Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« "I want to ask your forgiveness, bu… | Countdown to Seattle and Dubai »

Friday, February 3, 2012

The Ladies / LGBTQITSLFA Lesbian Moms Have Breasts Too

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 7:41 AM

But lesbian moms—women with four-breasted families—might not want to give any of their money to Komen. Here's what Komen Senior VP Karen Handel, the woman who orchestrated Komen's attack on Planned Parenthood and poor women, had to say about lesbian moms (and gay dads) when she running for GA governor less than two years ago:

KH: I’ve been very clear. And you know, as a Christian, marriage is between a man and a woman. I do not think that gay relationships are—they are not what God intended. And that’s just my viewpoint on it. Others might disagree with that. But I would also hope that if you look at what is happening in our state, we’ve got issues we need to be focused on in Georgia . We have a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. And it’s something that I supported wholeheartedly. We have that, and let’s get dealing with the other issues that we also need to deal with in Georgia. And the press can help with that. (Laughs).

Q: Frequently, folks in the Legislature kind of threaten to—there are always rumblings in the Legislature that they may outlaw gay adoptions. You’re against gay adoption.

KH: I am against gay adoption. But remember—I mean, if there is legislation on that, certainly I will follow that and look at it. But in the end, ultimately courts are going to be the ones to have to make the decision on that and it’s always in the best interests of the child. Do I think that gay parents is in the best interest of the child? No. But we do have our court system that deals with many and most of those issues

Q: Would you favor outlawing gay adoptions?

KH: Yeah, I would consider that, absolutely.

Q: Do you know any gay couples with children?

KH: Not that I’m aware of.

Q: So you think gay couples are less qualified to function as parents than straight couples?

KH: I think that for a child to be in a household—in a family in a household with a situation where the parents are not married, as in one man and one woman, is not the best household for a child.

Q: Is it better or worse than a single parent household?

KH: Doug, I’m really trying to be straightforward with you but I’m not going to debate all the nuances. I’ve made it abundantly clear that I think that marriage is between a man and a woman. And that’s what I believe, and I don’t know what more you would like me to add to that.

Q: I guess I want to know why you think gay parents aren’t as legitimate as heterosexual parents.

KH: Because I don’t.

Why would any self-respecting lesbian who give a single effing cent to the Komen? If this woman had made similarly bigoted comments any other minority group, she would never been hired.

FacebookShare

Comments (31) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

WHY did they ever hire this lunatic?!

Posted by Cui Bono on February 3, 2012 at 7:44 AM

@1: You haven't been following the story, have you? Komen's founder, Nancy Brinker, is a Bushie and a major Republican donor.
One would have to be daft to think Komen didn't know about Handel's views before hiring her.

Posted by Drew2u on February 3, 2012 at 7:53 AM

"Why would any self-respecting person give a single effing cent to the Komen?"

Fixed.

Posted by Sir Vic on February 3, 2012 at 7:55 AM

No, you're all misinformed. She's Komen's sister. She started the foundation. It's hers lock, stock and barrel, always has been. Nobody "hired" her.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty

on February 3, 2012 at 7:59 AM

Any self-respecting person, Dan. Women and men have breasts.

And, no, I wouldn't be donating or running in memory of my grandmother and my friend in the future. Planned Parenthood will continue to have my support.

Posted by kim in portland

on February 3, 2012 at 8:05 AM

@4 Karen Handel is not Komen's sister and did not start the foundation. She was appointed the VP of Public Policy in April of last year.

Unrelated - I am SO TIRED OF HEARING THAT GAY PEOPLE CAN'T/SHOULDN'T BE PARENTS. It breaks my heart every single time someone says that. I can't believe in the 21st century that people are sooooo stuuuuupid.

Posted by UmfromUmbridge on February 3, 2012 at 8:18 AM

Komen is done. This WILL be their undoing. They seem not to realize that MANY of their big fund-raisers on the local levels (I am thinking of several Pacific NW cities) are organized/supported/co-sponsored by cancer docs who are ALSO Planned Parenthood backers. They will never get over this----and I intend to help make that statement true. They have broken the cardinal rule of philanthropy, "Know Thy Donor."

Posted by attitude devant on February 3, 2012 at 8:24 AM

They just announced they're reversing the decision:

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archi…

Posted by Jessica on February 3, 2012 at 8:25 AM

I would like to thank anyone who upon deciding that they don't want to donate to Komen continue or start to donate to other breast cancer related causes. Komen is probably the most recognizable breast cancer foundation and it would be incredibly sad to see donations towards the cause as a whole drop because of its tarnished reputation. Planned Parenthood is awesome for screening and prevention and it's inspiring to see donations being made to offset Komen's funding gap. Locally, the Seattle cancer care alliance is doing amazing things in research and is also worth looking into. http://www.seattlecca.org/

Posted by lukeiscool on February 3, 2012 at 8:27 AM

Fuck. Makes me regret my past donations to Komen.

Posted by DOUG.

on February 3, 2012 at 8:28 AM

They just reversed the decision!

Posted by Whodunit? on February 3, 2012 at 8:30 AM

@8, the Slog scoop is yours! Well done and with such good news.

Posted by gloomy gus on February 3, 2012 at 8:31 AM

Her viewpoints suck, but unless the Komen foundation is using money to lobby against Gay Rights then how is it relevant? If Republicans cure breast cancer we'd all be better off. I'm sure there are tons of scientific advances made by scientists we would find distasteful in person, or funded by them.

Posted by BenY on February 3, 2012 at 8:32 AM

Do you disagree with Handel, Dan?

Do you think homosexual marriage is what God intends?

Posted by Rebecca54 on February 3, 2012 at 8:33 AM

@7 - I would wager that Komen isn't done, but rather it will just be a part of our modern identity politics. It will be the breast cancer charity for 'real america(tm)'. There will be a right-wing and a non-insane charity to give for every given issue in the not-too distant future.

Posted by ryanayr on February 3, 2012 at 8:34 AM

KOMEN BACKS OFF

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archi…

Posted by Matt from Denver on February 3, 2012 at 8:35 AM

Damnit, missed @ 8 completely. Oh well, the internet is a race and I lost.

Posted by Matt from Denver on February 3, 2012 at 8:37 AM

Handel believes that households headed by unmarried cohabitating heterosexual couples are not the best environment for children.

There is abundant research to support that conclusion.

In fact, 94% of the children featured in Dan's "Every Child Deserves..." were in households with unmarried caregivers.

Dan, do you disagree with Handel's belief that a household where the parents are not married, as in one man and one woman, is not the best household for a child?

Posted by Rebecca54 on February 3, 2012 at 8:38 AM

@14 - you're new here, aren't you?

Posted by paulus on February 3, 2012 at 8:40 AM

"KH: Because I don’t."

Oh, fuck you lady. Just, fuck you. You argue like my five year old cousin.

Posted by Helix on February 3, 2012 at 8:47 AM

As Handel mentions, it is possible to break parenting down into many configurations; single parents, unmarried caregivers, heterosexual, homosexual; and it is universally recognized that not all parenting configurations are created equal.

Married couples have long been demonstrated in studies to provide better homes than other configurations.

Most of those studies were done before homosexual parenting was (widely) studied.

However, based on the available scientific evidence Handel or anyone else would be reasonable to value married couple parenting above other configurations; and in Georgia at the time of the interview Dan cites, as well as presently, homosexual marriage is illegal.

Why is Handel a bigot for shaping her opinion to reflect research findings?

Why is Handel a bigot for aspiring that children be raised in a parenting configuration demonstrated superior to other options?

Dan and many Slog commenters offer studies of Lesbian parenting as demonstrating that Lesbian parents are superior to heterosexual.
Are Dan and the Slog BIGOTS because they interpret research to favor some parenting configurations over others?

Dan loves to accuse those who disagree with him of being BIGOTS.

It is immature and toxic to the reasoned discourse that is vital if a society is going to be able to govern itself in an enlightened manner.

Dan's caustic demagogic name calling is indicative of tyrannical bullies.
Slog should not encourage it.......

Posted by Rebecca54 on February 3, 2012 at 9:05 AM

Read their weasel words carefully: they won't stop funding of Planned Parenthood this year, but have set up new new criteria that will exclude PP from funding from here on in.

KOMEN'S CORPORATE SPONSORS

http://ww5.komen.org/CorporatePartners.a…

You know what to do.

Posted by judybrowni on February 3, 2012 at 9:09 AM

Pardon me while I feed the trolls for a moment:

@14, what makes you think Dan believes in god? Particularly a god who would condemn him for loving his spouse?

Posted by long-time reader on February 3, 2012 at 9:18 AM

What a well-spoken, intelligent, thoughtful woman. I can certainly see why someone would want to interview her. She clearly puts a lot of though into her responses and supports her beliefs with logic, reason, and evidence. It's entirely unlike asking a 5-year-old why they won't eat their broccoli and getting the response, "It's gross and I don't want to."

Posted by Aly on February 3, 2012 at 9:26 AM

@22: Hey Rebecca, you wouldn't be our old pal Period Troll/Alleged in drag by any chance would you? Cuz you're reasoning skills are eerily as bad.

Posted by Lissa on February 3, 2012 at 9:35 AM

GAH!! My comment was for 21! Not you Judybrowni!

Posted by Lissa on February 3, 2012 at 9:39 AM

doesn't want to debate the "nuances"? Single-parent v two-parent home for a child? That's a nuance? Give me a fucking break. I know some amazing single parents (my sister is one of the best parents I know and was a single mom most of the time her kids were growing up) but I don't know any - sister included - who would not agree that a loving home with two parents is preferable to a single parent household, no matter how loving that single parent. Gay or straight makes no difference. LOVING parents is the key variable.

Posted by From the South (as in CA) on February 3, 2012 at 9:41 AM

Q: I guess I want to know why you think gay parents aren’t as legitimate as heterosexual parents.

KH: Because I don’t.

Them there's damn superior debating logic skillz. Well, for her anyway. I'd love to see her non-argument (and her) ripped to shreds in a public forum with Zach, the now-famous teen with two moms.

Posted by Helenka (also a Canuck) on February 3, 2012 at 9:54 AM

In a sane society, the inability and unwillingness to defend one's opinions with logic or evidence would be classified as a personality disorder.

Posted by Lance Thrustwell on February 3, 2012 at 11:18 AM

She openly admitted she doesn't know of any gay couples raising children, but just "doesn't" think they're as legitimate as parents as het couples. Oookay, then. Way to use data, babe!

Here's some data for you. Why don't you and your bigoted ilk ever try talking to those of us who actually grew up with gay parents? There's a lot of us out here - and most of us are your basic decent, taxpaying, ordinary citizens. We're not, for the most part, making meth in trailers, or becoming serial killers, or illicitly pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for breast cancer research.

Posted by Geni on February 3, 2012 at 1:05 PM

@29 - BECAUSE I DON'T, LANCE. SO THERE.

Posted by random_lez on February 3, 2012 at 2:49 PM