Bryan Fischer
Southern Poverty Law Center belongs on its own "hate group" list
By Bryan Fischer
The American Family Association and the Family Research Council were recently added to the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of "hate" groups.
According to its own website, the criterion for adding groups to the list is "their propagation of known falsehoods" about homosexuality.
I hate to be the one to break this to them, but if this is the criterion, the folks at the Southern Poverty Law Center need to add their own name to the list.
Why? Because they peddle 10 myths about homosexuality right on their own website. They tell ten blatant lies about the nature of homosexual behavior right out there in front of God and everybody.
In other words, they promote the very "propaganda" that qualifies them for their own list. If anybody is guilty of the "propagation of known falsehoods," it's the SPLC itself.
I've gone to considerable lengths in another place to quantify that what the SPLC says are "myths" about homosexuality are in fact truths about the lifestyle, everyone of them.
Here in brief are the "known falsehoods" the SPLC propagates.
1. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals do not molest children at higher rates than heterosexuals. But according to the Journal of Sex Research they do. Roughly one-third of all sex offenses against children are carried out by homosexuals despite the fact they comprise just three percent of the population.
2. The SPLC falsely claims that same-sex parents don't harm children. But according to an Australian sociologist, children raised by homosexual parents did worse in nine of 13 academic and social categories compared to children raised by heterosexual married couples.
3. The SPLC says being sexually abused as a child does not lead to homosexuality in adult life. But psychologists are well aware of the powerful imprinting effect of a child's first sexual experience. A child molested by a same-sex adult is profoundly traumatized and scarred by the abuse, and easily becomes confused about his own sexual identity.
4. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals live just as long as heterosexuals. But the International Journal of Epidemiology says homosexual behavior knocks "8-20 years" off normal life expectancy, and a gay activist group in Canada, the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, declares that the "health issues affecting queer Canadians include lower life expectancy than the average Canadian."
The New York City Health Commission (note: not the research arm of FRC or AFA) has produced a PSA that is so hard-hitting and so devastating for the homosexual agenda that gay activist groups are trying to get the thing pulled down altogether. The text warns homosexuals of the "dozens of diseases" they can contract through homosexual behavior in addition to HIV, including osteoporosis and dementia. Chillingly, it warns gays that they are "over 28 times more likely to get anal cancer" than the general population. The reason for that particular elevated risk factor is obvious.
5. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals had nothing to do with Nazism. But William Shirer, author of "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," said, "But (in) the brown-shirted S.A...many of its top leaders, beginning with its chief, Roehm, were notorious homosexual perverts." Noted German historian Lothar Mochtan conclusively proves that Hitler was a homosexual himself, and says that he "allowed the persecution of gays in order to disguise his own true colours." Nazi hunter Elie Weisel said that homosexual pedophilia was common in the concentration camps, saying of Auschwitz, where he was imprisoned, "[T]here was considerable traffic in young children among homosexuals here."
6. The SPLC falsely claims that hate crime laws will not lead to the jailing of pastors and others who criticize homosexuality. Tell that the grandmother in Philadelphia who was thrown in jail and faced 47 years in prison for doing nothing more than standing on a public sidewalk and declaring the truth about homosexuality during a gay pride parade. Tell it to Ake Green, a Swedish pastor who narrowly averted two years in prison for preaching a sermon from his own pulpit on a biblical view of homosexuality.
7. The SPLC falsely claims that allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military will not damage the armed forces. But the Pentagon's own study reveals that 62% of active duty armed forces personnel believe that it will have negative effects, and the rate is even higher among combat troops in the Marines and the Army. The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Amos, has said quite plainly that allowing open homosexuals to serve will compromise "unit cohesion" and "combat effectiveness," and the distraction caused by introducing sexual tension into the ranks will likely result in increased casualties.
8. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals are not more likely to be mentally ill or to abuse drugs and alcohol. But the pro-homosexual Gay and Lesbian Medical Association says that homosexuals "use substances at a higher rate than the general population," have "higher rates of alcohol dependence and abuse," and are subject to higher rates of "depression and anxiety." If we can't take their own word for it, who can we believe? The American Medical Association, the New York Times, the American Journal of Public Health, the Massachusetts' Department of Public Health and PrideSource all agree. Here's a question: will the SPLC add all of them to their "hate" group list? If not, why not?
9. The SPLC falsely claims that people are born homosexual. But not even homosexual researchers claim to have found the "gay" gene, and I don't think they want it found if it does exist because they know that advances in pre-natal screening will lead to the abortion of carriers of such a genetic marker. They know what happens to Down syndrome babies in the womb.
10. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals cannot leave the lifestyle. But even Dr. Robert Spitzer of Columbia, who engineered the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973, now says, "The changes following reparative therapy were not limited to sexual behavior and sexual orientation self-identity...(but) encompassed the core aspects of sexual orientation."
I don't have a trained eye, but that makes the SPLC ten for ten on the falsehood-ometer.
I hereby formally welcome the Southern Poverty Law Center to its own "hate group" list. It's getting crowded in here.
(For more information, be sure to read Peter Sprigg's excellent white paper, Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality, from which I have gleaned some key content for this column.)
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
December 16, 2010
The American Family Association and the Family Research Council were recently added to the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of "hate" groups.
According to its own website, the criterion for adding groups to the list is "their propagation of known falsehoods" about homosexuality.
I hate to be the one to break this to them, but if this is the criterion, the folks at the Southern Poverty Law Center need to add their own name to the list.
Why? Because they peddle 10 myths about homosexuality right on their own website. They tell ten blatant lies about the nature of homosexual behavior right out there in front of God and everybody.
In other words, they promote the very "propaganda" that qualifies them for their own list. If anybody is guilty of the "propagation of known falsehoods," it's the SPLC itself.
I've gone to considerable lengths in another place to quantify that what the SPLC says are "myths" about homosexuality are in fact truths about the lifestyle, everyone of them.
Here in brief are the "known falsehoods" the SPLC propagates.
1. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals do not molest children at higher rates than heterosexuals. But according to the Journal of Sex Research they do. Roughly one-third of all sex offenses against children are carried out by homosexuals despite the fact they comprise just three percent of the population.
2. The SPLC falsely claims that same-sex parents don't harm children. But according to an Australian sociologist, children raised by homosexual parents did worse in nine of 13 academic and social categories compared to children raised by heterosexual married couples.
3. The SPLC says being sexually abused as a child does not lead to homosexuality in adult life. But psychologists are well aware of the powerful imprinting effect of a child's first sexual experience. A child molested by a same-sex adult is profoundly traumatized and scarred by the abuse, and easily becomes confused about his own sexual identity.
4. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals live just as long as heterosexuals. But the International Journal of Epidemiology says homosexual behavior knocks "8-20 years" off normal life expectancy, and a gay activist group in Canada, the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, declares that the "health issues affecting queer Canadians include lower life expectancy than the average Canadian."
The New York City Health Commission (note: not the research arm of FRC or AFA) has produced a PSA that is so hard-hitting and so devastating for the homosexual agenda that gay activist groups are trying to get the thing pulled down altogether. The text warns homosexuals of the "dozens of diseases" they can contract through homosexual behavior in addition to HIV, including osteoporosis and dementia. Chillingly, it warns gays that they are "over 28 times more likely to get anal cancer" than the general population. The reason for that particular elevated risk factor is obvious.
5. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals had nothing to do with Nazism. But William Shirer, author of "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," said, "But (in) the brown-shirted S.A...many of its top leaders, beginning with its chief, Roehm, were notorious homosexual perverts." Noted German historian Lothar Mochtan conclusively proves that Hitler was a homosexual himself, and says that he "allowed the persecution of gays in order to disguise his own true colours." Nazi hunter Elie Weisel said that homosexual pedophilia was common in the concentration camps, saying of Auschwitz, where he was imprisoned, "[T]here was considerable traffic in young children among homosexuals here."
6. The SPLC falsely claims that hate crime laws will not lead to the jailing of pastors and others who criticize homosexuality. Tell that the grandmother in Philadelphia who was thrown in jail and faced 47 years in prison for doing nothing more than standing on a public sidewalk and declaring the truth about homosexuality during a gay pride parade. Tell it to Ake Green, a Swedish pastor who narrowly averted two years in prison for preaching a sermon from his own pulpit on a biblical view of homosexuality.
7. The SPLC falsely claims that allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military will not damage the armed forces. But the Pentagon's own study reveals that 62% of active duty armed forces personnel believe that it will have negative effects, and the rate is even higher among combat troops in the Marines and the Army. The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Amos, has said quite plainly that allowing open homosexuals to serve will compromise "unit cohesion" and "combat effectiveness," and the distraction caused by introducing sexual tension into the ranks will likely result in increased casualties.
8. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals are not more likely to be mentally ill or to abuse drugs and alcohol. But the pro-homosexual Gay and Lesbian Medical Association says that homosexuals "use substances at a higher rate than the general population," have "higher rates of alcohol dependence and abuse," and are subject to higher rates of "depression and anxiety." If we can't take their own word for it, who can we believe? The American Medical Association, the New York Times, the American Journal of Public Health, the Massachusetts' Department of Public Health and PrideSource all agree. Here's a question: will the SPLC add all of them to their "hate" group list? If not, why not?
9. The SPLC falsely claims that people are born homosexual. But not even homosexual researchers claim to have found the "gay" gene, and I don't think they want it found if it does exist because they know that advances in pre-natal screening will lead to the abortion of carriers of such a genetic marker. They know what happens to Down syndrome babies in the womb.
10. The SPLC falsely claims that homosexuals cannot leave the lifestyle. But even Dr. Robert Spitzer of Columbia, who engineered the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973, now says, "The changes following reparative therapy were not limited to sexual behavior and sexual orientation self-identity...(but) encompassed the core aspects of sexual orientation."
I don't have a trained eye, but that makes the SPLC ten for ten on the falsehood-ometer.
I hereby formally welcome the Southern Poverty Law Center to its own "hate group" list. It's getting crowded in here.
(For more information, be sure to read Peter Sprigg's excellent white paper, Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality, from which I have gleaned some key content for this column.)
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
