Last week, the mayor of Bloomington, IN presided over 13 same-sex weddings that will not be recognized by the state. (Photo Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein, The Indianapolis Star)

In 2011, lawmakers in Indiana approved a proposal for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Such amendments require passage in two consecutive legislative sessions before advancing to a referendum, which means it must be approved again during the 2013-2014 session to proceed. Indiana Republicans announced today, however, that they would not press for a vote this year, citing apprehensions that how the Supreme Court rules on marriage equality could impact the viability of the proposed change. The amendment is not dead, because they could still advance it to the ballot in 2014. A December poll showed that while Indiana voters are split on supporting same-sex marriage, a 54 percent majority opposes the amendment.

Ever since the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced last summer that it would not be changing its policy prohibiting gay Scouts and Scout leaders, conservatives have rallied to defend the organizations “core value” of anti-gay discrimination. This effort seemed to explode over the past week, with social conservative talking heads desperately pleading with BSA to hold fast to that policy, lest it create a not-so-ambiguous safety concern for Scouts. Perhaps more than any other recent issue impact gays and lesbians — repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” marriage equality, or the Chick-fil-A controversy, how social conservatives’ discuss the BSA policy reveals the depth of their anti-gay animus and the foundation of lies they perpetuate in their agenda against LGBT equality.

Though BSA refused to share any of the details of the two-year review that resulted in keeping the policy, plenty of conservatives voices have attempted to make the case on behalf of the organization, including Mike Huckabee, Bill O’Reilly, Rick Perry, the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Southern Baptist Convention, to name a few. While some have made weak appeals to “traditional values,” the overwhelming argument against changing the policy has been a claim that Scouts will be more vulnerable to abuse if gays are allowed to participate in the organization, an argument that doesn’t even address the question of gay Scouts. Here is a sampling of the underlying assumptions about gay people that inform this point of view:

• The LGBT community is viewed entirely as adult gay men.
• The only aspect of a person that defines a gay identity is participation in same-sex sexual behavior.
• Nothing is apparently more important to gay men than having as much sex as possible and talking about it at all times.
• For gay men, there is no difference between being attracted to other adult gay men and being attracted to underage boys.
• Gay men are so obsessed with having sex that consent means nothing to them.
• Even though the men most commonly found abusing boys identify as heterosexual, the fact that their victims were boys means that they must be secretly gay, as opposed to just being pedophiles.
• It’s impossible for a child to learn that gay people even exist without becoming “sexualized” and somehow put at risk.
• So long as homosexuality is prohibited, all Boy Scouts will remain totally chaste and never think, learn about, or talk about the existence of sex.

This line of thinking proves that conservatives have learned nothing about gays and lesbians in decades. Any of these assumptions can and have been debunked not only by social science but by simply the mainstream visibility of the gay community. Nevertheless, conservatives continue to see gays as mentally ill, sex-obsessed, child-abusing sinners who do not deserve an equal place in society. This is what they believe when they argue against marriage equality (e.g. gays are too sex-obsessed to commit to monogamy), same-sex adoption (e.g. children fare worse with same-sex parents), or military service (e.g. straight soldiers won’t serve as effectively if gay troops are hitting on them). And though these issues mostly impact people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, many of the same negative stereotypes are similarly applied to transgender people, such as the claim that allowing them to use the same bathroom with which they identity would endanger children.

As GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project has revealed, conservative talking heads often sugarcoat their anti-gay messaging when speaking to mainstream media, but the BSA policy has been the exception. Under the guise of arguments defending “religious freedom,” it’s clear that social conservatives maintain a warped view of the gay community and are intent on promulgating that view. It is an agenda that has nothing to do with protecting children, families, or “values,” but that is designed specifically to defame and stigmatize the gay community, encouraging people to doubt and fear them through the guise of religious faith. Fortunately, people across the country are learning to see through this hateful charade and support the full inclusion of their LGBT friends and family in every aspect of society.

A new poll from Franklin & Marshall College has found that a majority of Pennsylvania voters — 52 percent — support allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, while only 41 percent oppose it. A Quinnipiac poll just two weeks ago found similar favorability for marriage equality, but by a much closer 47-43 split. Though Pennsylvania does not have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, such unions are still not recognized under state law. Support will likely continue to increase in the Keystone state not only because of national trends, but because of the neighboring influence of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, which all have either marriage equality or civil unions that could become marriage equality quite soon.

A new study confirms that coming out is good for the mental health of gays and lesbians. In fact, owning their identities may help gays and lesbians actually fare better than their heterosexual counterparts, according to Canadian researchers:

The study looked at 87 men and women of varying sexual orientations, all of whom were around 25 years old. Forty-six identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual and 41 were heterosexual. Participants were given psychological tests and provided multiple urine and saliva samples to test for various biomarkers related to stress and general health.

All of the out participants had lower stress hormone levels and fewer symptoms of depression than those who weren’t public about their sexuality. Out gay and bisexual men also had lower stress and depressive symptoms than heterosexual men.

Previous studies have found similar results, but with caveats. People who come out can develop more significant resilience, but only if they receive positive support when they do. Reactions from parents, coworkers, and peers can have a profound impact on whether gays and lesbians benefit or suffer from coming out.

Two granddaughters of Fred Phelps, the leader of the virulently anti-LGBT Westboro Baptist Church often found protesting with “God Hates Fags” signs, have left the group. Megan and Grace Phelps-Roper were among the most visible members of the group online, with active social media presences that promoted the group’s hateful message until last year. Megan posted her first tweet since October yesterday, linking to a statement announcing their exodus and apologizing for their actions:

“We know that we’ve done and said things that hurt people. Inflicting pain on others wasn’t the goal, but it was one of the outcomes. We wish it weren’t so, and regret that hurt.

We know that we dearly love our family. They now consider us betrayers, and we are cut off from their lives, but we know they are well-intentioned. We will never not love them.

We know that we can’t undo our whole lives. We can’t even say we’d want to if we could; we are who we are because of all the experiences that brought us to this point. What we can do is try to find a better way to live from here on. That’s our focus.

Up until now, our names have been synonymous with “God Hates Fags.” Any twelve-year-old with a cell phone could find out what we did. We hope Ms. Kyle was right about the other part, too, though – that everything sticks – and that the changes we make in our lives will speak for themselves.“

While this statement is presumably just a first step in those changes, it’s also a heartwarming reminder that regardless of the prejudices people are raised with and humanity’s most stubborn tendencies, they can actually still learn new things about themselves and their LGBT neighbors.

For more information on Megan’s journey away from the church, read this excellent feature by Fast Company’s Jeff Chu.