Bigots On The March Again In The States

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32141605

These people would repeal all equality laws if they could. Disgraceful.

[jim360]

"Christian Apologetics and Research". Obviously a highly unbiased source.

Look -- the point is that HIV is linked to homosexuality only in a tenuous sense. Yes it is more prevalent, perhaps, but trying to pin this specifically on homosexuality is a complete non sequitur and continually making this point can only be explained if you want it to be true, for private reasons.

Incidentally, your first article is sadly mistaken, although to be fair it's a common error, by confusing gay people with Men who have Sex with Men. The two groups overlap to a large extent, but it is possible for men to be gay without having sex with other men, and it is also possible for men to have sex with other men without being gay -- and thus saying that gay = MSM is an error, and should be avoided.

No matter how you try to spin it, the statement that gay people have shorter lifespans holds no more meaning than my oft-quoted favourite, from a 1990s study, that suggested that people statistically gain ten years of life span on average, or so, for every extra television owned (I'll try to find a link to this, but it featured in a lecture on bad statistical use so the reference may be lost to the mists of time). There is no causal link.

[Peter Pedant]

or indeed the stats could be wrong and also misread:

from the correspondence columns of the Lancet 28 Mar 15

The analyses from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2013 reported new estimates of HIV incidence, by country.1 Here, we provide strong evidence that the GBD estimates are not correct and systematically underestimate HIV transmission, particularly in high-income countries.

I dont have access to Lancet so I cant tell you what it says - Slaney may well be able to

[Peter Pedant]

and I suspect they also mean prevalence,
but I cant be sure

Dept of Health report for 2014 here. Readers will be most struck by the lack of an hysterical tone.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/401662/2014_PHE_HIV_annual_report_draft_Final_07-01-2015.pdf

[EDDIE51]

Just to say, sp1814 your post at 17.30 had me laughing so much I choked on my beer.
Clanad, I do not agree with every thing you say, but you are one of the most intellegent and entertaining people on AB. Hope one day I make it to Wyoming to meet you in person. Let me know if you are ever in Cambridge UK.

[Clanad]

Eddie, you are at the top of notification list... come on out, we're just 2 weeks away from having a big dinner of calf fries and all the fixin's following spring branding, etc. (Heavy on the etc.)

[EDDIE51]

I know what calf fries are, not sure I fancy them. But thanks for the invite.
(They are the bits that get cut off when you castrate a bullock for those that don't know)