Majority Muslim Nations Where Homosexuality Is Legal

I wrote this to respond to a facebook comment that read in part;

Homosexualiy is not legal in the Muslim world. I don't know where you make this stuff up. Ask ISIS about it.

Well, I found 20 majority Muslim countries, out of 51[1], where homosexuality is legal.

1. Albania, Europe

Not only are same-sex relationships legal in Albania, they amended their constitution to strictly punish a crime when it is “related to gender, race, colour, ethnicity, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, health status, genetic predisposition, or disability.” In addition to this hate crimes legislation, they have hate speech legislation as well. The Albanian parliament amended its Criminal Code: “Providing to the public or distribution of deliberate materials containing racist, homophobic or xenophobic content, through the communication and information technology, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment up to two years.”[2][3]

2. Azerbaijan, Europe

Same-sex relationships are legal in Azerbaijan with no separate age of consent.[3]

3. Bahrain, Asia

Same-sex relationships were legalized in Bahrain in 1976 though the age of consent for such acts is still 21.[3]

4. Burkina Faso, Africa

Same-sex relationships were never criminalized in Burkina Faso. However there is a separate age of consent.[3]

5. Chad, Africa

Same-sex relationships were definitely legal in Chad until 2014. However they attempted to pass new legislation. Huffpost has homosexuality as illegal[4]. However the 2015 reports from ilga and Amnesty International have it as legal.[3][5]

6. Djibouti, Africa

In Djibouti same-sex relationships are legal.[3]

7. Guinea-Bissau, Africa

In Guinea-Bissau same-sex relationships are legal.[3]

8. Indonesia

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, has given two provinces the right to govern by Sharia law as long as the law only applies to Muslims. However homosexuality is legal throughout the rest of the nation and if you are not a Muslim in those two provinces.[3]

9. Iraq, Asia

ILGA previously listed Iraq as unclear, but have since changed it to illegal. After the 2003 US invasion the 1969 penal code was implemented. This code did not outlaw homosexuality. However ILGA says it is illegal for three reasons.

1. Even though Iraqi law does not allow for a civil judge to refer to a sharia court, some do. 
2. They do not view ISIS as a separate state. 
3. Also police regularly target homosexuals.

Still, it is on this list, because technically throughout non-ISIS controlled Iraq, homosexuality is legal.[3]

10. Jordan, Asia

When Jordan abandoned the British penal code in 1951, it adopted its own code which does not outlaw homosexuality.[3]

11. Kazakhstan, Asia

Homosexuality is legal in Kazakhstan, however their close relationship with Russia has brought forth anti-homosexual propaganda laws. Still none have passed.[3]

12. Kosovo, Europe

Homosexual acts are legal in Kosovo and they forbid employer discrimination based on sexual orientation. Still the age of consent is different.[3]

13. Kyrgyzstan, Asia

Like with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan also has calls for anti-homosexual propaganda laws, but homosexuality is still legal there.[3]

14. Lebanon, Asia

In Lebanon, lesbianism is legal, but possibly not male same-sex behavior (punishable by one year in prison). Outlawed by the French penal code since 1943, in recent times, there were seldom arrests made for male same-sex behavior. In 2012, the police started to clamp down. In 2014, a judge seemed to overturn the law by allowing a transwoman to marry a cisman. However later that year, 27 men were arrested for homosexual behavior in a Turkish bath. Still they were never formally charged. ILGA says that it is illegal, but not everyone interprets the judge’s ruling that way.[3][6]

15. Mali, Africa

Homosexuality has never been illegal in Mali.[3]

16. Niger, Africa

Homosexuality has never been illegal in Niger.[3]

17. Palestine

In 1858, the Ottomans legalized homosexuality, but when the British took over after World War I, they enforced a penal code where male homosexuality was illegal. When Israel declared their independence in 1948, the British Penal Code that outlawed male homosexuality was still in place. Gaza was seized by Egypt which left the British code in place. The West Bank was seized by Jordan which changed its penal code to allow for all homosexuality in 1951.


So in 1967 when Israel acquired Gaza and the West Bank; they acquire one territory that banned male homosexuality and one that did not. In 1977, Israel replaced the British code with their own, but they still outlawed male homosexual acts. They later legalized them in 1988, three decades after the West Bank.


Gaza still operates under the British code where male homosexuality is punishable by 10 years. However Hamas is writing a harsher law that might go into effect in 2016 where male homosexuality is punishable by "100 lashes and up to five (5) years in prison, and execution if such behaviour happens three times."[3]

18. Tajikistan, Asia

Homosexual acts have been legal in Tajikistan since 1998.[3]

19. Turkey

As the former head of the last major caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, in 1858, Turkey legalized same-sex behavior throughout the empire. Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey longer than slavery has been outlawed in the USA.[3]

20. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

In 2014, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus voted to legalize homosexuality.[3]

What is he talking about?

Last July, the Boy Scouts of America ended a ban on homosexual scout leaders.  In response, John Hawkins sent out the following tweet.

The following day he wrote the blog, Gay Scoutmasters Will Lead The Boy Scouts On A March Into Oblivion.  August 2, it became a meme for his Right Wing News that has been in my facebook newsfeed a number of times. He tweeted later that day that the meme had already become very popular.

As of the writing of this blog post the meme has 83,000+ likes and 31,000+ shares.   With the background in place let's get into the blog where Hawkins was able to flesh out his idea in more than 140 characters would allow.  Again the full blog is available here.

The parents of Boy Scouts across the country may be too cowed by political correctness to say it, but the chances that teen Scouts are going to be bad-touched in the woods by Scoutmasters just shot through the roof. That shouldn’t be a shocking statement; it’s just common sense. Sending gay men into the woods with teenage boys is just as stupid and irresponsible as sending straight men into the woods with teenage girls.

Let me note at this point that some people may say, “You’re claiming gay men are all pedophiles.”

Not at all.

For example, we’ve seen lots of stories lately about adult female teachers having sex with their teen-age students. Most of these women could be better described as sexual predators than pedophiles because they’re not targeting young children, they’re targeting teens. Are most gay Scoutmasters going to be sexually attracted to a 10 year old boy? Probably not. Are they going to be sexually attracted to a good-looking 16 year old Scout? Yes, they are and that will be an issue for the parents of many of those Scouts.

While Hawkins focuses on allowing gay men "into the woods" he ignores several realities about the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

First, the Boy Scouts' homosexual ban was also against lesbian women.  Homosexuals were banned outright whether or not they were male or female.  

Second, closely tied to lesbian scout leaders, heterosexual women have been scout leaders for years.  The Boy Scouts have put in place policies reflecting this reality.

Adult Supervision/Coed Activities

Male and female adult leaders must be present for all overnight coed Scouting trips and outings, even those including a parent and child. Both male and female adult leaders must be 21 years of age or older, and one must be a registered member of the BSA.

As a precaution, one on one interaction is prohibited.  A scout leader, male or female, is never to be alone with a scout or even privately text a scout.

One-on-one contact between adults and youth members is prohibited. In situations requiring a personal conference, such as a Scoutmaster’s conference, the meeting is to be conducted with the knowledge and in view of other adults and/or youth.

The policy of two-deep leadership and no one-on-one contact between adults and youth members includes digital communication. Leaders may not have one-on-one private online communication or engage one-on-one in other digital activities (games, social media) with youth members. Leaders should copy a parent and another leader in digital and online communication, ensuring no one-on-one contact exists in text, social media, or other forms of online or digital communication.

What about this "in the woods" problem?  How does the Boy Scouts deal with males and females needing to change clothes and shower?  Well, the scouts are given privacy except when health and safety must be protected.  Adults, male or female, are not allowed to watch scouts change, shower, or use the restroom.

Privacy of youth is respected. Adult leaders and youth must respect each other’s privacy, especially in situations such as changing clothes and taking showers at camp. Adults may enter youth changing or showering areas only to the extent that health and safety requires. Adults must protect their own privacy in similar situations.

Inappropriate use of smart phones, cameras, imaging, or digital devices is prohibited. Although most Scouts and leaders use cameras and other imaging devices responsibly, it is easy to intentionally or inadvertently invade the privacy of other individuals with those devices. The use of any device capable of recording or transmitting visual images in or near shower houses, restrooms, or other areas where privacy is expected is inappropriate.

The showers are segregated into scout, adult male, adult female sections.

Shower Facilities

Whenever possible, separate shower and latrine facilities should be provided for adults, youth, and females. If separate facilities are not available, separate shower times for adults, youth, and females should be scheduled and posted.

They have to be posted so no potential predator can try to excuse his behavior by saying he did not know.

Further, adults are only allowed to sleep with scouts if they are a parent or a guardian.

Tenting

When camping, no one is permitted to sleep with a person of the opposite sex or in the tent of an adult other than his or her own spouse, parent, or guardian. Assigning youth members more than two years apart in age to sleep in the same tent should be avoided unless the youth are relatives.

Could predatory men and women violate these standards? Sure, but they could before the ban was lifted as well.

Also, guess what?  The Girl Scouts have coed chaperons as well.

Q. Can men be Girl Scout troop leaders?

A. Absolutely! Every Girl Scout troop requires two or more adults (minimum one unrelated female) with one adult designated as the leader.

While their policy is not as stringent as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts also segregate the sexes.

3. Within a camp or overnight setting, males must not share sleeping, dressing, or restroom facilities with non-related females.

4. Troops may from time to time designate an activity as an all-female activity (i.e. a mother/daughter event), as long as this arrangement does not exclude any girl from participation, e.g. a daughter whose father has full or shared custody. The proper girl/adult ratio designated in Volunteer Essentials must be maintained for all activities.

5. During father/daughter overnight events, the male participants will stay in units separated from the girls/females. Female adult volunteers will be available to provide overnight supervision of girls housed in separate units from males. Male participants who wish to stay with their daughters may do so in a designated camping area provided that the Council receives notification signed by the girl’s legal guardian.

At least one Girl Scout group also places restrictions on unrelated females sharing a sleeping space with the scouts.

It is not mandatory that an adult sleep in the tent or cabin with the girls. If an adult female does share the sleeping area, there should always be two unrelated adult females present.

Coed volunteers is just the reality of the world that we live in.  Sometimes, Dad has to work so Mom comes or vice versa.  Groups generally take all qualified volunteers that they can find.  If Hawkins had bothered to google the Boy Scout or Girl Scout volunteer policy he would have known that both organizations have been using coed volunteers for a long time.

Times are changing...

The Texas Republican Party platform of 2010 included the following line.

Texas Sodomy Statutes – We oppose the legalization of sodomy. We demand that Congress exercise its authority granted by the U.S. Constitution to withhold jurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy.

The 2014 platform however has no mention of "sodomy" and replaced the arrest the homosexual portion with a line about reparation therapy.

Reparative Therapy- We recognize the legitimacy and efficacy of counseling, which offers reparative therapy and treatment for those patients seeking healing and wholeness from their homosexual lifestyle. No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.

 There is no scientific data promoting the efficacy of reparative therapy.  A small minority of those that identify as homosexual will identify later as heterosexual whether they attend therapy or not.  There is no reliable evidence that reparative therapy is the cause.  The vast majority of people who attend reparative therapy continue in their orientation.

It took the Texas GOP just four years to give up on arresting homosexuals.  Hopefully in four years they will either produce studies that reparative therapy works or abandon it as well.

Accidental Same-sex Marriage?

Photograph of a married couple believed by medical men to both be gonadally male.  Caption to the original reads: "A.S. [shown on the left], married for sixteen years, male hypospade. Error of sex."[1]

If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. ~ Lev 20:13

Hypospadias is a condition where the urethra exits somewhere else on a man than his glans.  About 1/100 to 1/200 of men are hypospades. When the penis is small and the urethra exits at the base of the penis sometimes a baby can be misidentified as a girl. These misidentified hypospades can either be attracted to men, women, or both.

In Numbers 1:46 there are 603,550 Israelite men ready for the army.  About 3,017- 6,035 of them would have been hypospades. These would just be the ones correctly identified as male.  If Western Europeans were having trouble correctly identifying hypospades well into the 20th century, we can assume that those in the Ancient Near East also had trouble identifying them.

In ancient Israel, these pseudo-women risked breaking at least three Old Testament commandments.

•  Cross-dressing - A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God. ~ Deuteronomy 22:5
• Same-sex male sex  ~ Leviticus 18:22, 20:13
• In Deuteronomy 22, a woman and presumably a pseudo-woman who did not bleed during first marital intercourse could be stoned at her/his fathers doorstep.  

A strict interpretation of the Law demands the deaths of both partners involved in a same-sex marriage with a hypospade.  However it is unclear if there would be mercy and it is doubtful that the Law was followed strictly.  Even in 19th century France and England, a minority of doctors did not have the heart to break up happily married pseudo-women and men.**

*It is also unclear what God regards as the correct sex.  For millennia, genitalia was really all they had to go on.  Then there were the gonads which largely reside inside the body.  Sex chromosomes were only discovered in 1905.  Perhaps God would regard a mother/priest/judge/father/doctor's best guess as the correct gender.

**It is not always clear what makes a woman and a man.  There are at least three criteria*** (genitalia, gonads, chromosomes)  and generally two out of three confirms a gender.  A hypospade has male gonads, XY chromosomes, but an ambiguous genitalia. However, this is just the person's sex.  Gender and sexuality can differentiate from the sex norm.  A hypospade can be identified as a female sex and can identify with the female gender.  This also does not factor in the sexuality and who the hypospade is attracted.

***Over 99% of people will have no conflict with their sex and their gender.  99% of people will have their genitalia, gonads, and chromosomes line up.  Most hypospades are correctly identified as the male sex.  About 95% of people will primarily desire someone of the opposite sex.

[1]Dreger, Alice Domurat Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998) 121

CDC:19% of Men who have sex with men have HIV in 21 major US cities

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM)¹ represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s. In 2006, MSM accounted for more than half (53%) of all new HIV infections in the United States, and MSM with a history of injection drug use (MSM-IDU) accounted for an additional 4% of new infections. At the end of 2006, more than half (53%) of all people living with HIV in the United States were MSM or MSM-IDU. Since the beginning of the US epidemic, MSM have consistently represented the largest percentage of persons diagnosed with AIDS and persons with an AIDS diagnosis who have died.

The Numbers

New HIV Infections²

• In 2006, more than 30,000 MSM and MSM-IDU were newly infected with HIV.
• Among all MSM, whites accounted for nearly half (46%) of new HIV infections in 2006. The largest number of new infections among white MSM occurred in those aged 30–39 years, followed by those aged 40–49 years.
• Among all black MSM, there were more new HIV infections (52%) among young black MSM (aged 13–29 years) than any other racial or ethnic age group of MSM in 2006. The number of new infections among young black MSM was nearly twice that of young white MSM and more than twice that of young Hispanic/Latino MSM.
• Among all Hispanic/Latino MSM in 2006, the largest number of new infections (43%) occurred in the youngest age group (13–29 years), though a substantial number of new HIV infections (35%) were among those aged 30–39 years.

Estimated Number of New HIV Infections among Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM), by Race/Ethnicity and Age Group, 2006

Source: CDC. Subpopulation Estimates from the HIV Incidence Surveillance System—United States, 2006. MMWR. 2008; 57(36):985–989.

HIV and AIDS Diagnoses³ and Deaths

• A recent CDC study found that in 2008 one in five (19%) MSM in 21 major US cities were infected with HIV, and nearly half (44%) were unaware of their infection. In this study, 28% of black MSM were HIV-infected, compared to 18% of Hispanic/Latino MSM and 16% of white MSM. Other racial/ethnic groups of MSM also have high numbers of HIV infections, including American Indian/Alaska Native MSM (20%) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander MSM (18%).
• In 2007, MSM were 44 to 86 times as likely to be diagnosed with HIV compared with other men, and 40 to 77 times as likely as women.
• From 2005–2008, estimated diagnoses of HIV infection increased approximately 17% among MSM. This increase was likely due to a combination of factors: increases in new infections, increased testing, and diagnosis earlier in the course of infection; it may also have been due to uncertainty in statistical models.
• In 2008, an estimated 17,940 MSM were diagnosed with AIDS in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US dependent areas—an increase of 6% since 2005.
• By the end of 2007, an estimated 282,542 MSM with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the United States and 5 dependent areas.

Prevention Challenges

The high prevalence of HIV infection among MSM means they face a greater risk of being exposed to infection with each sexual encounter—especially as they get older

Sexual risk accounts for most HIV infections in MSM. These risks include unprotected sex and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The practice of not using a condom during anal sex with someone other than a primary, HIV-negative partner continues to pose a significant threat to the health of MSM.
Alcohol and illicit drug use contributes to increased risk for HIV infection and other STDs among MSM. The use of substances such as alcohol and other drugs can increase the likelihood of risky sexual behavior.

Many MSM with HIV are unaware of their HIV infection, especially MSM of color and young MSM. A recent CDC study found that among urban MSM in 21 cities in 2008 who were unaware of their HIV infection, 55% had not been tested in the previous 12 months. Low awareness of HIV status among young MSM likely reflects several factors: they may have been infected more recently, may underestimate their personal risk, may have had fewer opportunities to get tested, or may believe that HIV treatment minimize the threat of HIV. CDC recommends that all MSM get tested for HIV once a year— and more often if they are at higher risk. MSM at higher risk includes those who have multiple or anonymous sex partners or use drugs during sex.

Stigma and homophobia may have a profound impact on the lives of MSM, especially their mental and sexual health. Internalized homophobia may impact men’s ability to make healthy choices, including decisions around sex and substance use. Stigma and homophobia may limit the willingness of MSM to access HIV prevention and care, isolate them from family and community support, and create cultural barriers that inhibit integration into social networks.

Racism, poverty, and lack of access to health care are barriers to HIV prevention services, particularly for MSM from racial or ethnic minority communities. A recent CDC study found a strong link between socioeconomic status and HIV among MSM: prevalence increased as education and income decreased, and awareness of HIV status was higher among MSM with greater education and income.

Complacency about HIV may play a key role in HIV risk, particularly among young MSM. Since young MSM did not experience the severity of the early HIV epidemic, some may falsely believe that HIV is no longer a serious health threat because of treatment advances and decreased mortality. Additional challenges for many MSM include maintaining safe behaviors over time and underestimating personal risk.

What CDC Is Doing

In fiscal year 2009, 43% of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention’s budget was targeted towards MSM and MSM-IDU. CDC provides funding for state and local health departments and community-based organizations to support HIV prevention services for MSM in a variety of settings, including MSM of color and young transgender persons of color.

CDC supports the training and technical assistance for five HIV prevention interventions that focus on MSM and two additional interventions that were developed for HIV-positive MSM and others living with HIV. CDC conducts research to better understand the factors that lead to HIV infection and identify effective approaches to prevent infection among MSM—especially MSM who are at greatest risk. Research includes diagnostic tests, microbicides, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, vaccines, and behavioral research on health disparities.

CDC carefully monitors HIV and risk behaviors by race, age, risk group (including MSM), and gender, enabling communities to base HIV prevention strategies on the best possible understanding of the epidemic.

Through various communications and collaboration activities, CDC aims to provide MSM with effective and culturally appropriate messages about HIV prevention. CDC uses strategies such as social marketing, fact sheets, web-based information, and other resources to maintain the timeliness of HIV/AIDS information and encourage behavior change.[1]

America the Beautiful

I have written a little before about Irving Berlin, the author of such classic songs as Happy Holidays, White Christmas, and God Bless America.  Berlin, a Jew, wrote White Christmas and Happy Holidays as more secular Christmas songs.  His limited religious convictions hindered him from writing too much about Jesus Christ.  The freedom to have his own limited religious convictions infused him with such patriotism that he also wrote, God Bless America.

In my more cynical moments, I sometimes mock the fact that Happy Holidays has become the annoyance of some religious conservatives in the so called "War on Christmas".  I certainly like the song as much as I like any Christmas music and I generally am welcome to any season's greeting.  Still, if someone is offended by "Happy Holidays", why would you wish it to someone ?  Likewise, if someone is offended by "Merry Christmas", why would you wish to offend them?  Personally, either is fine.  The greeting was even popularized by the man who wrote God Bless America. (Even if this was not an evangelical God song)  Merry Christmas, God bless America, and Happy Holidays.

Given the background behind God Bless America, sometimes I wonder if people understand the purpose of the song.  I know when I sang  God Bless America at church, I thought of an evangelical God/Jesus Christ.  Still the title of this blog is "America the Beautiful", so what about America the Beautiful?



O beautiful . . .

Returning in 1894 from an inspiring trip to Pikes Peak in Colorado, a minor New England poet named Katharine Lee Bates wrote a verse she titled ''America.'' It was printed the following year in a church publication in Boston to commemorate the Fourth of July.

Lynn Sherr, the ABC News correspondent, has written a timely and deliciously researched book about how that verse was written and edited and how it was fitted to a hymn called ''Materna,'' written about the same time by Samuel Augustus Ward, whom the poet never met. In ''America the Beautiful: The Stirring True Story Behind Our Nation's Favorite Song'' (Public Affairs, $25), Sherr reveals the rewriting by Bates that shows the value of working over a lyric.

''O beautiful for halcyon skies,'' the poem began. Halcyon is a beautiful word, based on the Greek name for the bird, probably a kingfisher, that ancient legend had nesting in the sea during the winter solstice and calming the waves. It means ''calm, peaceful'' and all those happy things, but the word is unfamiliar and does not evoke the West. Spacious, however, not only describes Big Sky country but also alliterates with skies, so she changed it.

The often-unsung third stanza contained a zinger at the acquisition of wealth: ''America! America!/God shed his grace on thee/Till selfish gain no longer stain/The banner of the free!'' Sherr writes that Bates, disillusioned with the Gilded Age's excesses, ''wanted to purify America's great wealth, to channel what she had originally called 'selfish gain' into more noble causes.'' The poet took another crack at the line that der-ogated the profit motive, and the stanza now goes: ''America! America!/May God thy gold refine/Till all success be nobleness/And every gain divine!''

The line that needed editing the most was the flat and dispiriting conclusion: ''God shed his grace on thee/Till nobler men keep once again/Thy whiter jubilee!'' That cast an aspersion on the current generation, including whoever was singing the lyric. The wish for ''nobler men'' to come in the future ended the song, about to be set to Ward's hymn, on a self-deprecating note.

In 1904, 10 years after her first draft, Katharine Lee Bates revised the imperfect last lines of the final stanza. The new image called up at the end not only reminds the singers of the ''spacious skies'' that began the song but also elevates the final theme to one of unity and tolerance. Her improvement makes all the difference, especially in times like these:

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea! [1]

There is somewhat of a debate over Bates' sexual orientation.  Bates never married, but did live intimately with Katharine Coman for twenty-five years.  In the late 19th century, this is what was known as a "Boston Marriage."[2]  Likely some "Boston Marriages" were sexual, but perhaps not all were.  In her poems Bates confessed a deep love for Coman and her death shattered Bates' heart.  However, it can be difficult to assume our modern sensibilities on their relationship.[3][4][5][6]  

An ardent feminist and possible lesbian, Bates wrote America the Beautiful to challenge selfish gain not going to noble causes.  (Till selfish gain no longer stain/The banner of the free!) When we sing her song in church or in public, seldom does the word, feminist, come to mind.  What does the song mean?  What do songs mean?  When we sing old songs, we almost never know the original meaning or even the author.  Where does the meaning within our breast come?  It comes from us.  It comes from whatever we think the song means or have been taught that it means.  Perhaps most of those that sang Healer, knew nothing of Guglielmucci's cancer.  Perhaps most did not know that he lied about his cancer.  Definitely most that sing Healer today do not have cancer.  The singers invest the lyrics with whatever meaning they find appropriate.  

James Dobson: Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America III

October 2008, Dr. James Dobson wrote a letter fictitiously from October 2012.  This is the third installment of excerpts from Dr. Dobson's apocalyptic future.

(15) Freedom of Choice Act: Congress lost no time in solidifying abortion rights under President Obama. In fact, Obama had promised, “The first thing I’ll do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act” (July 17, 2007, speech to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund).  This federal law immediately nullified hundreds of state laws that had created even the slightest barrier to abortion.  States can no longer require parental involvement for minors who wish to have an abortion, waiting period, informed consent rules, restrictions on tax-payer funding or restrictions on late-term abortions. The act reversed the Hyde Amendment, so the government now funds Medicaid abortions for any reason. As a result, the number of abortions has increased dramatically. The Freedom of Choice Act also reversed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, so infants can be killed outright just seconds before they would be born. States whose laws were overturned challenged the law in court but it was upheld by the Obama Supreme Court. “The land of the free”? There is no freedom for these infants who are killed by the millions.

(16) Nurses and abortions: “The land of the free”? Nurses are no longer free to refuse to participate in abortions for reasons of conscience.  If they refuse to participate, they lose their jobs, for they are now failing to comply with federal law. Many Christian nurses have left the health care field rather than violate their consciences. A number of Christian nurses challenged their loss of jobs in court, but the Supreme Court ruled that medical professionals do not have the freedom to refuse nonessential, elective care on the basis of conscience. In its decision, the Supreme Court followed the reasoning of the California Supreme Court in the 2008 Benitez case (see section (6) above).

(17) Doctors and abortions: “The land of the free”? The same restrictions apply to doctors: Doctors who refuse to perform abortions can no longer be licensed to deliver babies at hospitals in any state. As a result, many Christian doctors have left family medicine and obstetrics, and many have retired.

(18) Pornography: “The land of the free”? It’s almost impossible to keep children from seeing pornography. The Supreme Court in 2011 nullified all Federal Communications Commission restrictions on obscene speech or visual content in radio and television broadcasts. As a result, television programs at all hours of the day contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts. The court applied more broadly the “Miller test” from the 1973 decision in Miller v. California, by which a work could not be found obscene unless “the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.” In the 2011 decision, the court essentially found that any pornographic work had some measure of “serious artistic value,” at least according to some observers, and thus any censorship of pornographic material was an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment. In addition, all city and county laws restricting pornography were struck down by this decision. As a result, pornographic magazines are openly displayed in gas stations, grocery stores and on newsstands (as they have been in some European countries for several years).

(19) Guns: “The land of the free”? It is illegal for private citizens to own guns for selfdefense in eight states, and the number is growing with increasing Democratic control of state legislatures and governorships. This was the result of a 6-3 Supreme Court decision in which the court reversed its 5-4 decision that had upheld private gun ownership in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).  In the new decision, a response to test cases from Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont, the court adopted the view of the Second Amendment that had been defended in Heller by the four liberal justices, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer. In this new decision, the court specified that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” was limited to that purpose specified in the Second Amendment, namely, to those people who were part of a “well regulated militia” in the various states. To those who argued that this view was not the “original intent” of the framers, they pointed to a long history of dispute over the interpretation of the expression and then said that, in any case, the Constitution was an “evolving” document that must change with the times, and so what may have been applicable in 1790 need no longer be decisive. Therefore they allowed cities and states to limit gun ownership to active-duty military personnel and police officers. Citizens in those areas who are discovered owning guns have been subjected to heavy fines and imprisonment. Inner-city violent crime has increased dramatically....

...Thousands of home schooling parents, seeing no alternative in the United States, have begun to emigrate to other countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand, where home schooling is still quite prevalent....

...After many of these decisions, especially those that restricted religious speech in public places, President Obama publicly expressed strong personal disapproval of the decision and said that the Supreme Court had gone far beyond what he ever expected. But he has also stated repeatedly that he had sworn to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” and, now that the Supreme Court had ruled, he had no choice but to uphold the law, for these decisions were the law of the land. [1]

James Dobson: Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America

James Dobson wrote a letter in October 2008 as if he was writing from October 2012.  In Dobson's apocalypse, four Supreme Court Justices retire and Obama has successfully confirmed four new Justices to the Court.  The Supreme Court then proceeds to go on a tyrannical tirade:

...(11) High schools: “The land of the free”? High schools are no longer free to allow “See You at the Pole” meetings where students pray together, or any student Bible studies even before or after school. The Supreme Court ruled this is considered speech that is both “proselytizing” and involves “worship,” special categories of speech which, as liberal Justice John Paul Stevens argued in his dissent in Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001), should not be allowed in public schools, since it is in a different category from other kinds of speech. (Justice Souter filed a similar dissent, which Justice Ginsburg joined). The new 6-3 liberal majority on the Supreme Court followed his reasoning and outlawed any use of school property for any kind of religious meeting, even outside of normal school hours. In addition, Christian students cannot raise religious objections to curriculum material that promotes homosexual behavior.

(12) Church use of school property: “The land of the free”? Tens of thousands of young churches suddenly had no place to meet when the Supreme Court ruled that public schools in all 50 states had to stop allowing churches to rent their facilities — even on Sundays, when school was not in session. The court said this was an unconstitutional use of government property for a religious purpose. Most of these churches have been unable to find any suitable place to meet. Public libraries and public parks are similarly excluded from allowing churches to use their facilities. Once again, the reasoning of liberal Justices Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg in 2001 in Good News Club (see above) was able to garner 6-3 support with the new court.

(13) Campus ministries: “The land of the free”? Campus organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ, InterVarsity, Navigators, Baptist Campus Ministry, and Reformed University Fellowship have shrunk to skeleton organizations, and in many states they have ceased to exist. After the Supreme Court ruled that “proselytizing” speech and “worship” speech did not have the same First Amendment protection as other speech, and after it declared same-sex “marriage” to be the law of the United States, a subsequent Supreme Court decision predictably ruled that universities had to prohibit campus organizations that promote “hate speech” and have discriminatory policies. Therefore these Christian ministries have been prohibited from use of campus buildings, campus bulletin boards, advertising in campus newspapers, and use of dormitory rooms or common rooms for Bible studies. Their staff members are no longer allowed on university property. The only ministries allowed to function on campuses are “nondiscriminatory” ministries that agree to allow practicing homosexuals and members of other religions on their governing boards. With the new Supreme Court appointed by President Obama, the long years of liberal opposition to these evangelical ministries finally bore fruit, and only liberal ministries are left on campuses.

(14) Pledge of Allegiance: “The land of the free”? Public school teachers are no longer free to lead students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States. The 9th Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals heard a new challenge to the phrase “under God” in the Pledge, and, as it had in 2002 in Newdow v. United States Congress, Elk Grove Unified School District, et al., it held the wording to be unconstitutional. Now the Supreme Court has upheld this decision.[1]

James Dobson: Visions from 2012

In October of 2008, James Dobson and Focus on the Family put out a list of predictions that could possibly come to pass if Obama was elected.  In a little theater, Dobson writes this personal footnoted letter from the future, October 2012.  Most of these predictions are the result of Obama stocking the Supreme Court with four justices after Ginsburg, Stevens, Kennedy, and Scalia retired.  By October of 2009 with less than ten months in office Obama will shift the balance of the court.  This apocalyptic vision seems far fetched, but to be fair Dobson says the following: 

...This letter is not “predicting” that all of the imaginative future “events” named in this letter will happen. But it is saying that each one of these changes could happen and also that each change would be the natural outcome of (a) published legal opinions by liberal judges, (b) trends seen in states with liberal-dominated courts such as California and Massachusetts, (c) recent promises, practices and legislative initiatives of the current liberal leadership of the Democratic Party and (d) Senator Obama’s actions, voting record and public promises to the far-Left groups that won the nomination for him...

Well, below are the first series of excerpts of his "not 'predicting'": 

...October 22, 2012 

Dear friends, 

 I can hardly sing “The Star Spangled Banner” any more. When I hear the words,    

O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?  

 I get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Now in October of 2012, after seeing what has happened in the last four years, I don’t think I can still answer, “Yes,” to that question. We are not “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Many of our freedoms have been taken away by a liberal Supreme Court and a Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, and hardly any brave citizen dares to resist the new government policies any more.  The 2008 election was closer than anybody expected, but Barack Obama still won. Many Christians voted for Obama – younger evangelicals actually provided him with the needed margin to defeat John McCain – but they didn’t think he would really follow through on the farLeft policies that had marked his career. They were wrong....   

...The Boy Scouts no longer exist as an organization. They chose to disband rather than be forced to obey the Supreme Court decision that they would have to hire homosexual scoutmasters and allow them to sleep in tents with young boys...

...Many Christian teachers objected to teaching first-graders that homosexual behavior was morally neutral and equal to heterosexuality. They said it violated their consciences to have to teach something the Bible viewed as morally wrong. But state after state ruled that their refusal to teach positively about homosexuality was the equivalent of hate speech, and they had to teach it or be fired. Tens of thousands of Christian teachers either quit or were fired, and there are hardly any evangelical teachers in public schools any more...   

...(5) Public broadcasting: “The land of the free”? The Bible can no longer be freely preached over radio or television stations when the subject matter includes such “offensive” doctrines as criticizing homosexual behavior. The Supreme Court agreed that these could be kept off the air as prohibited “hate speech” that is likely to incite violence and discrimination. These policies followed broadcasting and print restrictions that were in place prior to 2008 in Canada and Sweden.

(6) Doctors and lawyers: “The land of the free”? Physicians who refuse to provide artificial insemination for lesbian couples now face significant fines or loss of their license to practice medicine, following the reasoning of a decision of the California Supreme Court in North Coast Women's Care Medical Group v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Benitez), which was announced August 18, 2008.  As a result, many Christian physicians have retired or left the practices of family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology. Lawyers who refuse to handle adoption cases for same-sex couples similarly now lose their licenses to practice law.

(7) Counselors and social workers: “The land of the free”? All other professionals who are licensed by individual states are also prohibited from discriminating against homosexuals. Social workers and counselors, even counselors in church staff positions, who refuse to provide “professional, appropriately nurturing marriage counseling” for homosexual couples lose their counseling licenses.  Thousands of Christians have left these professions as a result. 

(8) Homosexual weddings: “The land of the free”? Church buildings are now considered a “public accommodation” by the Supreme Court, and churches have no freedom to refuse to allow their buildings to be used for wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples. If they refuse, they lose their tax-exempt status, and they are increasingly becoming subject to fines and antidiscrimination lawsuits.

(9) Homosexual church staff members: “The land of the free”? While churches are still free to turn down homosexual applicants for the job of senior pastor, churches and parachurch organizations are no longer free to reject homosexual applicants for staff positions such as parttime youth pastor or director of counseling. Those that have rejected homosexual applicants have had their tax-exempt status revoked, and now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has begun to impose heavy fines for each instance of such “discrimination,” which, they say, is “contrary to the U.S. Constitution as defined by the Supreme Court.” These fines follow the pattern of a precedent-setting case in February 2008, in which the Diocese of Hereford in the Church of England was fined $94,000 (47,000 UK pounds) for turning down a homosexual applicant for a youth ministry position.

(10) Homosexuals in the military: One change regarding the status of homosexuals did not wait for any Supreme Court decision. In the first week after his inauguration, President Obama invited homosexual rights leaders from around the United States to join him at the White House as he signed an executive order directing all branches of the military to abandon their “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and to start actively recruiting homosexuals. As a result, homosexuals are now given special bonuses for enlisting in military service (to attempt to compensate for past discrimination), and all new recruits, and all active-duty and reserve personnel, are compelled to take many hours of “sensitivity training” to ensure they demonstrate positive attitudes toward those with different sexual orientations and practices. Any one who seems hesitant or who objects is routinely passed over for promotion. In addition, any chaplain who holds to an interpretation of Scripture that homosexual conduct is morally wrong and therefore does not espouse “mainstream values,” is dismissed from the military.  This is not “the land of the free” for them.[1]

Liberty Counsel's statement

Macy’s Fires Employee for Protecting Women’s Dressing Rooms from Cross-dresser

www.LC.org

San Antonio, TX – A young woman was fired from the Macy's San Antonio Rivercenter department store for refusing to violate her religious beliefs by permitting a young man dressed as a woman from entering the women’s dressing room. Natalie Johnson claims she saw the young man walk out of the women’s fitting room and politely told him that he could not go back in because it was for women only. The cross-dressing young man claimed that he is a “female.” Johnson said that he was wearing make-up and girl’s clothing, but clearly he was a male. The cross-dresser was accompanied by five other individuals. The group argued with expletives that Macy’s is LGBT-friendly, to which Johnson replied that Macy’s is also non-discriminatory toward religion, and that it would go against her religious beliefs to lie that he was a woman or compromise with homosexuality. The group then demanded to speak with a manager.

When Johnson was confronted by her employer, she explained that she could not allow a male to change in a female’s fitting room. Johnson’s boss referred her to Macy’s LGBT policy which allows “transgender” people to change in any dressing room they want. However, Johnson pointed out that the same policy also protects against religious discrimination and, in this case, it protects her right to her beliefs that were being violated. The manager demanded that she comply with the LGBT policies or lose her job. Johnson refused to go against her sincerely held religious beliefs and was terminated from her job.

Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, commented: “Macy’s policy which allows men to use the women’s dressing room is fraught with problems. This policy will cause significant problems and will alienate the majority of Macy’s customers. Macy’s has essentially opened women’s dressing rooms to every man. The LGBT agenda has become the theater of the absurd.”

Liberty Counsel encourages readers to contact Macy’s and politely let them know that this is completely unacceptable. You can reach Terry Lundgren, the CEO of Macy’s at macys_execs@macys.com or call their corporate offices at 513-398-5221 or fax them at 513-573-2049.[1]

Rick Perry will put prayer and Christmas back in school

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

As President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.

Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again.

I’m Rick Perry and I approve this message.


Something comes to mind.

If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. ~ West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette[1]

1989: Barney Frank's prostitution ring

TV Movie Led to Prostitute's Disclosures
'Mayflower Madam' Gave Gobie Idea

By Bill Dedman
Washington Post Staff Writer
August 27, 1989

Prostitute and pimp Stephen L. Gobie settled in with his "girls" in his Georgetown town house one evening in late 1987 to watch "The Mayflower Madam" on television. As Candice Bergen portrayed upscale madam Sydney Biddle Barrows, Gobie's companions had an idea.

"The girls turned to me and said, 'You're just like her,' " Gobie recalled in an interview yesterday. "That's when I realized that I was in the middle of a developing story that could be worth something someday. I told them, 'One day, don't be surprised if you see me on TV.' "

Gobie's dream has come true. His accusation that Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) knew that Gobie had operated a prostitution service out of Frank's Capitol Hill apartment became national news after it was first reported Friday by the Washington Times.

Frank, one of two openly gay members of Congress, confirmed Friday that he paid Gobie for sex, hired him with personal funds as an aide and wrote letters on congressional stationery on his behalf to Virginia probation officials, but Frank said he fired Gobie when he learned that clients were visiting the apartment.

Frank, a leading House liberal, likened himself to Henry Higgins, who in "Pygmalion" tries to transform a cockney waif into a member of English society. Gobie dismissed that as "garbage." "This is not the case of the poor waif who is being sheltered," Gobie said. "This was the first time he felt good in a relationship. Here's a guy who didn't have a social life until he was 45."

Gobie's craving for public attention also has produced an uproar in Montgomery County. Gobie said he maintained a relationship with Gabriel A. Massaro, the principal of Chevy Chase Elementary School, and used an office at the school in late 1987 to make telephone calls and have one client meet a prostitute.

Massaro, who has been placed on administrative leave, has been unavailable for comment.

Gobie said his motive was largely financial. Gobie had offered his story to WUSA-TV (Channel 9), then the Washington Times. Later he came to The Washington Post, saying he was looking "to start a bidding war" for "a better offer" than the Washington Times made. He and the Times say he was not paid.

Gobie also said he wants "to show up people in positions of power who abuse other people."

Gobie expressed no regret for any damage done to the careers of Frank and Massaro.

Although Frank and Gobie differ in some details of their relationship, they agree on the story line. They met on April Fool's Day 1985. The representative answered a classified ad in the Washington Blade, the local gay weekly. "Exceptionally good-looking, personable, muscular athlete is available. Hot bottom plus large endowment equals a good time."

Then in his third term, the 45-year-old representative had not yet stated his homosexuality publicly. He paid Gobie $80 in cash for sex.

Gobie, then 28, was one of many young men "freelancing" in male prostitution. Gobie said he was born in Boston and grew up in a military family. He has felony convictions for possession of cocaine, oral sodomy and production of obscene items involving a juvenile.

Gobie and Frank say they became more friends than sexual partners. Gobie says he attended a bill-signing at the White House, and helped coach and played left field for Frank's team in the Congressional Softball League. "I was the star player," Gobie said.

Frank began to help Gobie financially, paying his attorney and court-ordered psychiatrist. The House member also said he hired Gobie as a personal aide, housekeeper and driver, but Gobie said that was a "cover story" concocted for probation officers.

In late 1985, Gobie says, he began to use Frank's apartment and two other locations for prostitution. Frank knew about the prostitution all along, but it was never explicitly discussed, Gobie says.

"He knew exactly what I was doing," Gobie said. "It was pretty obvious. If he had to come home early {from work}, he would call home to be sure the coast was clear . . . . He was living vicariously through me. He said it was kind of a thrill, and if he had been 20 years younger he might be doing the same thing."

Frank denies that he knew, saying he learned from his landlord and kicked Gobie out in August 1987. Gobie supports this part of Frank's story.

Gobie said his disclosures are only beginning. "I think I'll just slap a book together. Sydney Biddle Barrows made in excess of a million. I thought 'Capitol Offenses' would be a nice title."[1]

All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim. That is just a fact.

The Patriot Update says it is a "news source" that provides "timely, accurate news about what concerns patriotic Americans."  They have a new web series call PatriotChicks.  I took notes, but I do not know when I will be able to fact check it.

Ellen Muehlberger,  an assistant professor of Near Eastern studies and
 history at U-M who is writing a book about angels in late ancient times

• "Islam says kill gay people that's why I don't get why liberals are pro-Muslim, and pro-gay. ~ Victoria Jackson
• Snopes.com is owned by George Soros
• Frank Gaffney is one of the experts on Islamization of America
• Oklahoma a man was allowed to beat his wife, because "Sharia said it was OK? (Honestly what I think she did here was take a blog post about the UAE saying something was "OK". She saw "OK" and thought it meant Oklahoma.)
• We are not allowed to say "in Jesus name, Amen", because of Separation of Church and State, but they're allowed to beat of their wives because we are open to all religions. True?
• They are given special foot washing baths on the state campuses on the University of Michigan.
• We can't have our Christmas Trees.
• Muslims are asking for a Catholic University to provide them a place to pray devoid of crosses
• Muslims have more rights in schools than Christians
• The Bible can be used a literature and history in schools, but now we are seeing school use the Quran.
• America was founded on Christian principles not Islamic principles.
• Christians are being tortured, crucified, and murdered in Egypt, because the Muslims are in control.
• Islam is not a religion of peace, because what is peaceful believing that your mission in life is to murder?
• "My Dad said, 'we're lucky that most Muslims are lukewarm or we'd all be dead.'" ~ Victoria Jackson
• "All Muslims are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim.  That is just a fact."  (Seriously that was a quote)
• Islam is the opposite of the Bible and it is a religion of death.
• Everyone can say what they want unless you love the country and God.
• These women say that none of what they said is hateful.
• Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano have dead eyes
• Gay marriage is the government trying to force the church to bend its beliefs.  
• Gay marriage is the government trying to take over the churches, but civil unions are OK
• They are bring suits against priests and pastors who will not marry a gay couple

End of the Ex-Gay Movement?

Last week, John Smid, the former director of Love in Action, the country’s oldest and largest ex-gay ministry, acknowledged on his blog that, contrary to the claims of the movement he represented for decades, gay people cannot become straight. “I’ve never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual,” he wrote. He himself certainly has not. “I would consider myself homosexual and yet in a marriage with a woman,” he explained. He loves his wife and has no plans to leave her, but wrote, “this doesn’t change the fact that I am who I am and she is who she is.”...

...Still, some who feel victimized by his organization say that Smid’s apology hasn’t gone far enough. “I don’t think he yet understands quite the damage and the harm he has done,” says Peterson Toscano, who spent two years in Smid’s program as an adult and later created a one-man show about it, “Doin’ Time In The Homo No Mo’ Halfway House.” “It was a very destructive process mentally, emotionally, spiritually, sexually—all across the board.” Toscano describes an incident when Smid, responding to a young man of 19 or 20 who wanted to leave the program, staged a mock funeral. The would-be defector had to lie still on a table while the other participants “talked about how terrible it was that he didn’t stick with God, and now look where he is, he’s dead because he left,” says Toscano.[1]

“A longitudinal study of attempted religiously-mediated sexual orientation change.”

Do you remember these findings of fact from the Prop 8 ruling?

43. Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of sexual, affectional or romantic desires for and attractions to men, women or both sexes. An individual’s sexual orientation can be expressed through self-identification, behavior or attraction. The vast majority of people are consistent in self-identification, behavior and attraction throughout their adult lives... 

46. Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation. No credible evidence supports a finding that an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation. 

47. California has no interest in asking gays and lesbians to change their sexual orientation or in reducing the number of gays and lesbians in California... 

51. Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals.[1]

This is what I thought of when I read the news of this study of Exodus International,

Stanton L. Jones & Mark A. Yarhouse. (2011). “A longitudinal study of attempted religiously-mediated sexual orientation change.” Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, Volume 37, pages 404-427.

• 98 homosexuals (72 men, 26 women) were involved in the study.
• 61 participated for six to seven years.  Of those 61:
• 53% were categorized as successful outcomes by the standards of Exodus Ministries.
• 23% said their orientation had changed.
• 30% reported stable behavioral chastity with substantive dis-identification with homosexual orientation.
• 20% reported giving up and fully embracing their homosexual identity.

One of the study's authors, Stanton L. Jones, a psychologist at Wheaton College, cautions against projecting success ratios based on the study.  It is inaccurate to say that 23% of people change their sexual orientation or even Exodus International has a 23% success rate.  The study simply says that 23% of their sample self identified as having changed their sexual orientation after seven years since attempting therapy.  

Notice Judge Vaughn Walker in finding of fact 46 found that there was no credible evidence that "an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation."  This study published for peer review in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, is most likely the first of its kind. This study may become a piece of credible evidence that Judge Walker said did not exist in 2010.  Still notice finding of fact 43, Judge Walker noted that the evidence suggests that the vast majority of people (homosexual and heterosexual) are "consistent in self-identification, behavior and attraction throughout their adult lives". This study does little, if anything, to contradict this.  From their sample, only 23% changed their orientation. 30% were still identifying with the homosexual orientation though they had "substantive dis-identification".  20% abandoned the therapy and embraced their homosexual identity.  There is 27% not listed in the summary of the study, so I do not have the information about their outcomes.  While Jones repeatedly claims that "conversion" is not uncommon and backed up by this study and "by any number of powerful anecdotes that are out there"; the prevailing research, including Jones' study, seem to support that it is only accomplished in the minority.  Non-anecdotal evidence still suggests that the vast majority are consistent throughout their adult lives.  

This is important, because we do not have a scientifically viable treatment for converting homosexuals into heterosexuals.  Even the 23% according to Jones' study the authors explored "a variety of possible explanations of the findings including religious healing and sexual identity change." Even if the study had discerned a viable treatment, it may not work on most individuals.  Both of these are beyond the scope of the study, but they are practical real world concerns.  

The fact of the matter, sin or not, is that homosexuals live among us and will continue to live among us for the foreseeable future.   In light of this fact, Judge Walker struck down Prop 8.  In light of this the authors of the study said the following in their press release.[2][3]

Most importantly, the study suggests that since change seems possible for some, then all should respect the integrity and autonomy of persons seeking to change their sexual orientation for moral, religious, or other reasons, just as we respect those who for similar reasons desire to affirm and embrace their sexual orientation. This requires that space be created in religious and professional circles for individuals to seek sexual orientation change or sexual identity change with full information offered about the options and their potential risks. We would do well to put as much information as possible in the hands of consumers so that they are able to make informed decisions and wise choices among treatment options. The results also suggest that it would be premature for professional mental health organizations to invalidate efforts to change sexual orientation and unwanted same-sex erotic attractions.

Jennifer Knapp celebrates Coming Out Day at LU

"I'm Jennifer Knapp, I'm gay and I am a Christian."

The Death of Edward II

According to accepted belief, Edward was murdered in a bestial manner on the orders of Mortimer and Isabella on around 11th October, 1327. A red hot poker was inserted into his entrails by means of a horn, to leave no outward marks on his body. The people of Berkeley were said to have heard the agonised screams of the dying king outside the castle. This acount of how Edward met his death is not however, corroborated by any contemporary source and none of the directly contemporary chroniclers recorded with certainty how Edward II met his end, often citing suffocation or strangulation as the likely cause. The accepted version of Edward's horrific murder was first made public in the mid 1330's.[1]