crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
Yet more proof regarding what I said last week about the religious right and their links to discredited researcher Paul Cameron has come about via our friend (and I use that as an extreme euphemism) Peter LaBarbera and his phony Christian group American for Truth:
LaBarbera Calls for Federal Studies on the Health Risks of Homosexual Behavior
More Dangerous than Smoking? Men who have had sex with men since 1977 have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population and 800 times higher than first time blood donors, the FDA reports. When it comes to combating cigarettes, the government not only restricts, taxes and bans smoking, it also funds and encourages anti-smoking messages and advertisements. Given the immense health risks of male homosexual sex, shouldn’t the federal government do a comprehensive study on the matter, tax sodomitic establishments, and educate the public and especially young people about the dangers of “gay” sex?
Speaking Friday at the annual Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ conference in Edmond, OK, Americans For Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH) President Peter LaBarbera called for government study on the heath risks of homosexual behavior.
LaBarbera read from a Food & Drug Administration (FDA) report explaining why “men who have sex with men” (MSM) cannot donate blood due to the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases linked to MSM. He noted that since government agencies and politicians are active in confronting the health risks of smoking (using taxpayer dollars), they should do the do the same for homosexual sex — especially between men — which appears to be as dangerous or more so than smoking cigarettes.
LaBarbera is linking badly. For the record, no study done by any medical group has said that homosexuality is as dangerous as smoking cigarettes. No legitimate researcher or physician has ever said this either.
But Paul Cameron has.
Unless I am inaccurate, it was Cameron who first espoused this lie in 2005.
Of course Cameron's claim was disputed by folks who have actual expertise in the area but he continued to persist with his charade.
Now in all honesty, some folks may dispute my links claiming that since they are "pro-gay" sources, they are biased.
Well another source here from the rightwing Free Republic bear up my contention that Cameron was the first to push the lie that "homosexuality is as dangerous as cigarette smoking:"
Studies have shown that years of smoking shortens the lifespan of the smoker from 1 to 7 years. But analysis of the age of death in Norway and Denmark for gays who are legally married suggests that engaging in homosexual behavior reduces the lifespan by 24 years!
So reported Drs. Paul and Kirk Cameron at the annual convention of the Eastern Psychological Association on March 23.
"What justification is there for condemning smoking and endorsing homosexuality?" asked Dr. Paul Cameron, of the Family Research Institute, a Colorado-based think tank. "Today, all across the Western world, school children are being taught the acceptability of homosexuality and the wrongness of smoking.
So the question here is not whether or not there should be research regarding the supposed health risks of homosexuality.
The question here is why would LaBarbera, who is supposed to be a Christian man, stoop to channeling the research of a total fraud?
But here is the most important thing to remember - While Paul Cameron's name may fall back on the dungheap of ridicule, his lies will always plague the lgbt community unless we call them out every time they pop up.
It’s been a little slow in coming but it looks like Republicans are finally nally getting the message that being outright homophobic is not the wave of the future.
This week in New York, the Republican county chairs of the 23rd congressional district tossed aside a handful of other candidates and tapped state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava to run for the seat being vacated by Rep. John McHugh, whom President Obama has nominated as Secretary of the Army.
Scozzafava is one of four GOP assemblymembers who voted to pass New York’s first marriage equality bill back in 2007 – a vote that some deemed a potential death knell in her conservative upstate district. But conventional wisdom imploded and Scozzafava ran for re-election uncontested – meaning no one thought she was vulnerable enough to lose.
In Illinois, the Senate seat kept warm by the departing Roland Burris is up for grabs and the Republican party there is eyeing Congressman Mark Kirk.
Though Kirk is not on the record for marriage equality, he co-sponsored the House’s hate crimes bill, voted for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act in 2007 and against the Federal Marriage Amendment in both 2004 and 2006.
Kirk may be assailed by some die-hard social conservatives as a traitor and a RINO (Republican In Name Only), but clearly the GOP leadership senses that he is their best hope to win back a seat from Democrats.
So is this a real trend based on the principle that TEH GAY is not so bad after all, or is it only a matter of survival for the GOP in Blue states because being virulently anti-gay is a losing POV? Eleveld quotes GOP insider Fred Malek, who writes on Red State about his top 10 Republican leaders who are making an impact (one who made the list is...Charlie Crist):
My fellow conservatives may not like this one, but hear me out: Unless our party can embrace a big tent policy that welcomes moderates like my friend Colin Powell, we will not win elections. In liberal-dominated Illinois, Delaware and increasingly purple Florida, we need to be open to supporting officials who can win and will support our issues most of the time, instead of electing more Democrats who will oppose us nearly all of the time.
While this is all well and good to diversify in a party in disarray that has lost big, the cautionary note in the column is that the "pro-gay" party in name only, the Democrats, are doing the flip side in the South by throwing us under the bus, trying to craft wins by fielding anti-gay, forced-birth advocate candidates who do a lot of bible-quoting and family values shilling.
This doesn't move the ball forward for equal rights at all; at the very least candidates in the South need to learn how to frame the social issues differently; the right wing groups are going to ask them anyway, so pols better get used to questions from them, as well as LGBTs who want to know a stand on the issues. We cannot make gains if the issues are not discussed publicly -- no education occurs to make progress by fielding candidate who are hostile to LGBT rights.
Our Love Is Here To Stay
By George and Ira GershwinThe more I read the papers
The less I comprehend
The world with all its capers
And how it all will end.
Nothing seems to be lasting.
But that isn't our affair;
We've got something permanent,
I mean in the way we care.It's very clear
Our love is here to stay;
Not for a year
But ever and a day.
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies,
And in time may go.
But, oh my dear,
Our love is here to stay;
Together we're going a long, long way.
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble,
They're only made of clay,
But our love is here to stay.
Related:
* So Now We Wait
* There are 5715 Domestic Partnership registrations as of 7/26/2009.
'Tis the season for PRIDE Festivities everyone! Listed below are this summer's upcoming PRIDE festivals around the state. Click on the image or align="center">'Tis the season for PRIDE Festivities everyone! Listed below are this summer's upcoming PRIDE festivals around the state. Click on the image or link for more information about each festival, and make sure you show up and are PROUD!
Oregon PRIDES Calender & Information
When: August 8th from 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Where: Alton Baker Park in Eugene
BRO Staff in Attendence: Aubrey & Alejandro
When: August 15th from 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Where: Cascades Gateway Park in Salem
BRO Staff in Attendence: Juan
When: September 18th- 20th. Where: Various locations in Lincoln
BRO Staff in Attendence: Andrew
When: August 8th. Where: McKenzie Park in Hermiston
BRO Staff in Attendance: Jessica & Dan
If you are interested in volunteering with Basic Rights Oregon at any of these PRIDES, please contact Kyle at kyle@basicrights.org.
Don't see your city's pride here? E-mail Andrew at andrew@basicrights.org to have it added to BRO's Pride calender.www.GayTalkRadio.org
No comments:
Post a Comment