gay" organizations' websites so as to "know what the enemy was up to." It soon became evident that many of the falsehoods and lies disseminated literally daily by these groups trace their roots back to Paul Cameron's bogus "research." Cameron (pictured at left) has a lengthy history of deliberately falsifying research, and misusing peer reviewed articles and misquoting legitimate research.

*

Even though Cameron has been thoroughly exposed as a fraud and liar by legitimate medical and mental health associations, people like Tony Perkins, Robert Knight, James Dobson and many other Christianists continue to knowingly repeat the same old lies but without citing Cameron as the source of the "research." Some are even more dishonest. Peter LaBarbera claimed in an e-mail to me back in August, 2003, that he had no knowledge of (i)Cameron being thrown out of the APA and other legitimate state and national organizations nearly 25 years ago, (ii) Cameron having stated in at least one newspaper interview what he was going to report and how he would use it against gays BEFORE he did his supposed research, or (iii) Cameron's use of convicted sex offenders as his study sample, which he then reporting as a scientific sampling of the general gay population.

*

Among the false information that Cameron has put out over the years is the following (a full expose on Cameron can be found here. I have corroborated the facts myself previously):

*
**Out of all the mass-murders in the US over the past seventeen years, homosexuals killed at least 68% of the victims.
**Homosexuals perpetrate between a third and a half of all recorded child molestations.
**37% of homosexuals engage in sado-masochism.
**29% of homosexuals urinate on their partners.
**17% ingest human feces.
**The average life span of a homosexual is 39 years; fewer than 2% survive to the age of 65.
*

Cameron has also argued that the extermination of homosexuals should also be considered a "viable option." At the 1985 Conservative Political Action Conference, Cameron announced to the attendees, "Unless we get medically lucky, in three or four years, one of the options discussed will be the extermination of homosexuals. "According to an interview with former Surgeon General C.Everett Koop, Cameron was recommending the extermination option as early as 1983.

*

The fact that the Christian Right and some Catholic groups will knowingly cite such vile and untrue information speaks volumes about them. It proves that they are false Christians and that they must be continually challenged and exposed. Unfortunately, the main stream media doesn't have the courage or balls to do it. Therefore, it is important that LGBT Americans do their homework and be able to refute the lies. Recently, America Blog, Pam's House Blend and Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters have reiterated this fact. Cameron and those who use him as a credible "expert" are liars plain and simple.

Christianists Foaming At Mouth Over Obama Gay Rights Memo

All too predicatbly the Christianists and professional Christian crowd are hyperventilating over Obama's signing of his memorandum today that extends a handful of legal rights and benefits to LGBT federal employers and their families. The professional whiners have their panties in a major knot and are bloviating that this grant of a handful of rights/benefits approximates marriage. The charge is ridiculous and disingenuous, but would one expect anything less from these folk? A handful of rights versus some 1000+ rights/benefits. Pretty poor approximation to marriage if you ask me. Here are some highlights from U.S. News & World Report:

*

Conservative Christian groups criticizing the president's memorandum extending certain benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees are alleging that the president is approximating the benefits of marriage —that he's basically creating "marriage light." It's an interesting line of argument because polls show that most Americans support benefits for gay partners but oppose gay marriage.

*

Here's a statement today from Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright: "Barack Obama's order...attempts to elevate relationships outside of marriage as if they are the same as marriage. Marriage provides unique benefits to individuals, families, and society that cannot be replicated by any other living arrangements. Marriage helps nurture children and reduces social and financial costs to society by promoting healthy behavior. Federal funds should not be a political tool to elevate partner arrangements to be treated similar to marriage."

*

And here's a statement from Family Research Council President Tony Perkins making a similar marriage-based argument against Obama's executive memorandum: President Obama's expected Executive Order extending benefits to homosexual partners appears to be a violation of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and clearly violates the spirit of the federal law which defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife. In 1996, DOMA passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate and was then signed by President Clinton.

Welcoming Christians

I talk a great deal about the less than Christian "godly Christians" who make the dissemination of anti-gay hatred and lies the lynch pin of their alleged Christian faith. In addition to gays, many of these churches and professional Christian organizations like Focus on the Family (and its Virginia affiliate, The Family Foundation), Family Research Council, American Family Association, and Concerned Women for America, hate many more people and groups besides just gays. Blacks, Hispanics, non-Christians, and immigrants are also on the roster of classes of people these un-godly folk would just as soon see disappear from the American landscape. In short, the version of Christianity that they peddle is a strong indictment against anyone wanting to be called a Christian.

*

Often lost in all of this hate filled noise is the fact that there ARE churches and denominations which are welcoming to all. I was reminded of this today when the boyfriend and I attended the baptism of my office manager's young daughters at a small Evangelical Lutheran Church of America parish. Performing the baptisms was the Bishop of Virginia's assistant, a full ordained pastor in her own right, and also in attendance were my young paralegal and his boyfriend and the secretary for the Bishop's office (which sub-lets space from me) and her husband and family. The church is much smaller than my ELCA parish in the Ghent area of Norfolk, but there was the same feeling that all were welcomed. Indeed, we two gay couples were warmly embraced and not a soul flinched when the four of us, each with our respective partner, went up to the communion rail were we received communion from the Bishop's assistant. This is the face of true Christian conduct and what - at least in my view - all Christian denominations should be like.

*

As retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong has written often, the ultra- conservative, anti-gay Christians over the long term are killing Christianity. With increased medical and mental health knowledge about sexual orientation and ever expanding scientific knowledge on a host of issues, at some point either the rigid Bible beating form of Christianity must adapt to the modern, educated world, or else it will eventual die as it becomes ever more irrelevant and looks increasingly as nothing more than ancient superstitious belief used as an excuse for bigotry. In short, some of those who most loudly proclaim that they love their faith - and it's usually the far right element that do this - are the ones making the strongest argument for Christianity's demise due to their hatred of so many people and intolerance for anyone not precisely like themselves.

Barack Obama - Hate Groups' Newest Target

It is a sad commentary on this country, but Barack Obama's victory as the nominee of the Democratic Party is bringing out the bottom feeders and low lifes of the white supremacist circles who are reporting increased traffic to their posionous web sites. Personally, I have never understood the mindset that requires someone else to look down on and discriminate against in order to have some sense of self-worth. These folks are seriously screwed up emotionally and psychologically, if you ask me. It seems that rather than better themselves, they devote huge amounts of energy towards hating others. Perhaps if their energies were better directed, they would not need to look down upon/hate others to find a measure of self esteem. These individuals truly make one ashamed to be an American and are true losers. Sadly, what the article does not address is that if one regularly reads the websites of the major Christianist organizations - e.g., Family Research Council, Concerned Women, Focus on the Family - there is also a subtle anti-non-white bigotry being disseminated. Here are highlights from new Washington Post story:

*

Sen. Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated in America and across much of the world as a symbol of racial progress and cultural unity, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, mainly on the Internet, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them.

*

Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist groups have reported gains in numbers of visitors to their Web sites and in membership since the senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination June 3. His success has aroused a community of racists, experts said, concerned by the possibility of the country's first black president. "I haven't seen this much anger in a long, long time," said Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who runs a group called White Revolution in Russellville, Ark. "Nothing has awakened normally complacent white Americans more than the prospect of America having an overtly nonwhite president."

*

The truth is, we're finding an explosion in these kinds of hateful sentiments on the Net, and it's a growing problem," said Deborah Lauter, civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate group activity. "There are probably thousands of Web sites that do this now. I couldn't even tell you how many are out there because it's growing so fast."

*

Earlier this month, Obama's campaign launched a Web site to defuse the false rumors that hate-mongers spread on the Internet. The site lists a series of untruths about Obama -- that he is Muslim; that his books contain racist passages; that his wife, Michelle, used the word "whitey" -- and discredits them. "The Obama campaign isn't going to let dishonest smears spread across the Internet unanswered," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. "We have to be proactive and fight back."

*

The past few months reflect a recent trend of hate group growth, watch organizations said. Fueled primarily by anti-immigration sentiment, white supremacy groups have increased by nearly half since 2000, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. The KKK has diversified regionally and now has about 150 chapters spread through 34 states.

*

There is also another possibility, of course, one that makes white power leaders despise Obama even more. "What you try not to think about is that maybe if Obama wins, it will create a very demoralizing effect," Doggett said. "Maybe people see him in office, and it's like: 'That's it. It's just too late. Look at what's happened now. We've endured all these defeats, and we've still got a multicultural society.' And then there's just no future for our viewpoint."

Christianist Lies About ENDA

In my op-ed on Virginianewssource.com (http://www.virginianewssource.com/VNS/ENDA_act.html), I predicted that the Christianists would be lying through their teeth about ENDA to mislead the "sheeple" as Pam Spaulding accurately calls them. Sure enough, Matt Barber at Concerned [Bitches] Women for America has already begun. Here's Barber's comment (NOTE: in my view, Mr. Barber would not know how to tell the truth if his life depended on it since he is such a pathological liar):

ENDA contains an extremely weak religious exemption which might partially protect some religious organizations but would leave many others — such as Bible bookstores and many Christian schools — entirely unprotected. It would additionally crush individual business owners’ guaranteed First Amendment rights.

“For any religious exemption to pass constitutional muster,” said Barber, “it would have to apply to the individual business owner. The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion. This applies to all individual citizens, not just to a church, religious organization or corporation. ENDA would unconstitutionally force business owners to abandon their faith at the workplace door and adopt a view of sexual morality which runs directly counter to central tenets of every major world religion and thousands of years of history."

Mr. Barber conveniently omits the fact that ENDA applies ONLY to employers with more than 15 employees - a standard I suspect that few small bible bookstores would met. But, never mind. Why let the truth get in the way of your knowingly disingenuous rant. Sadly, I doubt the Main Stream Media talking heads and anchors will challenge folks like Barber on these points since too many "journalists" (1) are too uninformed themselves to ask competent questions and (2) are always letting these liars run their mouths unchallenged.

For a good listing of reactions to ENDA from various groups, see Pam Spaulding's blog here: http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3594

House committee passes ENDA, 27-21

The following is from John Aravosis at AmericaBlog (http://www.americablog.com/2007/10/house-committee-passes-enda-27-21.html):

This is a historic vote (this is the GLB ENDA, the one we actually have the votes for, the one we've been working on for 30 years). All Republican amendments were defeated. Four Dems sided with Pat Robertson and the men at the Concerned Women for America and voted no (including Kucinich, Holt, Clark and Sanchez - ostensibly because they feel we should hold 25 million gays and lesbians hostage until America is ready to pass civil rights laws for somewhere between tens of thousands and a few hundred thousand transgender people), and three Rs voted yes (Castle, Biggert and Platts). I have written down that Kuhl (a Republican) voted yes, but need to double check that.

Of course, now the real work begins of getting the bill passed by the full House of Representatives. Be assured that the wingnuts will be working over time to kill it. The deletion of gender identity from the bill will greatly undercut the Christianists' rhetoric since they will not be able to blatter about men wearing dresses if they are truthful - I know, that's a huge if. Here's an example from Concerned [Bitches] Women for America:

Sean was a burly truck driver. Growing up, he always felt something was wrong. He preferred Barbie to G.I. Joe and didn’t like football or the other things boys were supposed to like. Rather, he got twitterpated by the way pantyhose felt against his skin and eventually made the self-determination that he was, in fact, a woman trapped in a man’s body. There were others who felt the same way, and a movement was formed. They called themselves “transgender.” They made up fancy, official sounding terms like “gender identity” and “gender reassignment surgery” and demanded they be granted special rights and government-mandated benefits.

Get the picture?

ENDA would force all Americans who prefer to live within the realm of reality to pretend, by force of law, that a man is a woman — that an apple is an orange, simply because that apple thinks it’s an orange (awkward, fruity pun not intended). It’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” meets George Orwell, and even if you’re the Mary Lou Retton of mental gymnastics, you land flat on your keister on this one.

Fundie Mental Melt Down

If one needs any more evidence that the fundie Christianist are mentally unbalanced, one need look no farther than Matt Barber's rant at Concern Women for America (http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13225/CFI/family/www.cwfa.org) Of course I find it interesting that these "concerned women" so often only speak through the voices of their homophobic men folk. I had no idea that we gays seeking marriage rights were akin to the Frankenstein monster, a threat to national secuity and/or as damaging as Hurricane Katrina:

"Prior to Goodridge, the concept of a man "marrying" a man or a woman "marrying" a woman was widely and properly considered preposterous. However, with their decision in Goodridge, four of the court's seven social mad scientists have zapped artificial life into a cultural "gay-marriage" Frankenstein monster. And that radical and bizarre new concept has been terrorizing the countryside every since. "

If the 1913 law [that restricts marriage to Massachusetts residents] is repealed and homosexual activists have success with like-minded judges, then we can expect the "gay marriage" levy to break, flooding the countryside with Hurricane Katrina-like destruction to the marriage and family foundation upon which our society rests.

I truly believe Mr. Barber needs some therapy and heavy medication. Meanwhile, CWFA is silent on the fate of war orphans in Iraq, etc., which one would expect true Christians to focus upon. Damn, I forgot. Those orphans are not white and are Muslim. Never mind.