Okay Then

 [Content note: Homobigotry, reference to child abuse]

Anti-gay advocates, professional and amateur alike, can often be found making up their own strange, scary-sounding lingo in order to advance their cause of opposing anything and everything gay.

Writing at the Americans For Truth [sic] About Homosexuality (AFTAH) blog*, Matt Barber writes about how he's not a happy camper about recent efforts to ban the "conversion therapy" that purports to turn gay, bisexual, and lesbian people into heterosexuals:

"Recently, on our nationally syndicated radio program 'Faith & Freedom,' Mat Staver and I discussed the degree to which such bans, or 'Sandusky Laws,' come between counselor and client, hurt children, and trample the rights of religious freedom and sexual self-determination.

Despite intense, politically motivated denials from many on the left, research has established the astonishing frequency to which a 'gay identity' or 'sexual orientation' stems from childhood sexual abuse.  Sandusky Laws abuse these children all over again." [emphasis added]

Oh ree-hee-heeally. Sandusky Laws, eh? We're calling that a thing now, are we?

Sure.

"Sandusky Law" seems to be a moniker that Team Homobigot has invented in order to associate bans on "conversion therapy" with convicted child molestor Jerry Sandusky. Mat Staver "explains" in the AFTAH article:

"'Under SB 1172, a young boy sexually molested by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky who develops an identity crisis, emotional stress and who begins to experience unwanted same-sex attractions will be further hurt by a law that deprives him and his family of the option of receiving counsel that aligns with their religious and moral beliefs.'"

Barber goes ahead and drops the term "Sandusky Law" into the article several more times, like if it's repeated enough times people might start to think of bans on "conversion therapy" as a Really Bad Thing.

Just to refresh everyone's memory, as I wrote about last week, here is what happens at "conversion therapy":

"The [Southern Poverty Law Center's] complaint, which can be found here (PDF), details the bases of conversion therapy and methods purported to prevent and cure homosexuality including having boys shower with their fathers, having boys beat a pillow 'meant to represent the patient's mother,' having clients removing their clothing during individual and group therapy sessions, cuddling others of the same sex, and being 'subjected to ridicule as 'faggots' and 'homos' in mock locker room and gym class scenarios.'"

Gosh, it's almost like, well, given the descriptions of the abusive and psychologically damaging methods of "conversion therapy," it seems like if anything warrants being associated with Sandusky that something is "conversion therapy."

But alas, Matt Barber, proponent of "conversion therapy" and Acclaimed Definitely Not A Bigot, doesn't seem to get it. He asks:

"What kind of person politicizes the lives of children, treating them as throwaway pawns in a cynical game of political chess?"

 What kind indeed.


*Note: I'm purposefully not linking to AFTAH's odious website, but the article in question can be easily found by copying and pasting the quotes I've provided into an Internet search engine.