http://www.frc.org/insight/is99l1hs.html

The Facts About "Just the Facts"

THE FACTS ABOUT _JUST THE FACTS_

Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D., and Crystal Roberts, J.D.

In an ambitious attempt to pressure public schools into promoting homosexuality, a homosexual advocacy group has sent an authoritative-looking pamphlet replete with distortions and thinly veiled legal threats to every school district in the country.

_Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation; Youth_ was produced by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educational Network (GLSEN), which aggressively promotes instruction about the homosexual lifestyle in elementary schools. A speaker at a 1998 GLSEN-sponsored conference in Boston, for example, advocated indoctrinating children as young as kindergarten age to accept homosexuality.

If schools are cowed into implementing the recommendations of _Just the Facts_, children will be encouraged to enter a lifestyle associated with disease and early death, one which has been condemned by every major religion and virtually all cultures from time immemorial. An evaluation of the assertions found in _Just the Facts_ reveals that the booklet is more opinion than fact.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "Sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime; different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual."

Many people would find bizarre the suggestion that they are at different times alternately heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The origin of this peculiar notion is the infamous zoologist-turned-sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, whose influential 1948 work _Sexual Behavior in the Human Male_ theorized that all humans existed somewhere on a fluid continuum between exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual.

Kinsey's work, however, is riddled with errors and pseudo-science. His data on the sexuality of children, for example, relied upon the scientifically dubious criminal experiences of a child molester. Kinsey himself has been exposed as a homosexual masochist and sexual anarchist driven by his antipathy towards traditional religion.

Armed with bad science, GLSEN proposes that elementary schools assume children are sexually ambiguous, and would have teachers encourage their presumed innate tendency towards homosexuality.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "Despite the unanimity of the a mental health professions on the normality of homosexuality, the idea of 'reparative therapy' has recently been adopted by conservative organizations and aggressively promoted by the media."

The professional associations touted in _Just the Facts_ as accepting homosexuality take their lead from the American Psychiatric Association -conspicuous by its absence from the list- which in 1973 "normalized" homosexual behavior. Dr. Irving Bieber, who played a key role in the APA debate, has written that the decision was "not simply arrived at after carefully considered judgment by a group of psychiatrists. It was the climax of a sociopolitical struggle involving what were deemed to be the rights of homosexuals."

Ronald Bayer, whose treatment of the APA decision is sympathetic, nevertheless concurs, "The result was not a conclusion based on ... scientific truth as dictated by reason, but was instead an action demanded by the ideological temper of the times." In fact, only 37 percent of the APA's membership actually voted on whether to normalize homosexuality, with 5,834 members backing the decision and 3,810 opposing it.

In 1977, _Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality_ published the results of 2,500 replies to a survey sent to psychiatrists in the United States. Fully 69 percent of those responding answered "yes" to the following question: "Is Homosexuality usually a pathological adaptation (as opposed to a normal variation)?" Only 18 percent said "no", with 13 percent uncertain.

So much for the "unanimity" of mental health professionals. Yet radical homosexual organizations such as GLSEN continue to perpetrate the myth that professional disagreement with their agenda does not exist.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "The promotion of 'reparative therapy' and 'transformational ministry' is likely to exacerbate the risk of harassment, harm, and fear."

In an age of tolerance, one viewpoint is being systematically suppressed: that through counseling, homosexuals can experience genuine modification in their behavior. Homosexual activist organizations such as GLSEN emphatically deny that such change is possible.

However, in his evaluation of reparative therapy efforts, Dr. Warren Throckmorton, past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association, concluded that "efforts to assist homosexually oriented individuals who wish to modify their patterns of sexual arousal have been effective, can be conducted in an ethical manner, and should be available to those clients requesting such assistance."

Similarly, in a study published in the _Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association_, H. MacIntosh

"reported a survey of 285 psychoanalysts who analyzed 1215 psychoanalytic gay and lesbian clients (824 male; 391 female). The survey respondents reported that 23% of their gay and lesbian clients changed to heterosexuality. Also a 84% of the clients reported significant benefits from analysis."

Sex research pioneers Masters and Johnson reported an impressive 79.1 percent success rate for their clients who attempted to discontinue their homosexual practices, with a 71.6 percent follow-up success rate after five years.

In a recent survey, the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality found that 33 percent of the homosexuals who had undergone therapy perceived themselves as exclusively or almost entirely heterosexual. Only 13 percent perceived themselves as exclusively homosexual.In addition, "99 percent of respondents said they now believe treatment to change homosexuality can be effective and valuable."

The strident rhetoric of homosexual advocates cannot alter the fact that many homosexuals have experienced genuine modification in their behavior, and that there exists a proliferation of organizations dedicated to assisting those who wish to change. One such organization, Exodus International, publishes an updated list of nearly 150 chapters in 38 states that assist people in leaving the homosexual lifestyle.

Homosexual activist organizations like GLSEN would deny public school children the opportunity to learn the other side of the story.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "Many deeply religious people and a number of religious congregations and denominations are supportive and accepting of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people."

GLSEN is quick to quote the official statements of various organizations in support of its contention that homosexuality should be considered normal behavior. However, GLSEN ignores Christian denominations' official denominational positions regarding homosexuality.

The list of religious denominations that are signatories to "Just the Facts" becomes less impressive when it is realized that GLSEN misleadingly includes those who support only the right of homosexuals "to be protected from the discriminatory acts of others." A statement against discrimination does not necessarily translate into a moral endorsement of homosexuality.

The reason for such obfuscation is simple: Some denominations support special legal protections for homosexuals, but in spite of concerted efforts by homosexual activists over the past two decades, no major denomination in the United States has given its blessing to the morality of homosexual behavior.

It is unconscionable that homosexual organizations such as GLSEN should be permitted to give public school children false information about what religious denominations teach regarding homosexuality.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "School officials should be deeply concerned about the validity and bias of materials or presentations that promote a change to a person's sexual orientation as a 'cure' or suggest that being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is unhealthy.

One of the most irresponsible and frankly preposterous assertions of _Just the Facts_ is that school officials should be "deeply concerned" about the suggestion that "being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is unhealthy".

In truth, school officials should be extremely concerned about encouraging a lifestyle that is inherently unhealthy and even deadly. Consider this: No effort has been spared to warn young people about the dangers of smoking, which _The New England Journal of Medicine_ estimates reduces life expectancy by up to 7.3 years. Yet the health risk to young men entering the homosexual lifestyle is considerably greater.

A study in the _International Journal of Epidemiology_ estimates that homosexuals may expect a reduction in life expectancy of up to 20 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control, HIV infection was the seventh leading cause of death among persons aged 15-24 in the United States in 1997. Homosexuals are at manifold greater risk for contracting what a recent Gay Men's Health Summit called a veritable "alphabet soup of viruses", many of which remain incurable.

The lack of information regarding the dangers and negative health effects of homosexuality constitutes an inexcusable omission on the part of _Just The Facts_, and in itself should preclude its use in any public school concerned with protecting students against behavior that is unhealthy and life-threatening.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "Public school[s] may not promote religion, endorse particular religious beliefs or seek to impose such beliefs on students."

This statement is true but irrelevant. _Just the Facts_ creates the false impression that the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires public schools to be purged of all but the most inconsequential forms of religious expression. This is a distortion of current law. Prohibiting speakers from discussing the homosexual lifestyle simply because they have religious beliefs or are affiliated with a religious organization may actually be viewpoint discrimination, which is prohibited under the First Amendment. If the claim were relevant, _Just the Facts_ would have to be excluded from public schools because one of its supporting organizations, the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, is religious and because the booklet includes a religious viewpoint. Public schools are under no legal obligation to invite outside speakers to discuss a particular topic. When schools choose to do so, however, they create a public forum for the limited purpose of engaging in that speech for which the school has opened the forum.Upon doing so, a school may not then discriminate against specific speakers simply because the school or a student disagrees with the speakers' particular viewpoint.Therefore, if a school chooses to invite a speaker who supports the homosexual lifestyle, it may not then deny a similar opportunity to those who opposes the homosexual lifestyle: "The state may not exclude speech where its distinction is not 'reasonable in light of the purpose served by the forum.'"

Transformational ministries and similar groups provide valuable information concerning the physical, emotional, and psychological harms associated with the homosexual lifestyle. Their presence in public schools serves the educational purpose of exposing students to facts about the dangers of homosexual behavior and information that may persuade them not to engage in this harmful lifestyle. It also exposes those already engaging in the lifestyle, or who may in the future, to assistance available to them if they no longer wish to live such a lifestyle. Schools that allow such speakers do not endorse the group's or the individual speaker's religious beliefs, nor do they coerce students to accept these beliefs. Rather, the schools provide students access to information about the effects of a particular sexual behavior, including competing viewpoints within a religiously neutral environment. By prohibiting opposing viewpoints, schools will deprive students of valuable information about the life-threatening risks of the homosexual lifestyle. School officials should not ignore the fact that this is the very justification that school districts nationwide use to teach students about similar harms arising from sexual behavior and integrate abstinence programs into their curriculum.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "Because of the religious nature of 'transformational ministry', endorsement or promotion of such ministry by officials or employees of a public school district in a school-related context could raise constitutional problems."

Through its use of vague legal descriptions and its failure to state accurately the facts of current law, _Just the Facts_ encourages the reader to accept a fictional interpretation of the First Amendment that insists that the very presence of religion in public schools is itself an Establishment Clause violation. The U.S. Supreme Court has never reached such a conclusion. In fact, the Court has upheld the use of federal funds by religious groups assisting abstinence education programs against an Establishment Clause challenge similar to those implied by _Just the Facts_: "We see no reason to conclude that the AFLA [Adolescent Family Life Act] serves an impermissible religious purpose simply because some of the goals of the statute coincide with the beliefs of certain religious organizations.

"Neither do transformational ministries advance religion: On an issue as sensitive and important as teenage sexuality, it is not surprising that the government's sexual concerns would either coincide or conflict with those of religious institutions. But the possibility or even the likelihood that some of the religious institutions who receive AFLA funding will agree with the message that Congress intended to deliver to adolescents through the AFLA is insufficient to warrant a find that the statute on its face has the primary effect of advancing religion."

Clearly, educating students about the potential long-term harmful medical and psychological effects of the homosexual lifestyle serves a secular purpose. Religious and non-religious individuals alike are deeply concerned about the dangers associated with homosexual behavior. Exposing students to the truth about these harms serves the state's legitimate interest in preserving the health of all its citizens. It is under such an interest that schools justify sex education in the first place.

_Just the Facts_ claims, "School officials should follow the law by ensuring that the factor of real or perceived sexual orientation does not result in a decision that treats these students as less than equal to other students, or that otherwise discriminates against gay, lesbian, and bisexual students on the basis of sexual orientation."

Permitting a speaker in schools who is opposed to homosexual behavior does not "discriminate against gay, lesbian, and bisexual students on the basis of sexual discrimination". By that logic, _Just the Facts_ discriminates against heterosexual students by promoting "gay, lesbian, and bisexual" behavior. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual students are not being denied equal access to schools, school facilities, or programs. No student has a right to exercise a heckler's veto in order to silence an opposing viewpoint. Again, by employing vague legalistic terms and an _ad hominem_ argument, _Just the Facts_ encourages readers to accept an incorrect legal theory.

School districts must be careful not to restrict, especially on such a flawed basis, the speech of individual students who speak out in opposition to homosexuality. Students' First Amendment rights follow them into their public school building, and their exposure may not be restricted to only those ideas that the school wishes to communicate. Students are free to engage in religious speech to the same extent that non-religious speech is allowed.

It is the school's obligation to ensure that such speech does not either disrupt its educational mission or pose a risk of physical danger to other students. Schools are free to regulate the time, place, and manner of such speech to achieve this end. However, a school may not discriminate against a speaker only because his or her message communicates a disfavored viewpoint. School officials should be mindful that "undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression."

CONCLUSION

In their consideration of _Just the Facts_, schools would do well to heed the admonition found in the pamphlet itself: "Finally, it is important to note that public schools may determine ... not to disseminate information to students when that information is not well-founded, or is inadequately researched, scientifically unsound or biased in some way." By its own standards, _Just the Facts_ fails the test for implementation in schools. School districts would be negligent in their responsibility toward their students and the public if they permitted homosexual advocacy groups, in the guise of a scholarly-appearing pamphlet, to impart false, misleading, and dangerous information to those in their charge.

***

Timothy J. Dailey is a senior writer and analyst for the cultural studies department at the Family Research Council. Crystal Roberts is a legal policy analyst at the Family Research Council.

ENDNOTES

Brian Burt, "Gay Leader Says Dream is to 'Promote Homosexuality'", _Lambda Report on Homosexuality_, January/February 1998.

Alfred C. Kinsey, Wardell B., Pomeroy, and Clyde E. Martin, _Sexual Behavior in the Human Male_ (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1948).

Judith Reisman, Ph.D., _Kinsey, Crimes & Consequences: The Red Queen & the Grand Scheme_ (Arlington, Va.: The Institute for Media Education, Inc., 1998), pp. 167-170; James H. Jones, Ph.D., _Alfred C. Kinsey: A Public/Private Life_ (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997), pp. 506-513.

Kinsey Institute Director John Bancroft has admitted that Kinsey's conclusions about the sexuality of children and newborns was based upon the work of a single pedophile, an elderly man who died in 1955. _See_ Charles A. Donovan and Robert H. Knight, "Questionable Research on Child Sexuality", _Indianapolis Star_, March 3, 1996.

_See_ Reisman, _ibid_, and Jones, _ibid_.

Irving Bieber, M.D., "On Arriving at the American Psychiatric Association Decision on Homosexuality", _NARTH Bulletin 7_ (April 1999): 15-23. Ronald Bayer, _Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis_(Princeton, New Jersey:

Princeton University Press, 1987), pp. 3-4.

Bieber, _op. cit._, p. 22.

_Ibid_.

Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D., "Attempts to Modify Sexual Orientation: A Review of Outcome Literature and Ethical Issues", _NARTH Bulletin 20_ (October 1998): 283-304.

H. MacIntosh, "Attitudes and experiences of psychoanalysts in analyzing homosexual patients", _Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association_ 4 (1992): 1183-1206.

Mark F. Schwartz and William H. Masters, "The Masters and Johnson Treatment Program for Dissatisfied Homosexual Men", _American Journal of Psychiatry_ 141 (1984): 173-181.

"New Survey Shows Change is Possible", _NARTH Bulletin_ (August 5, 1999).

Ibid.

That list may be found at: http://www.messiah.edu/hpages/facstaff/chase/h/helplis.htm.

See Gayle White, "Gays and God", _The Atlanta Constitution_, June 7, 1998. The homosexual activist organization Human Rights Campaign published a report on the current attitudes of major religious denominations toward homosexuality. Those investigated included the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, National Baptist Convention USA Inc., Church of God in Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Presbyterian Church (USA), African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and several branches of Judaism. With the exception of two branches of Judaism (Reformed and Reconstructionist), none of the listed denominations officially accept the morality of homosexual practice.

Lisa Bennett, "Mixed Blessings: Organized Religion and Gay and Lesbian Americans in 1998", Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 1999.

Robert S. Hogg, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. O'Shaughnessy, Julio S.G. Montaner, and Martin T. Schechter, "Modelling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men", _International Journal of Epidemiology_ 26 (1997): 657-661; Paul Cameron, Kirk Cameron, and William L. Playfair, "Does Homosexual Activity Shorten Life?" _Psychological Bulletin_ 83 (1998): 847-866.

"Trends in HIV-Related Sexual Risk Behaviors among High School Students- Selected U.S. Cities," _Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report_ 48, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June 4, 1999).

"Call and Program Announcement", Gay Men's Health Summit, Boulder, Colorado, July 29-August 1, 1999, p. 11.

"To obey the Establishment Clause, it was not necessary for the University to deny eligibility to student publications because of their viewpoint." _Rosenberger, et al v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia et al._, 515 U.S. 819, 845 (1995).

_Tinker et al. v. Des Moines Ind. Community Sch. Dist. et al._, 393 U.S. 503 (1969); _Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley_, 408 U.S. 92 (1972); _Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches School District_, 508 U.S. 384 (1993); _Westside Community Schools v. Mergens_, 496 U.S. 226 (1990) (upholding the constitutionality of the Equal Access Act); _Rosenberger, et al. v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia et al._, 515 U.S. 819, 845 (1995). _Widmar v. Vincent_, 454 U.S. 263 (1981); _Bender v. Williamsport Area School District_, 106 S.Ct. 1326 (1986); _Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley_, 408 U.S. 92 (1972); _Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches School District_, 508 U.S. 384 (1993); _Rosenberger, et al. v. Rector and Visitors of The University of Virginia et al._, 515 U.S. 819, 845 (1995).

_Rosenberger_, 454 U.S. at 829.

"Like all students, those who are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual are protected by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which, among other things requires the separation of church and state. For example, public schools may not promote religion, endorse particular religious beliefs or seek to impose such beliefs on students." _Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators & School Personnel_, 1999, p. 8.

_Bowen v. Kendrick_, 487 U.S. 589, 604, n. 8 (1988). The Adolescent Family Life Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 300z, provides grants to public or nonprofit private organizations or agencies "for services and research in the area of premarital adolescent sexual relations and pregnancy."

_Id._ at 612.

_Reno v. ACLU_, 521 U.S. 844 (1997).

_Tinker_, 393 U.S. at 511.

_Id._; _Chandler v. James_, 180 F.3d 1254 (11th Cir. 1999); U.S. Dept of Education, _Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles_ (1998).

_Tinker_, 393 U.S. at 508.

... Why don't you just hang a sign around your neck that says "STUPID"?