Even more on adoptions... or MORE things that make you go "WT*?"
As if Tennessee isn't coping with enough being in the limelight because of the tragic case of the pastor's wife who shot and killed her husband, they also apparently have to deal with what may well be the most ignorant state legislator ever. And that's if I'm being kind and assuming she's merely ignorant and not a mean-spirited vicious liar.
Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, said she still believes homosexual couples should not be allowed to adopt children. In fact, in addition to e-mail correspondence with a master’s student at Vanderbilt publicized recently, in which she said as much, she has also said homosexual couples may molest the children they adopt.
"We also have seen evidence that homosexual couples prey on young males and have, in some instances, adopted them in order to have unfretted access to subject them to a life of molestation and sexual abuse," she said.
Wow. Just wow. Where to begin on two paragraphs that could fertilize an entire forty acres?
1. Every study ever... or wait, let's make that every reputable study ever shows that the vast majority of sexual predators are straight, married, white, church-going men. If you apply Ms. Maggart's argument to real evidence, then we should not be allowing any straight, married, white, church-going men to adopt because they might prey on young people.
2. What "evidence" is she quoting? I'd love to see it. She mentions Focus on the Family, which is fond of quoting Dr. Paul Cameron, whose research has been denounced by pretty much everyone on the planet and who himself has been kicked out of both the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association for severely flawed methodology.
Ms. Maggart also mentions a study done by the ACLU. That finds that gay people are a threat to children. This I'd have to see to believe.
In Arizona, we have our fair share of ridiculous politicians. We are the state that voted into office (and then impeached or convicted) both Evan Mecham and Fife Symington, after all. But this woman makes ole Evan look like a genius. Or Fife look honest. Or both.
posted by Bad Methodist @ 12:37 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Thanks for the interesting and encouraging blog. For another Methodist vision, you might want to look at this effort from my friends Rob and Deb - www.newmethodist.org
The Able & Harlow study is quite interesting!
"More than 70% of men who molest boys are heterosexual in their adult orientation".
21% of pedophiles that molest girls also molest boys
Of pedophiles that molest boys 53% also molest boys.
I do not think this is a gay thing!
Thanks for the bit of Arizona gubernatorial history--I didn't know about either guy. No wonder people like Napolitano so much, despite her awesomely ambiguous sexuality.
As for accuracy, state legislatures are filled with anti- and non-intellectuals who can't tell the difference between value judgments and judgments of fact. --adam s.
You said: Every study ever... or wait, let's make that every reputable study ever shows that the vast majority of sexual predators are straight, married, white, church-going men.
Your own reference says: Child molesters match the U.S. population in education, percentage married or formerly married, and religious observance... Child molesters occur in various ethnic groups.
Your reference indicates that there is no correlation of child-molestation with race, marital status or religious observance. Unless you are trying to be deliberately misleading, you have mischaracterized your documentation.
Your reference also states that 70% of men who molest boys are heterosexual in their adult orientation. Statistically, then, homosexual orientation IS over-represented in the abuser population, compared to its prevalence in the general population. Again, your own reference does not support your position.
Your reference indicates that there is no correlation of child-molestation with race, marital status or religious observance. Unless you are trying to be deliberately misleading, you have mischaracterized your documentation.
My whole point, actually, was that you CAN'T generalize to the whole population, which is what the legislator I referenced is trying to do and she isn't even using correct numbers to do it. The study says 93% of molestors identify as religious. I would call that the majority of the molesters, wouldn't you? The study says 79% of molesters are white. Also a majority. 77% are married. Also a majority. This is similar to population standards, yes, but still a majority of molesters are white, straight married religious men. My point was that if people are claiming gay couples are a threat to children because some gay people are molesters, then how much more of a threat must straight white married religious men be? Obviously there is no correlation between any of these things and propensity to be a molester. That's exactly the point.
Your reference also states that 70% of men who molest boys are heterosexual in their adult orientation. Statistically, then, homosexual orientation IS over-represented in the abuser population, compared to its prevalence in the general population. Again, your own reference does not support your position.
You didn't read the whole thing then. Only 8% report themselves as homosexual, which is LESS than the general population. 9% are "equally heterosexual and homosexual." They don't say where the remaining 13% fall. Presumably somewhere on the continum other than at either extreme or the midpoint.
My position is that it is ridiculous to take any characteristics such as race, marital status, or sexual orientation as any sort of indicator as to whether or not someone is likely to be a predator. The points you refer to were meant to illustrate how ridiculous it is to draw such conclusions by flipping them around. The study quite conclusively supports that these conclusions cannot be drawn, so therefore it does, in fact, support my position.
She said "unfretted access"--that ought to tell you about the legislator's level of intelligence. I guess she gets most of her information at the "lie-berry."
I just found out that I go to church here in Little Rock with a couple that are friends of yours.
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