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Articles by Peter Sprigg
Understanding and Responding to the Transgender Movement
In recent decades, there has been an assault on the sexes. That is, there has been an attack on the previously undisputed reality that human beings are created either male or female; that there are significant differences between the sexes; and that those differences result in at least some differences in the roles played by men and women in society. The first wave of this attack came from the modern feminist movement and the second from the homosexual movement.
Fertility Rates, Delayed Marriage, and Infertility
American women—and women around the world—are having fewer babies than they did a generation or two ago. No one who has looked at the data questions that. Why this is happening—and what the consequences are likely to be—is in greater dispute. Social, biological, and other factors may all play a role and even interact with each other. In the social realm, some people celebrate the change as reflecting the empowerment of women.
Biden’s Transgender Military Order Is Based On Politics, Not Facts
Among the flurry of executive orders President Joe Biden signed during his first week in office was one declaring that “gender identity should not be a bar to military service.” Of course, both males and females have long been able to serve. What Biden means is that “transgender” people — those who psychologically identify with the opposite sex — should be allowed to serve, and to serve as their preferred sex.
Biden's Transgender Military Order Is Based On Politics, Not Facts
Peter Sprigg is Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at Family Research Council. This article appeared in The Federalist on February 1, 2021. Among the flurry of executive orders President Joe Biden signed during his first week in office was one declaring that “gender identity should not be a bar to military service.” Of course, both males and females have long been able to serve.
Why Marriage Should Be Privileged in Public Policy
<item_code>IS03D1 <run_date>04/30/2003 <executive_summary> All citizens, including policymakers, should do their part to uphold the institution of marriage, because it provides the best environment for raising children, who are the future of our society. Strengthening marriage creates a stronger foundation for the family, the basic social building block, and produces a stronger nation that benefits many future generations.
No Proof of Harm
79 Key Studies Provide No Scientific Proof That Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) Are Usually Harmful Sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), referred to by critics as "conversion therapy," have been criticized by LGBT activists for decades. Nevertheless, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA) continue to seek help in reducing homosexual conduct and SSA.
Philadelphia Should Respect Catholic Foster Care Agency’s Free Exercise of Religion – InsideSources
In March 2018, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story reporting that two Christian foster care agencies — out of 30 operating in the city — declined to certify same-sex couples as foster parents. Even though 28 other agencies were available to work with same-sex couples, officials of the city’s liberal political establishment began scrambling to make sure Christian agencies could not operate in a way consistent with their faith-based definition of marriage.
Philadelphia Should Respect Catholic Foster Care Agency's Free Exercise of Religion
Peter Sprigg is Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at Family Research Council. Kaitlyn Shepard is a legal intern with the Policy & Government Affairs Department at Family Research Council. This article appeared on InsideSources.com on November 16, 2020. In March 2018, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story reporting that two Christian foster care agencies — out of 30 operating in the city — declined to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.
Precedent Suggests Trump Is on the Right Side of History
9:00AM EST 11/3/2020 Peter Sprigg (Unsplash) With the arrival of Election Day, many people are more intently examining polls in an effort to determine the likely outcome of the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. On one hand, Biden has held a consistent lead in the average of national polls. The same website's aggregation of state polls suggest a significant lead for Biden in the Electoral College vote as well.
How the Amy Coney Barrett hearings reveal flaws in LGBT ‘marriage’ logic
October 16, 2020 (FRC Action) — Among the Left's desperate attacks on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, one of the silliest has to be their railing against her use of the term "sexual preference" in answering a question during her confirmation hearing related to the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision in which the Supreme Court unilaterally redefined civil "marriage" for all fifty states. In response to a question the morning of October 13 from Sen.
New Bill Would Ban Biological Males From Women's Sports
Title IX—the 1972 federal law that prohibited discrimination based on sex in education —is perhaps best known for its impact on girls and women’s sports. Schools and colleges were no longer permitted to offer multiple opportunities for athletic competition to men and far fewer to women. The result was a massive growth in girls and women’s sports. One person who benefited from the change was Kelly Loeffler. In high school in the 1980s, she played basketball and ran cross-country and track.
Virginia School Continues to Defend Sensible Bathroom Policy
A high school student who identifies as transgender, who sued the school over which restrooms to use, is continuing to pursue the litigation even three years after graduating. To its credit, the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia has continued to defend itself. Gavin Grimm is a biological female who announced prior to sophomore year the intention to identify as male.
Zuckerberg's Two-Faced Support of "Free Expression" and Censorship of Therapy
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) grilled the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook about censorship of conservative voices online in a congressional hearing July 29.
The Silence of the Libs in
I, together with colleagues, have already commented several times on the outrageous opinion authored by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
Bostock and Gender Identity: Gorsuch Cancels Male and Female
In a recent blog post, I noted that virtually all critics of Justice Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County identified his misinterpretation of the word “sex.” The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employment discrimination “because of sex,” and Justice Gorsuch interpreted “sex” to incorporate “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as well.
Gorsuch Misses Meaning of Sex
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has rocked the legal world in a set of three cases consolidated under the name of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia by declaring that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Gorsuch accepted the argument that the law’s prohibition of discrimination “because of . . .
Supreme Court's LGBT Ruling Is
On June 15, in a set of three cases consolidated under the name Bostock v. Clayton County, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” is a form of discrimination “because of . . . sex”—which was prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The 'Conservative' Court's Rogue Sex Discrimination Decision and Its Ramifications
Pictured is the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the site of two recent decisions that some have seen as bizarre, given the Bench's conservative majority. (Photo credit: DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) Earlier this week, the Supreme Court re-wrote Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by holding that sexual orientation and gender identity are included in the statute. The majority opinion in Bostock v.
The Supreme Court Goes Rogue on Sex Discrimination
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court re-wrote Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by holding that sexual orientation and gender identity are included in the statute. The majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, claims to be using a textualist approach, yet its analysis and holding prove otherwise.
Costa Rica Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Via Judicial Activism
Headlines like a recent one in the New York Post said, “Costa Rica latest country to legalize same-sex marriage.” But it wasn’t really Costa Ricans who made it happen. Instead, Costa Rica became–like the United States five years ago–the victim of a multi-layer attack of judicial activism. In an interview with Family Research Council, Jose L.
Gender-Neutral Intersex Passport Case May Advance Larger Transgender Goals
In a decision on May 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the State Department should reconsider its refusal to grant a gender-neutral passport to a plaintiff with an intersex condition who identifies with a “non-binary” gender. An “intersex” condition is a biological condition in which one or more of the biological indicators of sex does not develop in the typical male or female way.
Amidst a Global Pandemic, California Legislators Seek $15 Million for Transgender Hormone Therapy and Dance Classes
Peter Sprigg, FRC’s Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, submitted the following letter on May 12, 2020, to the California Legislature in opposition to AB 2218, the “Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund.” *** Dear California Legislators: I am writing to urge that you oppose Assembly Bill 2218, which would establish a “Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund” with an appropriation of $15 million.
Britain May Ban Gender Transition for Minors
A clinic in the United Kingdom has been the subject of controversy amid accusations that it rushes minors with gender dysphoria into gender transition medical procedures without adequate screening. Now, a cabinet minister has indicated that the government might ban such treatments for minors altogether. Liz Truss, the Minister for Women and Equalities, told a parliamentary committee that the Conservative government would propose amendments to the nation’s Gender Recognition Act.
Coronavirus-Related Change in FDA Blood Donor Policy Threatens Public Health Instead of Protecting It
On April 2nd, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an easing of restrictions on blood donors. Concern has been raised that there may be a shortage of donated blood due to the cancellation of blood drives as a result of current social distancing rules. Political pressure, not medical necessity, may have driven the most significant of the changes, however—involving the “deferral” as blood donors of men who have sex with men (“MSM”).
Easter faith: God in the midst of coronavirus pandemic
Peter Sprigg is FRC's Senior Fellow for Policy Studies. This article appeared in The Christian Post on April 12, 2020. Where is God in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Believers may ask this question in pain and in grief for those suffering. Unbelievers may ask the same question in scorn and cynicism.
Off-Label Use of Drugs Are Fine for Gender Transitions, but Not for Coronavirus, Say Liberals
Liberals and the media have been criticizing President Trump for touting the possibility of using some anti-malarial drugs to fight the coronavirus. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, or a “drug cocktail” combining one of those with the antibiotic azithromycin have been proposed as possible drugs to prevent and/or treat the coronavirus, and what the Washington Postreferred to as “tantalizing early results” of research showed that they might have promise.
Off-Label Use of Drugs Are Fine for Gender Transitions, but Not for Coronavirus, Say Liberals
Liberals and the media have been criticizing President Trump for touting the possibility of using some anti-malarial drugs to fight the coronavirus. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, or a “drug cocktail” combining one of those with the antibiotic azithromycin have been proposed as possible drugs to prevent and/or treat the coronavirus, and what the Washington Postreferred to as “tantalizing early results” of research showed that they might have promise.
The Evidence Suggests Gender Transition Procedures for Minors are Experimental
Several states have introduced bills that would prohibit certain physical procedures that alter the normal development or body of a child or adolescent for the purpose of facilitating a “gender transition.” These laws (sometimes called “Vulnerable Child Protection Acts”) would ban the use of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, or gender reassignment surgery in minors.
Do Puberty-Blocking Drugs Make Transgender Kids
“Puberty blockers” are hormones originally intended to deal with “precocious puberty,” in which a child experiences the physical signs of puberty prematurely. Now, however, puberty blockers are being used as a treatment for “gender dysphoria.” The theory is that a child who is already unhappy with his or her biological sex may become even more unhappy when his or her body begins to develop. The most extreme claim is that transgender children forced to undergo normal puberty will kill themselves.
FRC Opposes Guidance Attacking Sexual Orientation Change Efforts in Virginia
Editor’s Note: The following is a comment submitted on December 11, 2019 by Peter Sprigg on behalf of Family Research Council in opposition to a proposed regulation against so-called “conversion therapy” by the Virginia Board of Medicine. I write in opposition to the proposed “Guidance Document on the Practice of Conversion Therapy,” and urge the Board not to adopt this policy.
Many Think Cohabitation Is Fine, But That’s Not What Social Science Says
A nineteenth-century humorist once warned that a bigger problem than knowing little is “to know so many things that ain’t so.” Well, Americans know “many things that ain’t so” about cohabitation and marriage. A new Pew Research Center study shows Americans both cohabitate (“live with an unmarried partner”) and find cohabitation acceptable more than before. But other research shows this is unwise. Here is what the Pew Research Center found. More young adults have cohabited than have married.
Most Americans Think Cohabitation Is Fine, But That's Not What Social Science Says
Peter Sprigg is Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at Family Research Council. This article appeared in The Federalist on December 2, 2019. A nineteenth-century humorist once warned that a bigger problem than knowing little is “to know so many things that ain’t so.” Well, Americans know “many things that ain’t so” about cohabitation and marriage. A new Pew Research Center study shows Americans both cohabitate (“live with an unmarried partner”) and find cohabitation acceptable more than before.
Federal Judge Strikes Down Tampa Therapy Ban
In a major victory for the personal freedom of young people with unwanted same-sex attractions to seek professional help to achieve their goals, a U.S. District Court judge in Florida has struck down a local ordinance in Tampa, Florida that outlawed sexual orientation change efforts (so-called “conversion therapy or reparative therapy”) for minors when conducted by licensed professionals. In Vazzo v. Tampa, U.S. District Court Judge William F.
New York City to Repeal Ban on Adult Sexual Orientation Change Efforts
It’s not often that a legislative body moves to repeal a law that it enacted less than two years earlier—especially when it passed by a vote of 43-2. Nevertheless, this week Corey Johnson, speaker of the New York City Council (who openly self-identifies as gay) announced that he will move to repeal a city-wide ban on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), which critics of the practice call “conversion therapy.” My colleague Cathy Ruse has also written about this development at The Stream.
BREAKING NEWS: Vice President Pence Revealed to Be Conservative!
News broke today that in 1993, Vice President Mike Pence—then with the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a conservative think tank—opposed an effort to add “sexual orientation” as a protected category in a Lafayette, Indiana human relations ordinance. The biggest surprise here may be that anyone found this discovery—in an old issue of the Lafayette Journal and Courier—to be the least bit newsworthy.
The Real
Concerns about religious liberty are one of the chief obstacles to passage of “non-discrimination” laws that would make “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (“SOGI”) into protected categories at the local, state, and federal level.
Eighth Circuit: Minnesota Can't Force Small Business to Make Same-Sex Wedding Videos
National media gave scant attention to an important court decision on August 23. The ruling in Telescope Media Group v. Lucero,by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, was another landmark in the ongoing debate about whether governments can force small businesses in the wedding industry to participate in same-sex weddings, over the conscientious objection of their owners.
FRC Blog " Landmark Study Determines There Is No "Gay Gene"
An all-star team of scientists has just published a new “genome-wide association study” (“GWAS”) in the journal Science, on a massive sample of nearly half a million individuals, that attempted to identify if genetic factors contribute to same-sex sexual behavior. The key take-away?
Landmark Study Determines There Is No
An all-star team of scientists has just published a new “genome-wide association study” (“GWAS”) in the journal Science, on a massive sample of nearly half a million individuals, that attempted to identify if genetic factors contribute to same-sex sexual behavior. The key take-away?
'Don't kiss abstinence goodbye' How sexual abstinence before marriage can lead to a lasting marriage
Peter Sprigg is Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at Family Research Council. This article appeared in the Washington Times on August 9, 2019. There has been a lot of online chatter recently about Joshua Harris, a former best-selling Christian author and former pastor of a Maryland mega-church who has been rapidly abandoning his previous life commitments.
'Don't kiss abstinence goodbye'
ANALYSIS/OPINION: There has been a lot of online chatter recently about Joshua Harris, a former best-selling Christian author and former pastor of a Maryland mega-church who has been rapidly abandoning his previous life commitments. Mr. Harris was in his early 20s when he wrote “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” a book that urged young people not only to abstain from sex before marriage but to abstain even from kissing, hugging and one-on-one dates.
Why Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Should Never Be Specially Protected Categories Under the Law
With increasing fervor, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activists are urging local, state, and federal governments to expand the protected categories under existing laws to bar "discrimination" -- in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations -- on the basis of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity." These terms are also being inserted into the law in some unexpected places.
Administration Must Avoid Obama Cultural Imperialism
The Obama administration was guilty of what some have called “cultural imperialism.” This included various efforts to force small, poor—and often socially conservative—countries to accept and codify the values of the West’s sexual revolution.
Joseph Nicolosi on the Deep Need for Fatherly Affirmation
I wrote yesterday about Amazon removing listings for a number of books about sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), sometimes referred to by critics as “conversion therapy.” A particular target for Rojo Alan (the British LGBT activist who claimed credit for the change) and for other critics were the works of the late Dr. Joseph Nicolosi. He coined the term “reparative therapy” to describe his psychoanalytic approach to sexual orientation change.
Amazon Book-Banning: Cowardly, Bullying, and Foolish
A year ago, I wrote a blog post warning that a proposed bill in California, AB 2943, could result in books being banned. Some critics of the bill even pointed out how it could be interpreted to ban the Bible itself. As it turns out, book-banning has now become reality.
Times Op-Ed Conflates
A recent New York Times opinion piece by Julia Serano—one of ten commissioned by the Times from “the L.G.B.T.Q. community” for “Pride Month”—turns history upside down with only its second paragraph: In reality, it is the supporters of “transgender rights,” not the opponents, who “have increasingly worked to shift conversations and policy language.” However, in this case, the effort has been to redefine the word “sex” to include “gender identity.” “Sex” Discrimination vs.
Trans Activists: We’re Normal, But You Must Pay To Fix Us
One of the first major successes of the “gay liberation” movement in the United States was the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA’s) 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the “DSM”). Early activists in the movement knew they would never persuade the public that they were normal as long as doctors said they were sick. The fact that the decision was more political than scientific complicates the history, but the goal was clear.
Trans Activists: We're Normal, But You Must Pay To Fix Us
Peter Sprigg is Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at Family Research Council. This article appeared at The Federalist on June 14, 2019. One of the first major successes of the “gay liberation” movement in the United States was the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA’s) 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the “DSM”).
FRC Blog " Should Christians Recognize "LGBT Pride?"
June is back, and with it “LGBT Pride Month.” Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender celebrate in June because it marks the anniversary (this year, the 50th) of the “Stonewall Riots,” which are generally cited as the beginning of the modern “gay liberation movement” in the United States.
Should Christians Recognize
June is back, and with it “LGBT Pride Month.” Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender celebrate in June because it marks the anniversary (this year, the 50th) of the “Stonewall Riots,” which are generally cited as the beginning of the modern “gay liberation movement” in the United States.
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