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APA Medical Director Steven Mirin, M.D., has sent a sharply worded letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) accusing him of "a misrepresentation of scientific evidence" in his harsh condemnation of homosexuality.
Labeling homosexuality a sin, Lott, the Senate's highest-ranking Republican, also equated homosexuality with alcoholism, kleptomania, and "sex addiction" in a June 15 television interview with Armstrong Williams, a politically conservative talk-show host. Mirin told Lott that his assertions are "unfortunate, as [they] perpetuate stigma rooted in fear and ignorance, which regrettably often becomes a source of discrimination."
In his letter, which was sent on June 24, Mirin emphasized that as one of the nation's most "influential decision makers," the Mississippi senator has "a special responsibility to educate people and a unique opportunity to fight stigma."
Mirin also offered to share with Lott research that has advanced the understanding of homosexuality.
Lott's denunciation, which was quickly seconded by House Majority Leader Richard Armey of Texas, was condemned by the Clinton administration the day after Lott's television interview.
In an allusion to APA's 1973 decision to delete homosexuality as a mental illness from the revision of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), White House press secretary Michael McCurry said, "For over 25 years, it's been quite clear that sexual orientation is not an affliction; it's not a disease. It is something that is part of defining one's sexuality."
The chair of the APA Committee on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues, Lowell Tong, M.D., reacted angrily to Lott's comments, denouncing them as "inflammatory" and "dangerous."
"From mainstream scientific, medical, and academic perspectives, homosexuality is a minority sexual orientation and not at all thought of as a disorder, disease, or deficit anymore," Tong told Psychiatric News.
He also accused Lott of creating a dangerous climate in which bias can thrive and even be rewarded. The senator's comments "promote stigma and shame around homosexuality. . .as well as closed-mindedness and hatred," said Tong.
"It gives medically and scientifically inaccurate messages laced with poison to some of the most vulnerable individuals, especially those who are just coming to understand themselves sexually. The comments can also incite some people to perpetuate violence against those they perceive as lesbian or gay," said Tong, who is director of the Psychiatry Care Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a press release immediately after Lott's statements predicting that the "hurtful" remarks equating homosexuals with thieves and sex addicts would backfire on the senator.
"The more vocal the majority leader is about acknowledging his intolerant and fearful disposition, the sooner the American public will seek to replace him with a leader who celebrates diversity and healthy debate," commented GLAAD Director of Communications Jennifer Einhorn.
Lott's remarks have generated considerable controversy within his own party, though they have generally garnered enthusiastic support from the Republican Party's increasingly influential conservative wing. The political director of the American Conservative Union, William W. Pascoe III, told the New York Times that antigay statements such as those by Lott and Armey would benefit the Republican Party.
"Any time you have Republican leaders citing the Bible as the foundation for their beliefs, as opposed to Democratic leaders citing the American Psychiatric Association, I think we win," he said.