Help: I need help against this anti-gay bullshit popping up everywhere

[Blue_Chill]

I haven't been around here in a while but you guys are still the best source to combat some of the more annoying topics I run into these days. Lately the anti-gay bigots are on a rampage and they've been using a published study to spread their bile. I've tried to find info that directly challenges this study but have so far been unable.

Help me out.

The study in question:
http://www.narth.com/docs/evidencefound.html

Please pardon the link I am providing.

[niceypoo]

1. They do it every 4 years

And this year their bigotry will be especially virulent. Bush has zero issues in his favor so he is going after gay people.

[lastknowngood]

2. They have been emboldened by the Reich Wing crap going

on in this country and the timid response from the "democratic" reps and some of the candidates. Get ready to leave this country or prepare to be victimized as a bogyman/bogywoman. The way cowards and fascists stay in power is by identifying small easily identifiable groups and blaming the country's problems on them.

[cardlaw]

3. The main problem

with the study is that all the subjects chosen were volunteers. Naturally, those who volunteer for a study attempting to evidence the "reversion therapy" movement are going to be pro-therapy. So, the sample was not representative. Those interviewed were not a random sample of all those who attempted to revert from homosexuality. They are only those who continued to believe the therapy worked and sought out a way to show the movement worked. The study's sample is inherently biased.

Dr. Spitzer said the data collected showed that, following therapy, many of the participants experienced a marked increase in both the frequency and satisfaction of heterosexual activity, while those in marital relationships noted more emotional fulfillment between their spouses and themselves.

This doesn't mean these participants were converted to heterosexuality. It merely means they were able to repress their homosexual feelings (somewhat) and dupe themselves into believing they were satisfied in their heterosexual relationship.

[mike1963]

4. Take a look at this link

http://www.ralliance.org/SpitzerStudy.html

[Blue_Chill]

5. wonderful

thank you!

[papau]

6. People for the American way (civil rights) has NARTH on their bad guy list

http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/indepthex.php

http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/indepth.php?PHPSESSID=8bd1687472faf0662a97e5830d0f8fe8

In Depth: "Ex-Gays" & "Conversion Therapy"
media center > 2002 media reference guide > in depth > ex-gays

Anti-gay activists have argued for years that sexual orientation is a choice and changeable -- but only for lesbians and gay men, not heterosexuals. They claim homosexuality is a form of mental illness or a disorder that can be "cured" through psychological or religious intervention. Through the testimony of so-called "ex-gays," anti-gay activists argue their belief that homosexuality is a curable condition, and therefore lesbians and gay men do not need or deserve equal rights or protection from discrimination. The American Psychiatric Association has condemned the "treatment" of homosexuality, saying "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." In addition, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the National Mental Health Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics also have spoken out against these therapies. Many who have undergone these therapies also condemn the practice.THE SPITZER STUDY

In May 2001, Dr. Robert Spitzer of Columbia University released the results of a short-term study of "reparative" (or "conversion") therapy. Based on telephone interviews with a convenient sample of 200 subjects, Spitzer concluded that some "highly motivated" gay people could change their sexual orientation through therapy or other means.

Many in the scientific community dismissed the study because of its serious methodological flaws, among them:

Spitzer recruited most of his subjects through two anti-gay activist groups: Exodus and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH).

Spitzer intentionally excluded from his study anybody whose experiences with reparative therapy were not successful.

Spitzer's research did not mention or account for the existence of bisexuality on the continuum of sexual orientation.


Initial media coverage of the study was largely inaccurate and sensationalistic. Outlets viewed the study solely through social and political filters, rather than on scientific merits (in fact, many media outlets sought religious or political spokespeople to discuss the scientific implications of the study). And many outlets misstated Spitzer's conclusions, resulting in headlines such as: "An explosive new study says some gay people can turn straight if they really want to." This is a notion Spitzer himself has vehemently disputed in the public record.

When reporting on scientific opinions or research on sexual orientation/gender identity issues, please solicit information and opinions from qualified experts in the appropriate scientific discipline.




and much more





the list of folks on the right who worry about this is very large!

good luck


http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=4246

Religious Right Groups Involved in Antigay Incidents


National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality - Oregon Citizens Alliance

National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality

Based in Encino, California, this group is dedicated to research and prevention of homosexuality. Founded by Drs. Charles Socarides, Benjamin Kaufman, and Joseph Nicolosi, this group is comprised of mostly right-wing scientists who claim “homosexuality distorts the natural bonds of friendship that would naturally unite persons of the same sex.” It also distributes a variety of anti-gay “scientific” publications, recently mailing its “Homosexual Advocacy Groups and Your School” guide to 15,300 public school superintendents, claiming to repute the “Just the Facts” pamphlet, distributed by a coalition including the National Education Association and the American Psychological Association in 1999.
Web site http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/”http://www.narth.com/”

National Non-Sectarian Council of Pro-Family Activists

The National Non-Sectarian Council of Pro-Family Activists, directed by Rabbi David Eidensohn, is a coalition of leaders from national and state-based Religious Right groups. Council activists include Brian Camenker (Parents’ Rights Coalition, Massachusetts), Linda Harvey (Mission: America), Mike Heath (Christian Civic League of Maine), Robert Knight (Culture and Family Institute), Rabbi Yehuda Levin, Scott Lively (American Family Association of California), Dr. Judith Reisman, and Michael Schwartz (Concerned Women for America), among other critics of gay rights.
Web site http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/”http://www.sinaicentral.com/gendercentral/”

New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms

Formed in April 1982, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms is a statewide, issues-oriented, political lobbying organization that is committed to “voicing the moral and religious perspective to New York state legislators.”
Web sitehttp://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/”http://www.nyfrf.org/”

Newton Parents for Moderation

Founded by Sam Washburn, Newton Parents for Moderation is a “parental rights” group opposed to discussion of homosexuality in public school classrooms. The group was among those Religious Right groups who criticized the appointment by President George W. Bush of former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci as U.S. Ambassador to Canada.

Northstar Legal Center

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this is the legal arm of the Minnesota Family Council and Institute, an independent affiliate of Focus on the Family. Its general counsel, Jordan Lorence, a Washington, D.C. area attorney, has filed numerous lawsuits challenging domestic partner benefit programs that state and local governments across the nation offer their employees. The Center has also been active in supporting the legal challenges to college policies that various college students claim infringe upon their religious rights. Northstar’s Advisory Board includes Thomas Jipping, recently named as Senior Fellow in Legal Studies for Concerned Women for America, Michael Farris, President of the Home School Legal Defense Association, and former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III.
Web site
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/”http://www.mfc.org/northstar/”

Northwest Legal Foundation

Based in Tacoma, Washington, this group is a right-wing public interest law firm “dedicated to promoting proper and responsible exercise of governmental authority and safeguarding individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Federal and State Constitutions.”

Oregon Citizens Alliance

Based in Brooks, Oregon, this group was “founded to vigorously defend and preserve the moral values, the economic principles and the constitutional precepts established at the founding of this great country and to aggressively re-establish those same values, principles and precepts within all areas of our American culture and society, and within every public or constitutional institution where they have been removed or destroyed.” OCA has sponsored statewide ballot initiatives to overturn anti-discrimination protection for gays and attempted to prohibit public schools from so-called promotion of homosexuality or bisexuality.
Web site
http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/”http://www.oregoncitizensalliance.org/”

[TrogL]

7. The Spitzer study has been pretty much debunked

a change of no less than 10 points

...

only 11% of the men and 37% of the women reported complete change

97% were of a Christian background

Oh you've GOT to be kidding.

Can you say "bias"?

Most of these people appear to be bisexual at best.

http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/orient.html

[madrchsod]

8. quack ,quack,,quack.

yes they are quacks,not respected ducks...this crap must be seasonable, it always pops it`s ugly little head every year.

[Moderator]

9. Locking

Rules to start discussion threads in the General Discussion forum.

1. If you start a thread in the General Discussion forum, you must present your opinion in a manner that is not inflammatory, which respects differences in opinion, and which is likely to lead to respectful discussion rather than flaming. Some examples of things which should generally be avoided are: unnecessarily hot rhetoric, nicknames for prominent Democrats or their supporters, broad-brush statements about groups of people, single-sentence "drive-by" thread topics, etc.

2. The subject line of a discussion thread must accurately reflect the actual content of the message.

3. The subject line of a discussion thread may not include profanity or swear words, even if words or letters are replaced by asterisks, dashes, or abbreviations.

4. The subject line and the entire text of the message which starts the thread may not include excessive capitalization, or excessive punctuation.

5. If you post an article or other published content which is from a conservative source or which expresses a traditionally conservative viewpoint, you must state your opinion about the piece and/or the issues it raises.

6. You may not start a new discussion thread in order to continue a current or recent flame war from another thread. The moderators have the authority to lock threads in order to contain flaming on a particular topic to only one thread at a time.

7. Discussion topics that mention any or all of the Democratic presidential primary candidates are not permitted in the General Discussion forum, and instead must be posted in the General Discussion: 2004 Primary forum.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
DU moderator