Homophobia

I found Dan Rodricks' column on Dr. Ben Carson jaded and biased ("Ben Carson's biblically based conservatism," March 31). Mr. Rodricks accused Dr. Carson of making homophobic remarks, but it was just his opinion that the remarks were homophobic in...

Mike Rice had to be fired. He repeatedly demeaned young men. He abused his position of authority. He not only violated the ideals of coaching, he ran roughshod through the boundaries of common human decency. Yet here's the thing. If ESPN "Outside the...

My column Saturday will focus on a letter that an area Eagle Scout wrote to the Boy Scouts of America, protesting its anti-gay policies and accompanied by the return of his Eagle Scout medal. Unfortunately, space didn't permit the use......

Gay characters coming out in prime time is nothing new. In fact, “Coming-out narratives are cliches,” according to Ron Becker, author of “Gay TV and Straight America” (Rutgers University Press, 2006). “They were big in...

Prosecutors on Monday charged a man suspected of setting a homeless woman on fire in Van Nuys with attempted murder. Dennis Petillo, 24, of Van Nuys is accused of dousing the homeless woman with rubbing alcohol while she slept on......

When prosecutors decided to drop a murder charge against professional tennis umpire Lois Goodman, they gave no explanation. But a defense team pathology report by a former New York medical examiner reveals the head wound authorities had portrayed as...

Actor Fred Willard won't face a lewd-conduct trial after his arrest at a Hollywood adult movie theater in July because he has completed a diversion program for minor sexual offenses, city prosecutors said. Willard, 72, completed the program intended to......

A man suspected of setting a homeless woman on fire in Van Nuys pleaded not guilty Monday after being arraigned on charges of attempted murder and mayhem, a prosecutor said. Dennis Petillo, 24, of Van Nuys is accused of dousing......

From Sunday's print column A recent update to the Associated Press stylebook recommends against use of the word "homophobia" to describe strong opposition to equal rights for gay people. A phobia is "an irrational, uncontrollable fear, often a form of.......

In its never-ending effort to avoid misleading language in news coverage, The Associated Press Stylebook has decided to declare Islamophobia, homophobia and presumably other non-clinical uses of the word "phobia" to be a new taboo. What's the problem?...

First came "Squeezy the Pension Python," Gov. Pat Quinn's effort to draw attention to the severity of the problem of underfunded retirement obligations to public employees. Squeezy, introduced at a Nov. 18 news conference, was mocked for being...

The recent run of states approving same-sex marriage might prompt a journalist to declare the retreat of homophobia. But that description probably wouldn’t pass muster with the many editors who use the Associated Press Style Book as the Bible of...