North Carolina Conservatives are lying about sexual orientation and gender identity to bully the anti-bullying bill into submission. To defeat SB 526, the School Violence Prevention Act, Republican House Minority Leader Paul Stam and the Christian Action League have been claiming the existence of 30 sexual orientations as listed in the DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) of the American Psychiatric Association. No such list exists. It is a fabrication of conservative Christians used to defeat any legislation that can be presumed to protect the human rights of gay people.

Whether through ignorance, invective or indifference, Stam and the Christian Action League have been falsely equating sexual orientation and gender identity with sexual disorders or deviations and have perpetuated a myth originated by the American Family Association that incorrectly references and misquotes the DSM-IV-TR. The American Psychiatric Association would describe this as “irrational discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.” The Christian Action League compounds the error by variously attributing the bogus “list” to the American Psychological Association and to the American Psychiatric Association, two separate professional organizations.

The DSM-IV-TR (DSM-IV Text Revision) describes sexual orientation as sexual attraction to males, sexual attraction to females, sexual attraction to both or, sexual attraction to neither. It does not describe sexual orientation as a mental disorder.

According to the DSM-IV-TR gender identity refers to an individual’s self perception as male or female. “The term gender identity … should be distinguished from the term sexual orientation.” The DSM-IV-TR does not describe gender identity as a mental disorder.

The School Violence Prevention Act, SB 526, would require local school administrative units in North Carolina to adopt policies prohibiting bullying or harassing behavior.

“Bullying or harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics.”

The sexual orientation and gender identity of a heterosexual male, with a self perception as male and sexually attracted to females, would be protected under this Act. Nobody would accuse Skip Stam of bestiality or necrophilia, except perhaps while flogging the dead horse that is, or should be, demonization, dehumanization and “irrational discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.”

According to the American Psychological Association:

“Prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected in the everyday stereotypes of members of these groups. These stereotypes persist even though they are not supported by evidence, and they are often used to excuse unequal treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.”

The American Family Association, has claimed the existence of “30 different sexual orientations” attributed to the American Psychiatric Association. This is patently false. An examination of the DSM-IV finds that there is no such enumeration of 30 sexual orientations and no description of sexual orientation per se as a mental disorder.

“The Hate Crime law, S.909 (and HR1913), will make 30 sexual orientations federally-protected. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published 30 such sexual orientations that, because of Congress’s refusal to define “sexual orientation,” will be protected under this legislation.
These 30 orientations are listed in the APA’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” Fourth Edition, Text Revision (Washington: American Psychiatric Association, 2000), pp. 566-582 (DSM-IV), which is used by physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists throughout the U.S. It is considered the dictionary of mental disorders.”

This false statement has been echoed by the Traditional Values Coalition an anti-gay organization with past connections to Jack Abramoff.

· Protecting 30 Bizarre “Sexual Orientations” And “Gender Identity” — Ever-Expanding Definitions
· Traditional Values Coalition on Sexual Orientation & DSM

· San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Lucky Louie’ throws the dice
· Washington Post on Jack Abramoff and Louis P. Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition

These are the sources of the lies being perpetuated by Rep Paul Stam and the Christian Action League which have been debunked by FactCheck.org in the context of the Federal Hate Crimes Bill.

The American Psychological Association position is that

“Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others. … Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality and includes various forms of bisexuality.”

· Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality
· Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality

What Stam and the Christian Action League refer to are nowhere described in the DSM-IV-TR as “sexual orientations”. Rather they are “paraphilias” or sexual disorders or deviations that are independent of sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding the fact that these references are inapplicable, the DSM-IV-TR clearly states in introductory pages under a cautionary statement that the diagnostic criteria are offered as guidelines to enhance agreement among clinicians and investigators and that the inclusion of diagnostic criteria does not imply that a condition meets legal or other non-medical criteria and may not be wholly relevant to legal judgements.

The following is a chronology of documented references to the bogus multiple “sexual orientations” claims. Stam repeated the claims in a news conference May 26th and in committee.

Christian Action League:
Bill included categories of “sexual orientation,” “gender identification,” and “gender expression.”
Carrboro Housing Discrimination Bill Amended
posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) liberally passed out a handout provided by the Christian Action League to Committee members that explained that the American Psychiatric Association names no less than thirty different “sexual orientations,” some of which are considered criminal activity.

Bullying Bill to be heard in House Education Committee on Thursday
posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create a new protected class under North Carolina law for homosexuals, cross-dressers, and 29 other “sexual orientations” (as listed by the American Psychological Association) ranging from bestiality to heterosexuality to pedophilia. Many of these behaviors are illegal, yet the bill does not differentiate between these “sexual orientations.” Outlawing bullying motivated by illegal behaviors of the victim, tends to give those illegal behaviors legal sanction or approval.

House Committee Passes Anti-Bullying Bill Masquerading Advancement of Gay Rights through NC Schools
posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create for the first time under North Carolina law specially protected classes for persons identifying as homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender, and 28 other “sexual orientations” ranging from pedophilia to bestiality. Even though many of the 30 “sexual orientations” identified by the American Psychological Association are illegal, Senate Bill 526 protects them all without any differentiation.

Download the Christian Action League’s insert for your church bulletin by clicking HERE Use this bulletin insert to get as many people as possible from your church to contact their NC House Representative.
posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Senate Bill 526 would create a new protected class under North Carolina law for homosexuals, cross-dressers, and 29 other “sexual orientations” (as listed by the American Psychological Association) ranging from bestiality to heterosexuality to pedophilia. Many of these behaviors are illegal, yet the bill does not differentiate between these “sexual orientations.” Outlawing bullying motivated by illegal behaviors of the victim, tends to give those illegal behaviors legal sanction or approval.

Anti-Bullying Bill Continues to Pose Urgent Threat
posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Senate Bill 526 poses as a policy that would protect school children from being bullied, but in fact is a means by which “sexual orientation” (which includes homosexuals, bisexuals, and 28 other “sexual orientations” ranging from pedophilia to bestiality) and “gender identity” (transsexuals) will become protected classes under North Carolina law.

Bullying Bill to Be Voted on Tuesday and Wednesday
posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Sponsors of the Anti-bullying bill have staked the entire future of the anti-bullying bill on the inclusion of a clause enumerating special classes of victims of bullying, including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” These two terms define homosexuality, cross-dressing, and 29 other variations of “sexual orientations.”

Most recently the conservative Christian organization Called2Action issued this alert, linking back to the Christian Action League:
NC House trying to pass radical “Anti-Bullying” bill!
Called2Action alert:
Posing as a bill to end bullying, the Anti-Bullying bill would actually normalize homosexuality and cross-dressing in public schools
This “anti-bullying” bill is really about promoting sexual anarchy in our public schools and the normalization, if not outright promotion, of deviant sexual behavior. Don’t be fooled by the “Anti-Bullying” language – it is a Trojan Horse! “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” These two terms define homosexuality, cross-dressing, and 29 other variations of “sexual orientations.”

Please take action against bullying and homophobia:

EqualityNC Action Alert:
NC House to Vote Monday on Anti-Bullying Bill

The NC House will debate and vote on SB 526, the School Violence Prevention Act during their session Monday night at 7:00 PM. The vote Monday night will make or break our effort to pass effective and inclusive anti-bullying protections, and it will be the toughest yet. Equality NC calls on our supporters to take action to shore up support for the bill.

More Links:
Prevent School Violence NC
EqualityNC
Equality NC Blog