Today's Cultural Warfare Update

[solarbird]

See the starred (*****) article below for a very interesting item: Focus on the Family (et al) seem to be trying out their "impeach judges we don't like" idea at the state level, in Maryland. They're throwing their support behind a local ex-Constitution Party-now-Republican delegate who is trying to get a Maryland judge thrown out over her pro-marriage-rights ruling. This is important to watch, I think; if they can get away with that kind of thing in this case, I'm sure they'll be expanding the programme to other states, and eventually to the Federal level, until stopped.

Now today's news:

Voltaire becoming a symbol - again - of resistance to calls for censorship;

MSNBC: Church fires in south set by college students for fun, as pranks; I'm listing this here because Focus on the Family has been salivating, hoping that the fires were set by gayfolk - they haven't come right out and said it, but the handling and positioning of the stories has led me to be on edge about it. It's not, so I imagine this story will mostly vanish from their coverage now unless they can find it a way to tie it to queers;

Nevada anti-evolutionary-theory state initiative filed;

New Hampshire to vote on anti-marriage-rights amendment; Family Research Council pushes for it;

FRC praises special "Faith-based groups" office in Department of Homeland Security;

FRC ACTION ITEM - a petition to support their anti-marriage "Marriage Protection Amendment";

Concerned Women for America upset with UN Commission on the Status of Women for paying too much attention to reproduction rights;

American Family Association/Agape Press's "Origins 101," which calls Creationism (not even ID - just plain Creationism) a scientific theory;

AFA/Agape Press: "Christian Medical and Dental Association" not happy that the FDA is considering relaxing its absolute ban on gay blood donors;

Baptist Press scare story about Soulforce, a pro-GBLT evangelical organisation;

***** Focus on the Family applauds Maryland delegate who is attempting to remove a judge specifically in response to their pro-marriage ruling; includes ACTION ITEM to support; a preliminary vote is coming up in the House Judiciary Committee on THURSDAY;

AFA/Agape Press story about the ACLU trying to stop in-class speeches about the Bible followed by Bible distribution to all students in public schools; obviously, the AFA supports it and is angry at the ACLU; they're specifically hoping for a better reception in the courts now, specifically siting John Roberts, the new Chief Justice;

Hooboy: Focus on the Family is VERY upset about allegations of links between them and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff; however, there's email pointing in that direction; they proclaim complete innocence and say it's all just vicious lies;

FotF tries to spread the Korean research scandal into a general attack on embryonic stem-cell research in general; "It should be no surprise... that if people have
used 'the end justifies the means' to ignore 'Thou shalt not kill,' they'll learn to use it against 'Thou shalt not bear false witness' as well";

FotF on possible biker boycott of Sturgis (South Dakota) motorcycle rally;

Arizona state legislature working on abortion restrictions; governor is considered likely to veto, if the bill does pass;

FotF plugging teaching of "Intelligent Design," notes Zogby poll saying 69% of Americans support teaching ID; this might be a bit high, but it's probably not out of the ballpark, the fundamentalists have convinced people that something which is not science is a science, and the American school system has failed to teach students what science is;

Focus on the Family attacks NY Times story saying that parental notification doesn't actually affect abortion rates much; then say that even if it doesn't, the laws should be kept in place anyway;

FotF cranky that a lesbian got elected Homecoming King at Hood College;

Faith and Freedom Network promotes their series of anti-marriage-rights "prayer rallies" and organisational meetings - they're distributing anti-GBLT-civil-rights initiative petitions at these things, too;

FF&N blog article about the growing influence of religion in US politics, only they think it's a good thing;

Finally, an AP article on the report saying "ex-gay" youth camps are harmful.


----- 1 -----
Muslims ask French to cancel 1741 play by Voltaire
Monday, March 06, 2006
By Andrew Higgins, The Wall Street Journal

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06065/666058.stm

SAINT-GENIS-POUILLY, France -- Late last year, as an international crisis was brewing over Danish cartoons of Muhammad, Muslims raised a furor in this little alpine town over a much older provocateur: Voltaire, the French champion of the 18th-century Enlightenment.

A municipal cultural center here on France's border with Switzerland organized a reading of a 265-year-old play by Voltaire, whose writings helped lay the foundations of modern Europe's commitment to secularism. The play, "Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet," uses the founder of Islam to lampoon all forms of religious frenzy and intolerance.

The production quickly stirred up passions that echoed the cartoon uproar. "This play ... constitutes an insult to the entire Muslim community," said a letter to the mayor of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, signed by Said Akhrouf, a French-born cafe owner of Moroccan descent and three other Islamic activists representing Muslim associations. They demanded the performance be cancelled.

Instead, Mayor Hubert Bertrand called in police reinforcements to protect the theater. On the night of the December reading, a small riot broke out involving several dozen people and youths who set fire to a car and garbage cans. It was "the most excitement we've ever had down here," says the socialist mayor.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Students say church arsons meant as ‘a joke’
Third suspect arrested in torchings of nine Alabama places of worship
NBC News and news services
Updated: 2:33 p.m. ET March 8, 2006

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11726024/

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Two college students arrested Wednesday in a string of nine rural Alabama church arsons told authorities that the first fires were set as “a joke” and later blazes were intended as a diversion, federal agents said.

[...]

“We are relieved. We were fearful while they were on the loose because we did not know their agenda,” said Jim Parker, pastor of the Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, which was burned to the ground.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
Nev. Proposal Raises Evolution Questions
Associated Press
By BRENDAN RILEY, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 1, 9:51 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060301/ap_on_sc/evolution_nevada

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A proposed constitutional amendment would require Nevada teachers to instruct students that there are many questions about evolution — a method viewed by critics as an opening to teach intelligent design.

[...]

The petition says students must be informed before the end of the 10th grade that "although most scientists agree that Darwin's theory of evolution is well supported, a small minority of scientists do not agree."

The plan says several "areas of disagreement" would have to be covered by teachers, including the view by some scientists that "it is mathematically impossible for the first cell to have evolved by itself."

Students also would have to be told some scientists argue "that nowhere in the fossil record is there an indisputable skeleton of a transitional species, or a 'missing link,'" the proposal says.

Also, the proposal says students "must be informed that the origin of sex, or sex drive, is one of biology's mysteries" and that some scientists contend that sexual reproduction "would require an unbelievable series of chance events that would have had to occur in the evolutionary theory."

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
NH Pushing for state marriage amendment
Family Research Council
by: Tom McClusky

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WL06C40

Congratulations to Karen Testerman and the Cornerstone Policy Research for delivering over 7,000 letters in support of the state constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The amendment comes up before the House later this week.

Be it South Dakota on abortion or New Hampshire (and Minnesota and Florida, etc.) on marriage the states have proven to be the true battlegrounds on the social issues. When will Congress get the message?


----- 5 -----
FRC Thanks President Bush For Launching Center For Faith-Based Aid
March 8, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: JP Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (202) 393-2100

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06C04

"A faith-based office will make progress in eliminating the red-tape barriers which have plagued FEMA's efforts to coordinate with faith-based groups."

~Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

Washington, D.C. -Yesterday, President Bush ordered the Department of Homeland Security to establish a center for faith-based aid which will be tasked with integrating faith-based groups into federal disaster response efforts.

Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"I thank the President for acting quickly to establish a faith-based office in the Department of Homeland Security. A faith-based office will make progress in eliminating the red-tape barriers which have plagued FEMA's efforts to coordinate with faith-based groups. I know from personal experience during Hurricane Katrina that churches and para-church ministries played an important and irreplaceable role in the relief and recovery from that unprecedented storm.

"The President's orders should improve the government's response in future natural or man-made disasters. The order will hopefully replace the prevailing mindset in DHS that the wall separating church and state prevents government from working with churches and synagogues to help our citizens."


----- 6 -----
Support the Marriage Protection Amendment
Family Research Council ACT NOW
March 6, 2006 - Monday
Forward to a Friend!

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06C02

To date voters in 19 states have acted to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The message to the rest of the country and to our U.S. Senators is clear: citizens everywhere are in strong support of this most sacred institution. Despite this progress, the courts still pose a direct threat to the democratic process. Consider Nebraska.

Nebraska was one of the first states in 2000 not only to protect marriage, but also to do so in its state constitution. While over 70 percent of Nebraska voters approved amending the constitution, a single federal judge overturned everything Nebraskans worked so hard to accomplish. The judge's decision makes a mockery of the phrase "We the People" that begins the U.S. Constitution.

President Bush, affirming his support for the Marriage Protection Amendment, said, "After more than two centuries of American jurisprudence, and millennia of human experience, a few judges and local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civilization." An amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the only way to curb permanently the power and ambition of judges, who discard the work of our Founders and the will of most Americans.

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Reproductive Rights Gone Wrong
Concerned Women for America
3/7/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.

At the U.N., reading the fine print can send you on a rabbit trail.

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10264/BLI/nation/index.htm

Two of Concerned Women for America’s (CWA’s) experts are attending the 50th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), held February 27-March 10 at United Nations headquarters in New York. Wendy Wright, CWA’s President, will be directing efforts of the pro-life, pro-marriage, and pro-family citizen lobbyists during the session’s second week. Miss Wright has attended and reported on U.N. conferences on women, population and cloning since 1997.

Dr. Janice Crouse, who heads CWA’s think tank, The Beverly LaHaye Institute, will report on and analyze the current CSW sessions. Dr. Crouse has particular expertise on emphases at this year’s CSW: violence against women, sex trafficking, Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women’s empowerment, and women’s political participation. Her reports follow.

As usual, it’s important to read the fine print –– whether it is a contract or a U.N. agreement. This week at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, some digging into the fine print of old and new documents yielded startling discoveries.

[More at URL]


----- 8 -----
Origins 101: Worldviews Begin With Beginnings
Feature by Rusty Benson
American Family Association/Agape Press
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006d.asp

(AgapePress) - Nearly a century-and-a-half after Darwin's Origins of the Species was published, and 75 years after the Scopes trial, the argument over life's origins still inflames contentious debate.

Today three distinct theories of origins compete for public affirmation. Darwinian Evolution remains entrenched as the orthodox position of the cultural ruling class. Once challenged by Creationism, Evolution's latest contender is a theory known as Intelligent Design (ID).

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
FDA Considers Policy Changes Allowing Homosexual Males to Give Blood
By Mary Rettig
American Family Association/Agape Press
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006f.asp

(AgapePress) - A Tennessee hematologist and spokesman for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) feels the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to revisit bans on certain blood donors based on behaviors raises some interesting questions.

The FDA held a conference today to discuss a possible change in policy based on better blood testing for diseases. The change could mean that homosexual men, who are currently excluded as donors, would be able to give blood.

The American Association of Blood Banks has advocated for a policy that would allow homosexual men who have abstained from sexual intercourse for one year to donate blood. But Dr. Al Weir of the CMDA says the main question comes down to how best to protect the public from infected blood.

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Leaders urge caution as campuses brace for Soulforce
Mar 7, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22798

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In a push for broader acceptance of homosexuality, a group of about 35 young adults with the homosexual advocacy group Soulforce has announced a bus tour of 19 Christian colleges and military academies, including some Southern Baptist universities.

Dubbed the “Equality Ride,” the group’s goal for the tour is to “confront schools that ban the enrollment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students,” and they have requested that the schools offer official forums in which the activists can express their views.

“We must cut off the suffering at its source. The source is religion-based oppression, and it has taken place for centuries,” Jacob Reitan, a Soulforce spokesman, said.

[more at URL]


----- 11 -----
Maryland Lawmaker Calls for Removal of Activist Judge
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor

SUMMARY: Judge who nullified marriage law in favor of
same-sex marriage, faces charges of misbehavior in office.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039758.cfm

A Maryland legislator undertook an action this morning
that pro-family lawmakers in other states only dream of
doing -- he struck a blow against judicial tyranny.

Del. Don Dwyer, a member of the Maryland House of
Delegates, called for the removal of the judge who
single-handedly nullified Maryland's marriage law and
demanded same-sex marriage.

"Today on the floor of the House," Dwyer told CitizenLink,
"I stood and announced an 'Address for the Removal' of
Judge M. Brooke Murdock, for violating her oath of office,
for violating the public trust. As the guardians of the
trust of the public, I believe it is incumbent upon us, as
legislators, to hold the court accountable."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family
Action, applauded the delegate's action.

"It takes a lot of courage for a lawmaker to call for the
impeachment of a judge," Hausknecht said. "For too long,
legislatures and Congress have shied away from the
constitutional tools given to them to rein in
out-of-control activist courts. I can only hope that his
bold example will catch on elsewhere in the country, where
courts and judges have become super-legislatures dictating
social policy against the wishes of the electorate."

Dwyer said Maryland didn't even have a law defining
marriage as being between one man and one woman until
1973. Up to then, Maryland followed the unwritten law it
adopted in colonial days.

[...]

TAKE ACTION: If you are a Maryland resident, please take
time to contact your House delegate and ask him or her to
support Del. Dwyer's "Address for Removal" bill. For help
in doing so, please see the CitizenLink Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/state/main/?state=MD&view=myofficials

No matter where you live, if you'd like to send an
encouraging note to Dwyer and his family, you can e-mail
him through the Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=135084&lvl=L&chamber=H

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
ACLU's 'Bible Crusade' Reaches Into Small-Town America
Gideons Latest Target of ACLU's Ongoing Bout Against God's Word
By Jim Brown
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006a.asp

(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says the ACLU is resorting to "old tricks" by filing a federal lawsuit to stop The Gideons International from giving Bibles to fifth-graders at a public school in Missouri.

With more than a quarter million members in 181 countries, The Gideons -- founded in 1899 -- place and distribute more than 63 million Bibles every year. That equates to an average of one million every six days, or 120 per minute. With that wide a distribution network by such an established ministry, it causes one to wonder why the American Civil Liberties Union would worry about distribution of Scripture in a tiny Missouri community of slightly more than 300 people.

But that is exactly what is happening. The ACLU is seeking an injunction barring South Iron Elementary School in Annapolis, Missouri, from allowing The Gideons into the classroom to distribute the Bibles.

[...]

But despite that history of litigation in favor of groups like the ACLU, Crampton shares that he is hopeful the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, will clearly articulate new guidelines for cases involving the Establishment Clause.

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
LEFT-WING SMEAR TRIES TO TIE DOBSON TO ABRAMOFF SCANDAL
Group unveils negative ad campaign.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor
March 8, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039775.cfm

"Lies" and "wild allegations." That's how Focus on the
Family labels charges made today by a liberal activist
group calling itself the Campaign for Defense of the
Constitution -- or "DefCon."

DefCon, which describes itself as "an online grassroots
movement to combat the growing influence of the religious
right," today unveiled an ad campaign that will run in The
New York Times and other media outlets this week that
reads: "These Religious Leaders Have a Serious Gambling
Problem."

The ad specifically tries to link Focus on the Family
founder and Chairman Dr. James Dobson with discredited
lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

[More at URL]


----- 14 -----
STEM-CELL RESEARCH PLAGUED BY BOGUS CLAIMS
Lawmakers want to know what protections the government has against fraud.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039767.cfm

A House subcommittee heard Tuesday how the fallout from
the Korean cloning scam is still reverberating through the
scientific and political worlds.

A one-time leading scientist in the field duped the entire
world into thinking he had successfully cloned human
embryos with a goal of destroying them for their stem
cells. In reality, Dr. Woo-Suk Hwang failed to produce
even one stem-cell line despite hundreds of cloning
attempts. He then covered up his failure with falsified
data that was published in major U.S. science journals.

Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of Pro-Life
Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
testified before the House Criminal Justice, Drug Policy
and Human Resources subcommittee Tuesday. According to
Family News in Focus, he said the most important lesson to
learn from the scandal is a moral one.

"It should be no surprise," he said, "that if people have
used 'the end justifies the means' to ignore 'Thou shalt
not kill,' they'll learn to use it against 'Thou shalt not
bear false witness' as well."

[More at URL]


----- 15 -----
Abortion Group Wants to Keep Harleys Out of Sturgis
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Abortion activists are trying to enlist the help of
motorcycle enthusiasts to protest South Dakota's recent
law that bans abortion by staying away, New Journal Online
reported.

On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed the
legislation banning abortion, with an exception for when
the mother's life is in danger.

The pro-abortion Women's Medical Fund in Madison, Wis., is
asking bikers to skip this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
as part of a tourism boycott of South Dakota.

"If 500,000 bikers don't show up in Sturgis, it would send
quite a message," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, a board member
of the Women's Medical Fund.

According to Lisa Weyer, director of the rally, Sturgis
has received four angry letters of protest from would-be
attendees.

But Tom Lindsay, spokesman for the American Motorcycle
Association said boycotting is not the "tactic of choice
among bikers."

"More than any group I know," he said, "motorcyclists are
looking to improve things rather than protest things."

Most want that change to occur through the democratic
process, and some are pleased with the abortion ban.

"Praise the Lord," said Jesse Doninguez from Texas, a
member of the Soldiers for Jesus motorcycle club. He's
attended 16 rallies in Sturgis.


----- 16 -----
Pro-Life Bills Gain Momentum in the Grand Canyon State
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Arizona lawmakers approved two pro-life bills Tuesday --
one that would require parental-consent forms for a
minor's abortion to be notarized, and another that would
clarify in what situation a judge could exempt a girl from
parental notification.

According to The Associated Press, pro-life advocates said
House Bill 2666, the notarization amendment, would help
guard against forged consent forms. House Bill 2776 would
allow a judge to weigh a girl's age and life experiences
when considering whether to allow her to seek an abortion
without notifying her parents.

Both bills passed the state House with a 39-18 vote and
now head to the Senate.

If the bills make it to the desk of the governor,
pro-lifers are concerned they may die there. Democratic
Gov. Janet Napolitano has vetoed several pro-life measures
since taking office in 2003.


----- 17 -----
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Americans Favor Teaching All Scientific Evidence on
Origins

A Zogby International poll found 69 percent of Americans
think students should hear about intelligent design along
with the theory of evolution.

Most people said they want biology teachers to present the
evidence against Darwin's theory. Just 21 percent said
Darwin's theory alone should be taught.

Among those aged 18 to 29, 88 percent said teaching the
theory of evolution along with its flaws, plus the theory
of intelligent design would make the best science course.

Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal
affairs at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science
and Culture, said such widespread support shows people see
the difference between scientific evidence and religious
belief.

"While we don't favor mandating the teaching of
intelligent design, we do think it is constitutional for
teachers to discuss it precisely because the theory is
based upon scientific evidence not religious premises," he
said. "The public strongly agrees that students should be
permitted to learn about such evidence."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To view the full text of the poll,
please visit:

http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php?command=download&id=719


----- 18 -----
ABORTION-LAW ANALYSIS CALLED FAULTY
Newspaper asserted that parental involvement does little to stem abortion.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 7, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039755.cfm

Pro-life experts are taking issue with an analysis
released Monday by The New York Times that claimed to show
parental-notification and consent laws concerning abortion
have little or no impact.

Michael New, a professor at the University of Alabama,
said the mainstream media have a tendency to distort
what's going on in the states that have passed such laws.

"They really only tend to use abortion statistics to, I
think, further a very liberal political agenda," he said.
"I just think it's unfortunate."

[...]

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus
on the Family Action, said regardless of their impact,
such laws must be kept in place.

"The law is a teacher," she said. "It tells the kids that
this is an important decision and your parents need to be
involved."

[More at URL]


----- 19 -----
Gay Woman Crowned Homecoming "King"
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
March 7, 2006

A 21-year-old lesbian has been crowned homecoming "king"
at a Maryland college, prompting officials to review
policy, Fox News reported.

Jennifer Jones, a senior at Hood College, ran against
three men at the private school.

"It's cool that Hood allows people to be themselves," she
said. "If people didn't want me to be king, they wouldn't
have nominated me and voted for me."

Singleton Newman, a student at the school, said not
everyone is pleased with the vote.

"She is not a man," he said. "It is a gender issue, and
she is a woman."

Sonto Provenzano, one of the men in line for king, said to
designate Jones as king made the event into a joke.

"It discourages guys from wanting to take part in the
future," he said.

Donald Miller, student activity director for the college,
said the policies for homecoming will be reviewed and
changed to reflect the will of the students.


----- 20 -----
Faith and Freedom Network
One Year Ago Today
March 8, 2005 was a day to be remembered.

An estimated 10,000 people were in attendance and according to a state patrol officer in attendance; it was the largest rally they had ever had in Olympia (except for the teacher’s union when they came to get a raise in salary).

People from across Washington gathered to make a simple statement: Marriage is between one man and one woman. Dr. Joe Fuiten, Chairman of Faith & Freedom, was a primary leader of that great rally.

The State Supreme Court heard our case presented before them one year ago today and they have still not ruled on traditional marriage.

During this year of Court deliberation, Faith & Freedom has continued steadfast in our mission to advance traditional, Biblical values and principles.

[...]

Be sure to attend the Faith & Freedom Sound The Alarm rally in your area during the month of March. Use the link below to view the schedule.

Long URL elided


----- 21 -----
The Growing Influence of Religion in US Politics
Faith and Freedom Network
March 8, 2006

Is the role of religion in the political process increasing? Rabbi Michael Lerner, a renowned social theorist, theologian and psychotherapist, is the author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right. He promotes a compassionate, progressive spiritual vision and challenges the Democratic Party to rethink its relationship to God. As Senior Pastor of Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell, and Chairman of the Faith and Freedom Network, Dr. Joe Fuiten oversees numerous Christian schools and churches in addition to a collection of 35 organizations that coordinate political activity in Washington State and supports expressions of Christian values in public places. So what would these two spiritual and political leaders agree upon? Moderator C.R. Douglas helps us to find out.

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/blogger.html


----- 22 -----
Report: Gay Prevention Programs Harm Teens
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 4, 2:17 AM ET
Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060304/ap_on_re_us/gay_teens

MIAMI - A national gay and lesbian group is accusing several religious organizations of harming homosexual teens by offering parents what they say are bogus therapies to keep children from becoming gay.

In a report released Thursday in Miami Beach, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute questioned whether the therapies are ethical or effective and said state and federal authorities should provide greater oversight when these programs are aimed at youth.

The report said some Christian-based gay prevention and treatment groups have used the First Amendment protection of religion to avoid sanctions by state health officials seeking to enforce regulations on counselors who offer therapy without a license.

Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman said officials need to ensure that those offering such therapies are licensed — as opposed to simply being clergy — and that clients and their parents should be informed about the programs' long-term success rates.

Comments

[corivax.livejournal.com]

I often wonder why these articles you post often use license-plate style state nicknames instead of the names of actual states. Like "The Grand Canyon State". It's odd, and happens fairly regularly.

[solarbird]

Their intended audience skews pretty old. I think it's an attempt at generationally-appropriate folksiness. But that's just a guess on my part.