Something’s awry: On one hand, the APA asks homosexuals to appoint members of a task force to evaluate reparative (ex-“gay”) therapy, thereby ensuring that only those hostile to the concept will be on the committee. Meanwhile, a parent who expressed disapproval of a pro-“gay” video for her third-grader is barred from serving on a committee to evaluate the curriculum.

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Excerpted from Gay Parents Video To Be Reviewed in Evesham, by Matt Katz, published Mar 12, 2007, by Courier-Post:

The district is set to announce today that it has formed a committee that will make a recommendation about a controversial video featuring gay parents, but committee members’ names will remain secret to protect them from harassment.

Nine PTA parents will serve on the committee, district spokeswoman Jeanne Smith said, along with a group of teachers.

The controversy, which has garnered national media attention, began in January when a father complained anonymously to a local TV station about That’s a Family! after it was shown at Van Zant School.

The film, part of a third-grade health curriculum about different family structures, depicts parents who are divorced, those who are raising children as grandparents and those who are in same-sex relationships…

Susan Trimble, a parent, said she was initially told that since she spoke out against the video, she would be barred from serving on the special review committee…

Continue reading in Courier-Post…

Sure to result in a task force hostile to the idea of reparative therapy (therapy that works to diminish same-sex attraction and potentitally restore a person’s natural heterosexual orientation)…

From the American Psychological Association:

Call for Nominations for the Board of Directors Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation

Nominations are requested by March 19, 2007 for the Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. Nominations should include a statement of interest and a curriculum vitae for each nominee. They should be sent to the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office by E-mail (lgbc@apa.org), by FAX (202-336-6040), or by mail at Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE , Washington , DC 20002. For any questions about the Task Force or the nomination process, contact the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Office at 202-336-6041.

The Board of Directors authorized the five-person Task Force during its February 14-15, 2007, meeting, and allocated $12,500 from its 2007 discretionary fund to support two meetings of the task force in 2007.
The Task Force was given the following charge:

(1) To revise and update the APA resolution Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation (1997);
(2) To generate a report that includes the following:

• (a) The appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for children and adolescents who present a desire to change either their sexual orientation or their behavioral expression of their sexual orientation, or both, or whose guardian expresses a desire for the minor to change;
• (b) The appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for adults who present a desire to change their sexual orientation or their behavioral expression of their sexual orientation, or both;
• (c) The presence of adolescent inpatient facilities that offer coercive treatment designed to change sexual orientation or the behavioral expression of sexual orientation;
• (d) Education, training, and research issues as they pertain to such therapeutic interventions;
• (e) Recommendations regarding treatment protocols that promote stereotyped gender normative behavior to mitigate behaviors that are perceived to be indicators that a child will develop a homosexual orientation in adolescence and adulthood;

(3) To inform the Association’s response to groups that promote treatments to change sexual orientation or its behavioral expression and to support public policy that furthers affirmative therapeutic interventions.

The Board was asked to establish the Task Force by the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) and the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI). CLGBC and BAPPI recommended the Task Force as a mechanism for revising and updating the 1997 APA resolution Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation to reflect the larger body of research and scholarship on sexual orientation conversion therapy, or so-called reparative therapy, that has been published since 1997, as well as to take into account that other professional associations have adopted resolutions since the 1997 APA resolution. Several external organizations have recommended that APA update its policy, because of their concerns about the continued visibility of reparative therapy practitioners and treatment facilities and about the role of advocacy for reparative theory in attempts to shape public opinion about the nature of sexual orientation and to support an anti-gay activist role in legislative and judicial arenas.

The Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns will review the nominations at its March 23-25 meeting and present slates of nominees to BAPPI for review and approval.

On Monday, Mar 12, NBC’s The Today Show helped Human Rights Campaign kick off their latest campaign to promote homosexuality, the Cyndi Lauper True Colors Tour. A link to HRC is currently posted under “Viewer resources” on The Today Show’s website.

From the website of the homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign:

True Colors Tour 2007

The Human Rights Campaign has joined forces with legendary performer Cyndi Lauper to launch a national tour in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. The True Colors 2007 Tour will feature Cyndi and other incredible artists including Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls and Margaret Cho as well as a variety of special guests, including Rufus Wainwright in certain cities. In addition, HRC will receive a portion of every ticket sold.

Cyndi Lauper has long been a supporter of the GLBT community, and particularly of HRC. Her motivation for this tour stemmed from her desire to give back to the community for the love and support they have given her throughout her career, while bringing gay and straight audiences together in support of equality…

Watch the interview HERE.

A press release dated Mar 7, 2007, from The Lawyers Christians Fellowship (UK):

GOVERNMENT PUBLISH LANDMARK INTOLERANT LEGISLATION
SETTING GROUND FOR CLASH OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

After spending 9 months drafting the proposed SEXUAL ORIENTATION REGULATIONS (SORs), the Government have today published the final version of the new law without making any significant concessions to protect the rights of Christians and others with deeply held religious beliefs.

The SORs can be found by clicking HERE.

The Regulations, which make discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation unlawful in relation to the provision of goods, services, premises, education and public functions, are due to come into force on the 30th April 2007.

Under the Regulations:

• It will be illegal for a Christian printer to refuse to print material promoting homosexual sex,
  
• It will be illegal for a Muslim website designer to refuse to build a website for homosexual dating, and
  
• It will be illegal for a Jewish conference centre to refuse to accept a booking from a Gay and Lesbian society who wish to hold a meeting promoting homosexual practices.

Thomas Cordrey, Barrister and Public Policy Analyst at the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, commented:

“This legislation is unprecedented in its complete intolerance of those who have religious beliefs. The Government did not put forward a single piece of evidence to justify the need for the Regulations, they have ignored 72% of the public[1] who opposed their approach to this law, and they have ignored the majority of the 3000 responses to their consultation. Despite this weak basis to the law, the Government is prepared to take the landmark step of making it illegal for Christians to hold to the Bible’s clear teaching that God loves everyone and wants all people to know him, but also, that extra-marital sexual conduct (whether homosexual or heterosexual) is wrong.”

“To think that the Government would prefer to shut down the widespread and compassionate voluntary services provided by Christian adoption agencies, drug rehabilitation centres, homeless shelters and community centres, rather than accept that Christians should not be forced to promote homosexual practices, is astounding.”

Andrea Williams, Public Policy Officer at the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship commented:

“Whilst Christian groups have been clear from the outset that they would not in any way wish to deny the provision of basic goods and services to homosexuals, the Government have refused all calls that the Regulations should contain a simple clause that no-one should be forced by this law to promote or actively condone any sexual practices which are contrary to their deeply held religious belief.

“Rather than balancing rights the Government have chosen to draft these Regulations so that in almost every case the right to live a homosexual lifestyle trumps the right to live a religious lifestyle.

“Every concern held by the Church of England and Catholic Church on the issue of gay adoption is magnified by the publication of these Regulations. The new morality being imposed by the Government on the British people has just taken a giant leap forward.”

[1] See the independent Communicate Research Opinion Poll See the independent Communicate Research Opinion Poll

Contrast Mr. Jackson’s Biblical perspective to that of lesbian blogger Pam Spaulding, where she says (emphasis ours):

“Saturday’s coverage of the Summit includes a press conference with Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and other pastors speaking out against homophobia in the black church; Dyson’s speech, “The Theology of Homoeroticism;” and a debate featuring anti-equality pastor Bishop Harry Jackson. Sorry to say it doesn’t appear that Jackson learned much; spews some of his hoary anti-gay rhetoric in a Town Hall column that appears today.”

Her account of the debate is posted HERE.

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From Black Gays Aggressively Enlist in the Culture War, by Harry R. Jackson, Jr., published March 12, 2007, by Townhall:

This last week I sat in a historic black American site – Mother Bethel Church in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. In keeping with the city’s tradition of being a cradle of American freedom, the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first black congregation founded in the north. Established in 1793 by Richard Allen, a black minister who eventually became the first bishop of the AME denomination, this facility has stood as a symbol of the black struggle for freedom in both social and religious matters.

Unfortunately, last Saturday it was the site of a debate between liberal black clergy and conservatives concerning the acceptance of gays in the black church.

I felt compelled to raise my voice against the sponsoring group’s attempt to legitimize the gay life style in the black church. It took a little courage for me to attend such an event because of the lack of civility that the gay community often displays. In fact because of my conservative stand, I have been physically threatened with violence on several occasions.

Why would I risk appearing at such an event? The answer is clear in my mind. Such rallies and debate forums consist of both ardent followers and young people whom these folks are attempting to influence. In other words, I had an opportunity to dissuade some of their new converts.

Let me take a moment to give you a historic and sociological perspective of the gay movement in the black church. Most national polls in recent years have shown that blacks are more socially conservative than whites in their personal attitudes about things like same sex marriage than their white counterparts.

Despite these personal convictions, these same black citizens often vote for people that do not share their conservative perspective of the social landscape.

In a similar manner, black churches have often majored on developing an atmosphere of love and acceptance of all individuals. They preach that they serve a God of a second chance. One of the greatest examples of this attitude is Marion Barry’s 1995 winning campaign for Washington, D.C.’s mayoral post.

Barry ran on a saved-by-grace campaign. He won, despite the fact that he had been caught on video tape in the Vista Hotel using cocaine and having an adulterous liaison with a woman. Gays have enjoyed that “second chance” opportunity in black churches. Therefore, a gay appearance or someone’s past life does not stigmatize black church attendees. After all, how can someone reform if there is no dialogue or opportunity for exposure to truth.

Regretfully, gay acceptance doesn’t stop there in many cases. Many of our churches have had a “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” approach to gay members of congregations, choirs, and clergy. This means that openly gay behavior has not been condoned, but leaders in churches and denominations have not probed to identify or remove gay people. Often, rumors of gay activity outside of the church are overlooked as long as there are no incidents of solicitation or liaisons at church sponsored events. One minister I know proudly told a few other clergymen confidentially that he had been hired by a new congregation who had already employed a closeted gay music leader. His approach was to have a heart to heart talk in which he warned the man that he would report any problems he observed on church property. He went on to add that what the man did off site was his own business.

In my view, the “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” approach to this problem is the height of hypocrisy. Politics may be the place for compromise and consensus. The Church, on the other hand, should be a place of conviction and truth.

The Bible is clear in its statements against gay sexual activity.

Unfortunately, few churches preach biblical sexuality well. If they did, there would be fewer out-of-wedlock births as well as fewer practicing gays in the black church.

Church leaders must stand against the acceptance of the gay lifestyle because of social ramifications as well. Recent studies concerning same-sex marriage have shown that in Sweden and the Netherlands, where such unions have been allowed, marriage is devalued—resulting in fewer and later marriages. Secondly, they lead to rising out-of-wedlock births akin to the current black community dilemma in the U.S.

In addition to the damage that gay marriage does to the black family structure that is already under stress, legalization of gay marriage has the potential of endangering the next generation. Statistics show that children do better in school and are greater contributors to society when a mother and a father are present in the home.

In conclusion, let me state that the battle concerning same sex marriage and gay rights is just warming up in America. I am not willing just to give into the current cultural idiom which says, “Gay is Okay!” There is too much at stake.

I have compassion for people who live a gay lifestyle. Just like Jesus, I will take every opportunity to love the sinner and hate the sin. What about you?

Will you stand with me in this culture war?

Harry R. Jackson Jr. is founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition as well as author of The Warriors Heart: Rules of Engagement for the Spiritual War Zone.

…and 61% still oppose homosexual “marriage.”

From The Culture and Media Institute:

The National Cultural Values Survey
America: A Nation in Moral and Spiritual Confusion
March 7, 2007

The Culture and Media Institute (CMI) unveiled its first Special Report,
“The National Cultural Values Survey: America: A Nation in Moral and Spiritual Confusion,” at a press conference today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The survey reveals that 74 percent of Americans believe the nation is in moral decline, and that a culture war is indeed occurring in America.

From page 24 of the 32 page pdf:

Excerpted from Policy Changing After Gay Porn Studio Lauded, by Cecilia M. Vega, published Mar 3, 2007, by San Francisco Chronicle:

San Francisco Mayor (pictured right) Gavin Newsom’s administration will change its policy on issuing laudatory proclamations after a gay porn studio was honored last week without the mayor’s knowledge, city officials said Friday.

Conservative activists and pundits nationwide belittled the city after Newsom’s office declared Feb. 23 to be Colt Studio Day, honoring the 40th anniversary of a San Francisco movie company whose Web site invites visitors to “come inside to experience the hottest man-on-man action.”

…The proclamation was written by Neighborhood Services staffers after they learned state Assemblyman Mark Leno (pictured left), D-San Francisco, and city Treasurer Jose Cisneros had issued similar commendations.

Neither of those elected officials expressed regrets Friday.

Leno attended the company’s anniversary party Feb. 23 and publicly thanked Colt Studio for producing images he said contributed to his development as a gay man. On Friday, he issued a statement saying Colt produces “adult, gay, male home entertainment.”

“The owners of the studio are taxpaying, law-abiding San Francisco employers who promote safe sex,” Leno (pictured left) said. “With a war out of control and the planet’s temperature rising, I would have hoped Bill O’Reilly had more pressing issues to discuss. Clearly, with his viewership currently plummeting, he thinks denigrating gay male entertainment will be his lifeline.”

Cisneros (pictured right), who sent a representative to the anniversary party, said Friday that issuing a proclamation to Colt Studio “was fine. We acknowledged a business that has been in business for a long time.”

…O’Reilly also chastised city officials Tuesday during his show “The O’Reilly Factor.”

“There is not another city in the country that has ever had a ‘gay porn day,’ ” he said. “And you wonder why San Francisco values is mocked and your city is mocked and it’s looked upon as a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.”

This is the second time in recent months that the pornography business in the city has been in the news. In December, the online porn company Kink.com bought the old armory on Mission Street, where it now films X-rated bondage videos…

Continue reading at San Francisco Chronicle…

Thought Question: How many of San Francisco’s elected officials object when nudity and perverted acts take place in public, with children present, in their city — for instance, during Folsom Street Fair — a sadistic sex celebration in which several city blocks are cordoned off — or the annual “gay pride” parade? Interesting that these men find committed Christian teenagers more offensive than public indecency, homosexual bathhouses, etc.

“San Francisco has found the limit of its tolerance in BattleCry’s morning worship service.” — Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

Excerpted from A Youth Ministry Some Call Antigay Tests Tolerance, by Jesse McKinley, published Mar 8, 2007, by The New York Times:

…When the group in question is a Christian ministry from Texas that condemns homosexuality, and the place is San Francisco, often referred to as “the gayest city in America,” the civic welcome wagon collapses pretty quickly.

A two-day event called BattleCry starts Friday at AT&T Park, the downtown baseball stadium. Organizers say the gathering…is a way for young Christians to speak out against what they view as destructive cultural elements, including sex on television, obscene music and violent video games…

But several prominent San Francisco political leaders say Mr. Luce’s group is the one doing the damage, using its young members as a conduit for a message of intolerance.

“They are being fed, spoon-fed, hate,” said Tom Ammiano, a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors, who is gay. “And it is incumbent on any group receiving that hate, particularly gay people, to speak out.”

Aaron Peskin, the board’s president, called BattleCry “reckless and irresponsible.”

“We need to increase understanding of our human differences, not teach our kids to be suspicious and hateful towards people unlike them,” Mr. Peskin said in a statement.

…The dispute may come to a head on Friday afternoon when hundreds of Christian teenagers are expected to congregate on the steps of City Hall to pray and “raise their voices on behalf of their generation,” organizers said. A group opposing BattleCry plans to protest alongside.

Opponents have said that the rhetoric used onstage during these events is overtly antigay and subtly militaristic…“imposing their biblical fundamentalist worldview on the country.”

…Mr. Luce [said] his group loves gay people, but does firmly believe their sexuality is sinful.

“We see homosexuality like a lot of other things that do harm to us, like lying, or cheating, or stealing,” he said, adding that he said he had seen studies suggesting that many gay people are depressed or unhappy. “And it’s not very loving to leave them in that state and not show them another way.”

…Joe D’Alessandro, the president of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau…said its organizers should be allowed to hold BattleCry nonetheless.

“I think we have to practice tolerance, whether or not they practice tolerance,” Mr. D’Alessandro said. “I’m gay myself, and I find their beliefs very offensive. But they have a right to come to our city.”

Continue reading in The New York Times…