American Atheists Missouri

Leading Religious Right Groups Wants Mandatory “Reparative Therapy” for

Gay & Lesbian Citizens

An Atheist civil rights group today denounced a statement by a

representative of the American Family Association that gay and lesbian

Americans should be forced to receive “Reparative Therapy” and compared

homosexuals to intravenous drug users.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said that the proposal

“borders on Orwellian totalitarianism and seeks to further criminalize

behavior over which the churches and the government should have no

control whatsoever. Atheists have a wide variety of opinions about these

matters, and ours is not a gay rights organization, but we do firmly and

consistently oppose privileging religious posturing in determining what

is legally acceptable or to set government policy. Religionists who want

to enlist government in their efforts to persecute others must be firmly

opposed.”

Brian Fisher of the American Family Association told a radio audience

earlier this week that homosexuals  should be compelled to receive

government-ordered psychotherapy for the same reason that drug users are

often pushed into treatment.

“Compelling gays and lesbians to receive ‘treatment’ for consensual,

adult behaviors is not only ineffective but politically unacceptable and

ethically wrong,” said Buckner.  ”This is the old religious right canard

that gays are under the influence of Satan and are ’sick’ because of

their sexual proclivities.”

In a web posting, Fisher tried to justify his earlier statement by

citing government statistics; he noted that the FDA, for instance, says

that gay men have a greater chance of contracting HIV and other diseases

than straight males.  ”That’s a public health issue,” said Buckner.

“The AFA isn’t really interested in public health hygiene; they’re

pushing a relentless religious agenda that stigmatizes Americans based

on sexual preference.”

Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that

Fisher’s remarks reflect the anti-gay, bible-based agenda of the AFA.

“Since its founding in 1977 by Rev. Donald Wildmon, the American Family

Associating has targeted gay men and women and done everything possible

to deny this group of millions of Americans their civil rights.”

“This proposal for government-mandated therapy sounds more like the old

Soviet Union than the United States,” added Silverman.  ”What is Fisher

going to do when people refuse to be ‘treated’?  Will homosexuals who do

not cooperate with this offensive bullying be put in jail or camps?”

Mr. Silverman says that when he learned of this proposal by AFA, he

laughed at how the group is often mischaracterized as a “conservative”

organization.

“Conservatives used to be suspicious of too much government.  Now, we

have AFA calling for the ultimate in government surveillance, control

and compulsion.  I wonder, if this proposal somehow became law, how much

money and many police agents it would take to enforce it?”

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for

Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and

addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc.

PO BOX 158

Cranford, NJ 07016

Tel.: (908) 276-7300

Fax: (908) 276-7402

An Atheist public policy group is seeking hourly naming rights to the stadium the Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 CE Super Bowl will be played in. The stadium has had seven names since it was built in 1987, including three names in the last twelve months. Most recently, the name was Land Shark Stadium for only eight months. The current naming rights winner, Sun Life Financial, will pay approximately $4 million per year in exchange for the stadium being known as Sun Life Stadium. American Atheists, Inc., applauds this  effective development in what many see as America’s national unifying religion–professional sports–and is offering to participate by paying  to have the stadium named “American Atheists Stadium” for one  hour–from noon until 1 p.m. on 8 February 2010 CE, the day after the  Super Bowl.

The idea for this venture into entrepreneurial advertising for the  group came from Development Committee member (and long-time Miami  sports fan) Todd Stiefel. Stiefel also found a major donor (who wants to remain anonymous) to back the ambitious plan. Stiefel said, “This is a natural for us. We’re quite proud of being good sports and of being quintessentially American in our values and ideas. Given that the  naming rights have been sold by the month, it seems reasonable that they will be receptive to selling the name by the hour.”

Stiefel noted that the amount the group is offering, $20,000 for the official hour-long name change, “is at a considerably higher rate than the $460 per hour paid by Sun Life Financial. We accept and understand  that they will get a volume discount for buying more hours than  American Atheists.  I cannot wait to see ‘American Atheists Stadium’  and ‘www.atheists.org‘ posted on the building. This is super!”

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, noted that “I’m excited about this opportunity to get publicity for the very serious message that there are over 34 million non-religious American adults who are  just as deserving of respect as religious Americans. Atheists may not believe in deities, but we do believe in love, integrity, reason, and freedom.”

“If the Sun Life Financial and the stadium owners are interested in our offer, we encourage them to contact us,” said American Atheists Vice President and Communications Director David Silverman, “if not, we will certainly be open to offers from other cities and other teams. Additionally, we would be receptive to counter-proposals, such as acquiring the stadium name for one punt or during the next ‘Hail Mary’ pass.”

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First
Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc.
PO BOX 158
Cranford, NJ 07016
Tel.: (908) 276-7300
Fax: (908) 276-7402

American Atheists is incredibly proud to announce a new Affiliate!

Please take the time if it so pleases you to contact this new Affiliate and welcome them to the Affiliate program. American Atheists continues to be proud of the Affiliate program and the individual Affiliates that make the program work!

If you have a local group that is interested in affiliating with American Atheists, or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the Affiliate program, please contact Blair Scott, the National Affiliate Director, at bscott@atheists.org or visit the Affiliate Web Page at http://alabamaatheist.org/naod.

St. Joseph Skeptics

http://stjosephskeptics.org

mail@stjosephskeptics.org

For more information, please contact:

Ed Buckner, President 908-499-9200 (cell) or 770-803-5353 (office/fax)

Dave Silverman, Communications Director 732-648-9333

Kathleen Johnson, Vice President and Military Director 318-542-1019

ATHEISTS HAIL REMOVAL OF BIBLE CITATIONS, CALL FOR MORE SCRUTINY IN MILITARY TO PREVENT RELIGIOUS PROSELYTIZING

An Atheist public policy group praised  plans to remove Bible citations from hundreds of thousands of rifle sights sold to the U.S. military under contract following an outcry from civil liberties and state-church separation groups.

A Michigan-based manufacturer, Trijicon, has announced that it will no longer imprint the citations on rifle sights used by troops in the Middle East, and distribute a special kit for removing the offensive lettering on existing rifles.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of Americana Atheists, charged that the Bible passages “conveyed a message of intolerance and religious bullying to the very people in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq we are ostensibly trying to liberate.”

“By eliminating these ‘Christian crusader’ references, we are no longer handing al Qaeda and other Islamic religious fanatics a priceless propaganda vehicle,” added Buckner.

Kathleen Johnson, Vice President and Military Director for American Atheists, also praised the elimination of the offending Bible citations, but wondered why this issue even came up.

“The military has strict rules in place to prohibit actions that make it appear as if US Forces are proselytizing or are crusading against the Muslim faith” said Johnson. “There were apparently no controls or oversight here, as tens of thousands of these ‘Christian rifle sights’ were being sold at public expense and distributed in theaters of operation.

Johnson called for more explicit regulations, including a written requirement that any materials purchased by the Department of Defense be “religion-free and neutral”. Johnson further added a demand that senior leaders within the military ensure the imprinted bible citations are removed. “We cannot have a situation where individual commanders elect to keep the imprinted bible citations and the only way to prevent that is to make leaders accountable for compliance” said Johnson.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First

Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc.

PO BOX 158

Cranford, NJ 07016

Tel.: (908) 276-7300

Fax: (908) 276-7402