https://www.salon.com/2023/09/08/another-christian-influencer-arrested-for-child-abuse-why-conservatives-keep-falling-for-these-cons/?s=09

By @AmandaMarcotte
"Another Christian influencer arrested for child abuse: Why conservatives keep falling for these cons"

"The viciousness, which often verges on flat-out sadism, goes a long way toward explaining the apparently bottomless yearning for Duggar-style propaganda. It's all about reassuring conservative Christians that all this religious oppression and cruelty is justified."

#ChristianRight
#ChildAbuse

As many of us who grew up in evangelical families can attest, whippings and outright beatings have long been doled out in devout evangelical Christian households as a way of raising children "right" — and the beatings extended to (and continue in) public schools in parts of the country dominated by white evangelical culture.

#ChildAbuse #religion #ChristianRight #parenting #CorporalPunishment
/3

The link between a certain kind of repressive, obedience-centered, right-wing religion and child abuse is not something just now being discovered. It has been written about extensively for some time now. The brilliant Polish-Swiss psychologist Alice Miller wrote groundbreaking books about this link. Philip Greven's Spare the Child studies this link in an American historical context.

#ChildAbuse #religion #ChristianRight #parenting #CorporalPunishment
/2

Amanda Marcotte notes that the arrest of Mormon child-rearing guru Ruby Franke for child abuse is part of a wearily predictable story, in which lauded right-wing Christian parents turn out to practice cruelty towards their children.

Why do Americans keep falling foir this, she asks?

"People...desperately want to believe in this fairy tale of the shiny, happy perfect white Christian families."

#ChildAbuse #religion #Mormon #ChristianRight #parenting

https://www.salon.com/2023/09/08/another-christian-influencer-arrested-for-child-abuse-why-conservatives-keep-falling-for-these-cons/

TITLE: Across U.S., Conservatives Target Bans on LGBTQ+ "Conversion Therapy"—Bans Repealed After Threats of Lawsuits Based on Freedom of Religion & Speech

My commentary: As I have said many times, I fully expect our various mental health professions in the USA to split into conservative/fascist and democratic/progressive associations -- each with its own "ethics" code -- in the near future.

Thank you Dr. Pope for summary below.

Michael Reeder, LCPC

-------- Forwarded Message --------

The Associated Press released an article: “In Iowa and elsewhere, bans on LGBTQ+ ‘conversion therapy’ become a conservative target.”

Here are some excerpts:

One of Iowa’s largest cities repealed its ban on “conversion therapy”… after a Christian organization threatened legal action, part of a deepening national movement to challenge protections for LGBTQ+ kids.

The city council in Waterloo voted this week to remove its restrictions after Liberty Counsel warned in a letter June 30 that it would “take further action” if the city did not repeal the ordinance by August 1. It was enacted in May.

The organization, which is based in Orlando, Florida, argued the ordinance infringes on the constitutional right to free speech and acted on behalf of a therapist in Waterloo “who was concerned about the implications of this on the practice of counseling,” Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chair, said in an interview in which he promised further litigation targeting states.

In Iowa and across the country, efforts are spreading to curb the rights of LGBTQ+ kids and adopt restrictions on gender and sexuality in classrooms, youth sports and medicine.

In recent years, local bans on conversion therapy in Florida also fell with the help of Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as a Christian ministry that is “restoring the culture by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family.”

Such therapy has been discredited and is opposed by, among others, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, citing research that shows it leads to increased risk of suicide and depression.

“The mental health mainstream believes that one, that these practices don’t really work, and two, that they may cause harm,” said Dr. Jack Drescher, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and editor of the chapter on gender dysphoria in the psychiatric association’s diagnostic manual.

<snip>

Laws prohibiting mental health professionals from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity are on the books in 22 states and Washington, D.C., according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. In 13 states, including Iowa, some municipalities have adopted their own provisions.

The issue has the potential to come to a head in the next year if the U.S. Supreme Court decides early this fall to hear the appeal of a Washington state therapist, Brian Tingley, whose lawsuit was dismissed.

While early lawsuits similar to Tingley’s failed, a Supreme Court ruling in 2018 prompted a new round of cases, said Christy Mallory, legal director at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation and gender identity. That ruling invoked free speech protections to block a California law that required anti-abortion centers to provide information about abortion.

In 2020, a panel of three federal judges in Florida relied in part on that 2018 ruling and became the first federal appeals court to block ordinances in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County that banned conversion therapy. Liberty Counsel represents the two therapists who won that case.

The diverging federal rulings in the Washington and Florida cases may be a reason for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in this term, bringing another high-profile LGBTQ+ issue to the docket.

Staver is confident the Supreme Court will strike down bans in the near future. And Liberty Counsel has imminent plans to sue over statewide bans, he said.

“I think it is a losing proposition for any state or local government to have one of these laws, and they would be wise to repeal them before they also are sued,” Staver said.

In Iowa, Senate Democrats and a Republican in the House introduced bills for conversion therapy bans that didn’t make it out of subcommittees in 2020. That was the last time there was a concerted effort for a ban in the state, said Damian Thompson, public policy director at Iowa Safe Schools, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ children.

Meanwhile, in Iowa and elsewhere, laws have since been passed to prohibit teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, to restrict the restrooms transgender students can use, and to ban treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans minors. Many are facing challenges in court.

Republican lawmakers say the laws are designed to affirm parents’ rights and protect children. The issues have become flashpoints in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

But many parents and advocates worry about the deterioration of the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ kids.

In Waterloo, a city of over 65,000, Councilor Jonathan Grieder said he had heard concerns about conversion therapy happening in the area. He worked with Thompson at Iowa Safe Schools to draft an ordinance after watching statewide efforts stall but a ban pass in another Iowa city, Davenport, and in Linn County.

The Waterloo council approved it 6-1 in May, but overturned it 4-3 on Monday amid the prospect of costly litigation.

Archer Trip, of neighboring Cedar Falls, addressed the council before the repeal vote as a “survivor of conversion therapy” who had been placed there in high school.

“It does not work. Now, I am a proud queer man, but I am also here to protect everyone else,” Trip said. “We should protect our children.”

Archer’s twin sister, Nic Trip, who was also put in conversion therapy, testified: “Unfortunately, not all parents always make the safest decision for their children. What is the line of what is OK to do to our children?”

Mayor Quentin Hart said, not mentioning the Liberty Counsel, that there was “threat of impending litigation moving forward,” which put the members in a “tough situation.”

“I don’t believe that the Waterloo City Council are cowards,” Hart said. “I believe that they do have a decision to make tonight.”

The decision disappointed Thompson, who said Iowa Safe Schools will continue to advocate for local bans despite far-right groups’ success in turning a “common sense” issue into a “wedge culture war” one.

“Which is a shame,” Thompson said, “because in the meantime it only results in more kids being victimized and more kids, ultimately, receiving lifelong trauma.”

Ken Pope

Ken Pope, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Hector Y. Adames, Janet L. Sonne, and Beverly A. Greene
Speaking the Unspoken: Breaking the Silence, Myths, and Taboos That Hurt Therapists and Patients (APA, 2023)

Hector Y. Adames, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Melba J.T. Vasquez, & Ken Pope:
Succeeding as a Therapist: How to Create a Thriving Practice in a Changing World (APA, 2022)

Ken Pope, Melba J.T. Vasquez, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, & Hector Y. Adames:
Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling: A Practical Guide, 6th Edition (Wiley, 2021)

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
—Steve Biko (1946-1977), anti-apartheid activist & co-founder of the South African Students' Organization

~~~

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #legal #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #transgender #conversiontherapy
@psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #doctors #hospitals #gender #genderrestrictions #libertycounsel #christianright #supremecourt #safeschools #queer #culturewar

‘New Moses’ Is the Latest Sign of the Christian Right’s Trump Confusion

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/07/new-moses-is-new-sign-of-christian-rights-trump-confusion.html

#ChristianRight #TrumpConfusion #NewMoses #ReligiousPolitics #ConservativeMovement #ChristianValues #Politics #News

Well-funded #rightwing #ChristianRight group behind US effort to roll back #lgbtq rights https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/19/alliance-defending-freedom-lgbtq-rights-america

I’m having the same reaction as Moore’s. Gothardism was a huge impact on how my mother and aunt tried to parent. And the man is a pervert.
#ChristianRight #Perversion #USA
https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/church/beth-moore-shares-how-the-duggar-docuseries-changed-her-perspective-on-bill-gothards-teachings-1/

I’m having the same reaction as Moore’s. Gothardism was a huge impact on how my mother and aunt tried to parent. And the man is a pervert.
#ChristianRight #Perversion #USA
https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/church/beth-moore-shares-how-the-duggar-docuseries-changed-her-perspective-on-bill-gothards-teachings-1/

#pride #lgbtqrights #ChristianRight I rarely celebrate the passing of another human. The exceptions to that rule include those utterly deplorable people who made it their mission to inflict immense suffering on others. So to the passing of Pat Robertson I dance and sing, “Ding Dong the witch is dead . . .”

#PatRobertson, the #conservative #evangelist and #MediaMogul who galvanized the modern #ChristianRight, cultivated a massive national following and regularly drew criticism for his incendiary political statements, died Thursday, according to his official broadcasting network.

He was 93.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pat-robertson-conservative-evangelist-christian-coalition-founder-dies-rcna61662

Gosh. So anyway...
#ChristianRight #christianhypocrisy

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/virginia/articles/2023-06-08/pat-robertson-dies-at-93-founded-christian-broadcasting-network-christian-coalition

Barabbas
#Barabbis #ChristianRight @Rhubarbarian

Barabbas
#Barabbas #ChristianRight
@Rhubarbarian

“The Christian right would like the world to believe it was the political arm of Jesus Christ, come to life to save a sinful America. In practice it operates more like a Christian-related super PAC for a white America. The professional politicization of Christianity as a right-wing force was always more about the acquisition of power than a commitment to Christianity.”

~ Ibid., p.43

#ChristianRight #WhiteChristianNationalism #racism #Republicans #Trump
/8

Principal resigns after complaints on 'David' statue nudity https://apnews.com/article/84bba40d47339eff7770ec58fcb23dd1 #scarypenis #christianright #art

@ProPublica Because #GOP and #ChristianRight do not care about preserving life. #TrueFaceOfGOP

The Christian Right is in a tailspin after the Grammy Awards because Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ fiery performance and Pfizer’s sponsorship.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7v9gy/republicans-satanic-grammy-sam-smith-kim-petras
#News #kimpetras #MarjorieTaylorGreene #charliekirk #Farright #christianright #GrammyAwards2023 #transgender

@JoshuaHolland I'm convinced that Russians have their hands of control deep in the Republican party and also , into the #ChristianRight . In early days of internet , I remember seeing videos showing Russian and U.S. militias meeting to coordinate . Don't forget that #tRump , #NRA , Maria Butina and her bed partner Paul
Erickson were coordinating against #democracy .

Where would the #ChristianRight #ButMyRights crowd be if #Jesus hadn’t sacrificed himself and His rights for the #CommonGood?