Rolling Stone Magazine Attacks Senator Brownback, Writer Admits Error

From Culture of Life (Culture & Cosmos):

One of the most egregious errors in the article resulted in Sharlet publicly admitting his mistake. Sharlet wrote, "[Brownback] shakes his head in sorrow, thinking of Sweden, which Christian conservatives believe has been made by 'social engineering' into an outer ring of hell. 'You'll know 'em by their fruits,' Brownback says. He pauses, and an awkward silence fills the room. He was citing scripture -- Matthew 7:16 -- but he just called gay Swedes 'fruits.'" Sharlet later admitted on his blog that this characterization was wrong after the homosexual activist group, the Human Rights Campaign, sent a letter to Brownback demanding an apology. Sharlet explained to an HRC spokesman that Brownback had not used the term fruit to describe homosexuals and they withdrew their demand. On his blog he wrote, "Brownback did not mean to make a joke, nor did he mean to use 'fruits' as a slur. I didn't think he did, nor did I mean to imply that. But I was laughing at the senator."