| eva young | |||
| Eva Young is President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with her cat, Kiddleleewink. You can also read her other blog here. | |||
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April 16, 2005
Here.
Some comments:
What's truly bizarre is that someone would vote for a politician whose personal behavior is destructive to society. What does it say about his ability to represent the public?I don't think it says anything about his ability to represent the public.
Also, I don't believe that his behavior is destructive to society. Killers, r a p i s t s, thieves--maybe. Homosexuals--mmm not so much. While it is true that Sen. Koering may never "be fruitful and multiply," there are plenty of straight people that also choose never have kids. In fact, we're at over 6 billion right now--some people should consider slowing down their own baby factories and taking care of the kids that no one else will.
I don't think that Sen. Koering's issue is a moral one, but that is one of the primary issues on which I differ from the church. Koering is pro-gun and pro-life, but he's not a hardliner. He, in my opinion, has a knack for listening, is very personable, and is genuinely concerned with what is best for our area and the state in general. Perhaps that is why he supports Minnesotans voting on the issue.
The people on the forum are discussing the issue respectfully and intelligently. I assume the moderators would remove the "fudgepacker" and "new butt order" comments that are typical at Free Republic. Here's another post:
quote: I'm not happy about Senator Koering's vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, but I'm still supporting him because I agree with him on other issues that are more important to me and my family.I feel the same.
quote: A person should be judged on who they are and what they stand for.
Since gay marriage is such a big issue at the moment, the fact that he would fight for it would be a credible reason to not vote for him. It would not be prejudice.
That having been said........
quote: I guess I have learned a lesson in all of this... To make sure I'm not voting for butt-lovers.
I’m not sure that this statement gives much of an impression that you will be voting on the issues not your personal prejudices.
quote: This is NOT a destructive behavior.
Perhaps you should do a little more research on the subject. But then again, we've been over this before I think.
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What exactly are we progressing towards?
April 15, 2005
So far, his Republican colleagues have been supportive. No comment from the hysterically anti-gay Senator Michele Bachmann.
After the brief legislative session, during which the first-term senator was nearly constantly the object of warm greetings, Koering joked: "Everybody loves me.""If you liked Paul Koering on Wednesday, you should like Paul Koering on Thursday. Nothing has changed," he told a swarm of reporters and television photographers earlier.
His colleagues concurred.
"He is the same Sen. Koering he was yesterday," said Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville.
"The Paul Koering I know is a large teddy bear with a very big heart and he will always be the same," said Sen. Mady Reiter, R-Shoreview. Reiter said she didn't think any Senator's opinion would change simply because Koering talked about his sexual orientation to the news media.
Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna, said Senate Republicans have long known Koering is gay and his caucus' support wouldn't evaporate.
"The reaction in his district is the most important part of this deal," said Day, who added that he hoped the Republican Party will not change its backing for Koering.
Koering said today he will run for re-election next year as a Republican.
"I feel like the Republican Party is big tent, and that there is a home for me in the Republican Party," said Koering. "I'm going to run, and I'm going to run damn hard."
The Party Chair in Crow Wing County isn't pleased, and calls for Koering's resignation.
Brian D. Lehman, Crow Wing County Republican Party chair, said Wednesday a lot of Crow Wing County residents are "very unhappy" with Sen. Paul Koering's break with the GOP on the Defense of Marriage Act and predicted his sexual orientation could cause political problems if it causes Koering to "vote the wrong way."Koering, a first-term Republican senator from Fort Ripley, announced Wednesday he was gay. He voted no last week on a procedural motion that would have forced a floor vote on the Senate on the subject of same-sex marriage.
Lehman said it's too early to predict Koering's chances of gaining the Republican endorsement for another term.
"If his personal preference for the homosexual lifestyle sways his vote incorrectly and against the Republican Party platform, then I would take issue with that and I would think other people on the (county) executive committee might take issue with that and citizens in Crow Wing County and District 12," Lehman said.
The county chair said the Defense of Marriage Act was a top priority of the Republican Party and Koering would be advised to follow the Republican platform.
"We need him to be for DOMA," Lehman said.
Koering did the right thing and voted against putting the anti-gay amendment to the floor of the Senate. If people want to write him and thank him, he can be reached at: senator.paul.koering@senate.mn.
More on .
March 14, 2005
From the Advocate:
The announcement of Solmonese's hiring brought praise not only from Democrats on the Hill but also from some of the most moderate Republicans. "Ensuring that every American is treated fairly and equally has no partisan boundaries, and I'm pleased that Joe is committed to working with Republicans as the new head of HRC," said Republican senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Added Republican Rob Simmons of Connecticut: "Since I've been in Congress, HRC has always displayed a long-standing commitment to bipartisanship. I have very little doubt that Joe will aggressively maintain this tradition, and I look forward to working with him."
It would be interesting to get Arlen Specter's take on Solmonese.
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February 24, 2005
Breaking here...
Developing. . .
November 19, 2004
BoifromTroy explains.....
I'd add legislation to overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell and to allow Gay Service members to serve openly to BoifromTroy's list.
I very much like that he mentioned getting rid of the per child tax credit.
November 08, 2004
Here.....
Steve Miller and Gay Patriot are giving this positive reviews.
November 08, 2004
Ramesh Ponnuru from National Review opines:
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IS NOT A WINNING STRATEGY" [Ramesh Ponnuru] for same-sex marriage and civil unions, says Ryan Sager. I'm not sure he's right. Would civil unions be polling as well as they do--according to the exit polls, a plurality of voters (35 percent) support them--if the courts had not acted in Vermont and Massachusetts? Vermont made civil unions thinkable, and Massachusetts made them moderate.
I think Ponnuru is on to something.
November 06, 2004
It didn't take long.....
Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and an influential evangelical Protestant, said he had issued a warning to a "White House operative" who called yesterday morning to thank him for his help.Dr. Dobson said he told the caller that many Christians believed the country "on the verge of self-destruction" as it abandoned traditional family roles. He argued that "through prayer and the involvement of millions of evangelicals, and mainline Protestants and Catholics, God has given us a reprieve."
"But I believe it is a short reprieve," he continued, adding that conservatives now had four years to pass an amendment banning same-sex marriage, to stop abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, and most of all to remake the Supreme Court. "I believe that the Bush administration now needs to be more aggressive in pursuing those values, and if they don't do it I believe they will pay a price in four years," he said.
Dr. Dobson and several other Christian conservatives said they believed the expanded Republican majority in the Senate and the defeat of the Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle, put them in striking distance of both amending the constitution to ban same-sex marriage and approving the appointment of enough conservative Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade and other abortion rights cases.
Notably, all democratic non-incumbent Senate Candidates who stated they would support the FMA lost.
October 28, 2004
The issue of the courts has been put further on the front burner with the recent news that Chief Justice Renquist has been diagnosed with cancer. During the 2000 debates, President Bush has said the Justice he admires most is Antonin Scalia. Scalia's opinion in the Lawrence V Texas (sodomy) case was full of anti-gay invective.
State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers' validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today's decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.
Notably, Clarence Thomas wrote a separate disent:
I write separately to note that the law before the Court today "is ... uncommonly silly." Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U. S. 479, 527 (1965) (Stewart, J., dissenting). If I were a member of the Texas Legislature, I would vote to repeal it. Punishing someone for expressing his sexual preference through noncommercial consensual conduct with another adult does not appear to be a worthy way to expend valuable law enforcement resources.Notwithstanding this, I recognize that as a member of this Court I am not empowered to help petitioners and others similarly situated. My duty, rather, is to "decide cases 'agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States.' " Id., at 530. And, just like Justice Stewart, I "can find [neither in the Bill of Rights nor any other part of the Constitution a] general right of privacy," ibid., or as the Court terms it today, the "liberty of the person both in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions," ante, at 1.
As my good friend, Charlie Mehler often reminds me, the prospect of Chief Justice Antonin Scalia is a significant reason to vote against President Bush.
October 05, 2004
Here....
October 02, 2004
They get coverage in the Oklahoma Weekly Gazette.
This is in the belly of the beast in Oklahoma. The Democrats are pretty anti-gay there too.
October 02, 2004
Here....
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 Keyes and Friends Not "Conservatives" Paul Varnell's column titled "Gay-Obsessed Conservatives: Keyed Up and Nowhere to Go" hit the nail on the head, but the title [provided by IGF's editor] is incorrect.The characters he describes are NOT conservative, and we should not be helping them to hide behind the "conservative" label. Bigots or anti-gay activists both are better terms to describe these characters. If IGF used quotations around "conservative" (as the Leviticus crowd does with the word gay ("gay"), it would make the point.
It annoys me no end when I hear the nonsense pushed by Falwell, Keyes, Santorum et al referred to as "conservative" — there's nothing conservative about bigotry or gay obsession.
This is a major pet peeve for me. I'm glad the letter was published.
October 02, 2004
John Aravosis has been a major booster of the "outing" campaign. His blog mentions anti-gay things the Republicans do on a regular basis. So why hasn't he commented on the FMA vote in the house? Check out his blog.... Lots of talk about the debate, and no mention of the FMA vote.
September 30, 2004
Results here.
September 29, 2004
Excellent column by Paul Varnell posted at the Independent Gay Forum.
Money quote:
Perhaps the most specious defense of the lyrics is that we should tolerate them because we must preserve everyone's right to free speech. But the defense is without merit. Constitutional protections for “free speech” only guarantee that speech is safe from interference by government authorities.Anyone can freely espouse any cause, write letters to a newspaper, post notices, distribute flyers and handbills, rent a room or lecture space and make a speech saying just about anything short of sedition and incitement to riot — and governments may not interfere.
But the Constitution does not say that people must be paid for their speech. "Free speech" does not mean that a private club, organization or lecture hall is obligated to pay someone to speak their piece or sing their songs. No agent is obligated to promote them, no lecture series or concert manager is obligated to book them. The Constitution guarantees "free speech" not "paid speech."
September 28, 2004
BoifromTroy has an interesting post that descibes his conversation with the chair of the LA Democratic Party. Now this character - my guess - Eric Bauman - from the way boifromtroy describes him - is typical of some in Stonewall. Others in Stonewall - such as John Marble - the Stonewall Communications Director at the National Level, and Alan Hooker, chair of Stonewall DFL locally are both legitimately interested in moving gay issues forward.
The anonymous Gay Patriot would be a gay republican counterpart to a Bauman breed.
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September 26, 2004
Craig Crain writes a hard hitting editorial condemning Kerry's Flip-Flops on the issue of anti-family state constitutional amendments.
Recently, including in February on National Public Radio and in last week’s gay press interview, Kerry cited the institution of marriage as religious and “sacramental.”But when faced with pressure from Catholic leaders to change his stance on another hot-button issue, abortion, Kerry has made clear that private religious beliefs should not influence public policy. On abortion, Kerry has said he personally believes abortion is a sin, but is devoted to protect a woman’s right to choose.
How can he draw the line so clearly on abortion but not on marriage? Would political polling have anything to do with that? Or maybe the acquiescence of left-leaning gay rights groups?
It's seemed rather clear to me that Kerry has gotten worse on gay issues since the Human Rights Campaign endorsed him. The problem is, HRC is VERY good at raising money, and holding glitzy black tie dinners but are less effective at grass roots organizing. Endorsement from the HRC doesn't translate into GLBT votes all the time. Too often the Kerry campaign has used them to take flack when he supports anti-gay amendments like the one in Missouri. That in turn undermines their credibility further.
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September 23, 2004
The Strib has some interesting profiles of voters.....
Bob Battle is a well known fixture in St Paul politics. Recently I've seen him featured in the Minnesota Family Council's "Pro-Family News"..... He testified and spoke at a press conference at the hearing for the anti-gay amendment in Minnesota. When he spoke at the press conference, he identified himself as the former chair of the St Paul Human Rights Commission. I asked Mayor Randy Kelly about that, when Kelly spoke to a gay audience at TC Quorum. I asked if Battle was giving the St Paul Human Rights Commission a bad name with his statement - especially since St Paul had passed a resolution in opposition to the Minnesota version of the anti-family amendment.
Now Battle is blaming gays for the loss of morality: "We've lost our moral dignity, lost our sense of family and morality, and we're about to go down the
same path as the Roman Empire."
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September 19, 2004
Here:
What will John Kerry say?
UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan comments....
Here's the text:Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman.
This is a radical denial of any civil protections for gay couples at all - the most radical attack on an American minority since Jim Crow. Even the mildest protections for a gay couple that are integral to any meaningful bond - visitation rights in hospital, inheritance rights, the right not to testify against one another in court, and so on - will now be vulnerable to legal challenge or flat-out denied gay couples under the law. And the margin of victory is stunning: a full 80 percent want to keep gay people permanently without any protections for their relationships or any incentives to get together and settle down. It's too depressing for words.
Hopefully the Kerry staff will brief him about this one. (He said he had been unbriefed about the Missouri amendment - and that is why he had said he supported it).
September 18, 2004
This article compares the Brown vs Board of Education and Lawrence vs Texas decision. It's one of the few articles I've read that directly rebuts the "judicial activism" nonsense. The Blade has an article about the debate over comparing the black civil rights movement with the gay equal rights movement.
September 18, 2004
The AFA blog rants about McGreevey...
The homosexual community is, as one would expect, rallying around the governor. Allan Van Capelle, executive director of the New York-based Empire State Pride Agenda, said during an interview with WCBS in New York that "[His resignation] highlights the issue that being in the closet is the most terrible thing to be for a person. . .It is sad that he lived such a tortured life for 47 years."Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Cheryl Jacques praised McGreevey for showing "enormous courage" by coming out. Like he had a choice!
I saw two articles in Lavender Magazine critical of McGreevey last month. When I've talked to gay friends, I haven't found much sympathy for McGreevey. I was appalled to learn that the Human Rights Campaign had provided poll testing for the "I am a Gay American" message.
Boifromtroy has a good question.
Why is it that when a straight politician is in an adulterous affair *ahem* Bill Clinton, for example...it is is just "private matter"? If McGreevy thought plain old adultery (or even being sued for it) were grounds for resignation alone, he would have called for President Clinton's. Is Governor McGreevy trying to tell us that Gays are unfit to serve in public office? That is certainly the message he's sending!
September 17, 2004
He is not happy that Log Cabin Republicans withheld endorsement from Bush.
From his letter to Log Cabin Republicans:
From: GayPatriot2004@aol.com Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 9:44 AM To: admin@logcabin.org; press@logcabin.org Subject: Shame on you.Please take the word "REPUBLICAN" out of your organization's name.
You are no more a Republican organization than the Human Rights Campaign is"non-partisan."
If you spent more time fighting the civil rights violations happening to Republican gay staffers on Capitol Hill by Michael Rogers... and less time cozying up to your gay liberal friends at HRC, etc., perhaps your organization would still have some relevance.
Earth to Gay Patriot, Log Cabin Republicans HAS taken a very public stand in opposition to the Outing campaign. So has the Human Rights Campaign. But both Log Cabin Republicans and the Human Rights Campaign are organizations that work on Gay Equal Rights issues. Log Cabin Republicans and Stonewall Democrats are both partisan Gay Equal Rights organizations. HRC claims to be non-partisan, though they seem more of a Democratic group during presidential elections.
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September 16, 2004
Steve May is an openly gay former state legislator from Arizona. He is publically supporting John Kerry. Here is his statement.
I supported and campaigned for George W Bush in 2000 and took a lot of grief from my gay friends. I was even publicly scolded by Andrew Tobias at a fundraiser for the Victory Fund on Fire Island. I supported Bush because I believed that he would unite our party, reduce the size of government, balance the budget and secure freedom for every American.
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September 16, 2004
I contributed to Chuck Muth when he started the Lawfully Wedded website which promotes conservative opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment. As a contributor, I get his Goldwater List email update. In today's update, he discusses the outings.
"OUTING" OUT OF CONTROLThe homo-obsessed branch of the religious right appears to have really opened a Pandora’s box by making a constitutional ban on gay marriage its signature issue in this year’s campaigns. Backlash against Republicans, who have openly embraced the Federal Marriage Amendment, is resulting in a whole lotta "outing" going on.
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September 15, 2004
A fair point by one of my commenters:
Mike has bragged himself that he hasn't outed Democrats whose bosses voted FOR the FMA and the MPA, despite his and Aravosis's claim that anyone who did so would be "outed to the rafters"."This campaign is about Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Left and Right. When people hide their open gay lives from the people they work for when those people are homophobes...you will find us here....calling them to task.
It's pretty simple. Don't work for our community's enemies."
Michael | Email | Homepage | 07.19.04 - 7:29 pmHowever:
"I have yet to meet a Democrat staff member who opposes what their boss has done. The only case where one Democrat voted for the anti-gay law who has a gay staffer was clear to us that the member was forced to vote that way to attempt to hold the conservative leaning seat."
Mike | Email | Homepage | 08.02.04 - 4:57 pm
Sounds like a double standard to me.
September 15, 2004
Liberal Blogger, Josh Marshall condemns the Indiana Democratic Party's actions.
Daniels recently requested to meet with LGBT leaders in a proactive outreach effort and has endorsed a state anti-discrimination policy (before his Democratic opponent Joe Kernan did). Indeed, Mitch Daniels' track record on "gay rights" is, at least from a LGBT perspective, as strong or stronger than Kernan's.So here we have the Indiana Democratic Party subverting outreach by Republican Mitch Daniels in an effort to win the election. The Indiana Democratic Party doesn't seem interested gay rights or changing hearts and minds, at least not if it interferes with winning an election.
Punch in the Bag piles on
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September 15, 2004
Very interesting article in the Hill about GLASS, a Gay/Lesbian Employee group for Capitol hill staffers. Matt Young, GLASS Co-Chair says it all:
We’re not a political group. It’s not appropriate for us to lobby our bosses. It’s not our job to comment on the policies of senators.
That's right. That's the job of Human Rights Campaign and other gay activist organizations. Providing poll testing to Governor McGreevey to use the "I am a Gay American" line to try to evade corruption charges should NOT be part of the Human Rights Campaign's job.
September 15, 2004
It's been talked about alot. LookingforSam here is quite thoughtful.
Money quote:
This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Republicans to put a picture to their words. They could have simply allowed Mary onto the stage with the rest of her family, where she belongs. They could have said, "See? We have gay sons and daughters. We are the party of the big tent. We may not want them to marry, but it doesn't mean we love them any less. How could anybody think we don't love our own?"
Carl Neilbergerall/APMary Cheney (left) with her partner, Heather Poe in the Vice President's Box at Madison Square Gardens.
But this picture of Mary Cheney and her partner in a darkened corner of Madison Square Gardens while the rest of her family was in the spotlight on stage speaks volumes. It make visible the emptiness of the Republicans' assertions. They want us to disappear. They really want us to be invisible, just like Mary.
And they think that by pretending gays don't exist, the issue will go away. Is that why the President can't seem to use the word "gay"?
September 15, 2004
It seems that my post about the Outing Campaign has been the most popular one. It has gotten 6 comments so far.
Michael Demmons of Discount Blogger fame commented:
Also worthy to note that GayPatriot hides behind an anonymous pseudonym, and therefore, believes he is not accountable for what he says (like, for example, publishing Mike Rogers' phone number and private email.) Obviously, his user information could be obtained via court order if harm came to Mike Rogers.I agree with Gay{Patriot's campaign to "Stop the Outing. Stop the Invasion of Privacy" but by doing what he did, he is, effectively, engaging in something similar.
For example, it wouldn't be hard to get an address from a phone number. Outing puts peoples' lives in danger. So does what GP did.
I've said Rogers is a worm. But to act like one to get back at him kind of defeats your purpose - unless that's to cause harm to someone.
I stopped over at Gay Patriot's blog, and verified that he had posted Michael Rogers address and phone number. I don't agree with what Mike Rogers is doing with the outing, but I agree with Demmons that Gay Patriot - under the cover of annonymity - is avoiding accountability for his words.
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September 14, 2004
Here.....
Will the GOP of the future be the party of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Alan Keyes?
September 14, 2004
Brian Howey opines on the Indiana Democratic and Republican Gay Baiting.
Hat Tip: Christian Grantham .
Money quote:
Earlier this week, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels met privately with a group of gay and lesbians in Indianapolis. The juvenile wing of the Indiana Democratic Party sent an e-mail out to reporters and conservative Republicans essentially outing Daniels for having the meeting. The intent was to try and alienate Daniels conservative Christian supporters. “We traced the e-mail back to the Democratic Party’s ISP,” said Daniels campaign manager Bill Oesterle. “It was gay baiting. The Democrats engaged in gay baiting.”All Daniels was doing was having a dialogue, as he promised he would do with Hoosiers of all races, creeds and stations of life.
And the reaction? Micah Clark of the American Families Association of Indiana told the Indianapolis Star, "The temptation for me was to say, 'Mitch, what in the world are you doing? Why are you meeting with such a small minority that is going to vote Democratic, at the risk of alienating a large portion of your base?'"
Get over it Mr Clark, your candidate LOST the primary to Mitch Daniels.....
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September 13, 2004
Boifromtroy asks "Is LCR insider Aiding the Outing Campaign?" His source is Gay Patriot which quotes Mike Rogers of Blogactive from an online chat:
BLOGActive [3:33 PM]: well..I'd love to stay and chat...but I am off to a meeting with two far right gay neocons who want to out more right wingers.BLOGActive [3:33 PM]: I will tell one of them to say hello on patriots site, once his term in the LCR board is over.
Mike Rogers from BlogActive responded:
Michael Rogers said... That Michael is not me. The things he says are interesting, although surely I expected a better "world exclusive" than knowing an LCR insider gave me info... Though you have to admit it's funny to call it a "world exclusive" when I said it to the press, um, 6 weeks ago? I always post as: Michael Rogers with a link back to my blog. Also, the Bush camoaign admitted the typewriter was a nonstarter....they documents are legitimate...more legitimate than the President's election even...
The comment did link to Mike Rogers profile on blogger.
UPDATE: On reading the whole thread, Mike Rogers was referring to another commenter named Michael (Discount Blogger) and was NOT denying the chatroom transcript.
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September 10, 2004
Bob Enyart is one of my favorite wacko talk show hosts. He's got his show archives up again, and these include a call I made to him requesting comment on this study:
'Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?' by Henry E. Adams, Ph.D., Lester W. Wright, Jr., Ph.D. and Bethany A. Lohr, University of Georgia, in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 105, No. 3, pp 440-445.
You can fast forward the MP3 to 7.30 minutes to listen to the call.
September 09, 2004
Gary Bauer writes me back....
Gary Bauer puts out these Daily "End of Day" rants which usually go on about the terrible things those "homos" are up to. So I sent him a comment on one of these.
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