And they thought we'd forgotten them...
Keep up those calls and emails. We've already proven we can't be ignored.
Professor William Doherty (bdoherty@che.umn.edu) of the University of Minnesota gets credit for being the first member of the NCFR anti-gay website team to speak, though you may not like what he said. And interestingly, it appears he's said one thing to his colleagues at U of M and another to us.
At the urging of AMERICAblog readers, B. David Galt, the Director of the University's GLBT Programs Office contacted Dr. Doherty, who will "identify existing and emerging community healthy marriage initiatives" for the anti-gay website.
Doherty responds:
On the propriety of the University's involvement in this project, I can say that University researchers frequently accept funding to study or work with subgroups in the population, excluding other subgroups. This is a judgment call about which reasonable people can disagree. I have chosen to accept funding for a project that will help many American couples, including GLBT couples, even though I regret the limitations of current federal law and policy.So Professor Doherty regrets discriminating against gays, but not enough to prevent an anti-gay website from paying for ten percent of his salary. And he seems to think that a website that "as defined by ACF, has exclusive focus on heterosexual marriages" will help gay people, because basically, they can type in the same web address as straight people and see information that doesn't apply to them.
But there's SO much more.
When asked about the university's own non-discrimination policy, Doherty says:
There has been many questions why this research project was not reviewed by the Office of Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action and the GLBT Programs Office. The simple answer is that as an institution that embraces academic freedom, research efforts by students and faculty are not restricted. There is no standard institutional process for review of research proposals that requires such consultation.But in an email to our fabulous AMERICAblog reader fabfemme, Doherty says:
First of all, it will be a virtual center - a Web site with information for the public. It will offer no training and conduct no original research.When he's talking to university officials, he's pleading academic freedom. When he's talking to outsiders, he backs as far away from this thing as he can.
Doherty's own words. It's not research. "Academic freedom" doesn't apply when even the person conducting the activity says it's not research. Do people on college campuses engage in discriminatory activities that the people admit are NOT research? Do they avoid scrutiny?
Did Doherty tell his own GLBT office the anti-gay website isn't research? Of course not -- if it isn't research, he can't use his academic-speak effectively.
Also, by citing a letter he wrote back in October, Doherty clearly leaves Galt with the impression that the issue over including research on gay marriage is still under consideration.
In a letter and fact sheet dated May 3 from NCFR:
As defined by ACF, the project has an exclusive focus on heterosexual marriages.Did Doherty tell his own GLBT office the decision had been made?
Oh, has there been any explanation why gays are so explicitly verboten? The closest we can come is from anti-gay NCFR executive director Michael Benjamin (mbenjamin@ncfr.org, (202) 659-1190) himself:
Everything is wrapped up in politics these days.The one honest thing he's said.
