Shadix, known for roles like “Otho” in the movie Beetlejuice , was subjected to painful electric shocks as part of his “reparative therapy”. Is it any wonder many of us don’t buy it when the RRRWers claim they “love” us and want to “help” us? Help? Sounds more like sadistic torture to me. Thankfully Shadix came through on the other side.
It appears the RRRW has been caught, once again, distorting research to promote anti-gay lies. According to a June 16 press release by Truth Wins Out:
Anti-Gay Organization Drew False Link Between Sexual Abuse and Homosexuality
NEW YORK – In a letter made available to Truth Wins Out, the authors of a book on the health of gay men have accused Focus on the Family of distorting their research. The researchers publicly repudiated an article written by “ex-gay” activist Jeff Johnston in Focus on the Family’s web magazine, Citizen Link, which falsely linked homosexuality to childhood sexual abuse. This letter marks the tenth researcher in two years who has claimed that Focus on the Family misrepresented their work.
“Focus on the Family has zero credibility when it comes to interpreting or analyzing scientific research,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “This group has serially distorted legitimate studies on human sexuality to score political points and demean gay and lesbian people. We thank these researchers for having the courage to come forward and set the record straight.”
In the article, “Childhood Sexual Abuse and Male Homosexuality”, Johnston wrote, “Many pro-gay researchers, activists and theorists deny that there could be a connection between child sexual abuse and adult homosexuality.” As proof of a supposed connection, he cited a 2008 book, “Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States”, edited by Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall (pictured), and Ronald O. Valdiserri.
When approached by Truth Wins Out, the researchers were surprised by the manipulation of their data and agreed to respond.
“We want to respond to a recent Focus on the Family characterization of scientific findings reported in our book, ‘Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States’ that misrepresented findings in the book to suggest that childhood sexual abuse causes male homosexuality,” Stall and Valdiseri wrote in their letter. “The Focus on the Family description of the findings reported in Unequal Opportunity is inaccurate and, in our opinion, a distortion of the scientific literature.”
Focus on the Family has made a habit out of twisting science to back its anti-gay agenda. Melissa Fryrear, a Love Won Out speaker, has also repeated the phony link between abuse and homosexuality.
“I never met one woman who had not been sexually violated or sexually threatened in her life,” said Fryrear at a 2007 Love Won Out conference in Phoenix. “I never met one woman. And I never met one man either, that had not been sexually violated or sexually seduced in his life.”
“We call on the media to stop quoting an organization on gay issues which has proven to be untrustworthy and unethical in its use of research,” said Besen. “It is abundantly clear that this organization will do and say anything in its effort to misrepresent the lives of gay and lesbian people.”
The editors of the book have released the following statement to Truth Wins Out regarding Focus’ portrayal of their publication’s research:
We want to respond to a recent Focus on the Family characterization of scientific findings reported in our book, Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Oxford University Press) that misrepresented findings in the book to suggest that childhood sexual abuse causes male homosexuality. The Focus on the Family description of the findings reported in Unequal Opportunity is inaccurate and, in our opinion, a distortion of the scientific literature.
Most basically, the Focus on the Family characterization of the literature on childhood sexual abuse among gay men represents a misunderstanding of scientific approaches to distinguishing between correlation and causation. The book chapter in question reports that gay men are more likely to report childhood sexual abuse by men than are heterosexual men. This correlation does not mean that the reported abuse caused the adult sexual orientation. If that were the case, then the fact that some heterosexual men report sexual abuse by women means that sexual abuse by women “causes” heterosexuality in men. It is also worth noting that the argument that childhood sexual abuse causes homosexuality in gay men is undermined by the fact that the vast majority of gay men are not sexually abused as children.
One potential partial explanation for this correlation, and one that makes the most sense when you consider people of all orientations, is that some youth, particularly post-pubertal youth (who still cannot legally consent to sexual activity) have sexual experiences with males or females, depending on their pre-existing orientation. Let’s be very clear that this does not mean that these experiences are appropriate or healthy. However, it also does not mean that these experiences caused the sexual orientation of the youth. The development of a person’s sexual orientation is a complex and multifaceted process. The research into these processes has barely begun, and the development of sexuality is very difficult to study. Mischaracterizations of the scientific literature on the development of sexual orientation is not helpful to science.
Rather than mischaracterize these findings, we would like to point out the harm to health that can be caused by childhood sexual abuse among boys and girls of all sexual orientations. Childhood sexual abuse occurs to far too many young Americans and a large and growing literature supports that this abuse can cause lifelong damage to the physical and mental health and well-being of men and women of all sexual orientations. We suggest that Focus on the Family and other concerned organizations focus on how to work to ensure that all of our children remain safe from unwanted sexual experiences– whether heterosexual or homosexual.
That said, we want to state clearly that the published research does not support the claim that the development of a homosexual orientation is caused by childhood sexual abuse. Furthermore, adult homosexual orientation is no longer considered a pathology or a maladjustment. We urge those who are interested in trying to better understand some of these complex issues from a scientific perspective to read the discussions in our book, as well as the scientific literature on childhood sexual abuse, and not rely on second-hand interpretations.
Ron Stall
Ron ValdiserriPrior distortions of scientific data can be viewed at Respect My Research, a project of Truth Wins Out. Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life.
Recent videos, news and blog posts from various sources.
RRRW hatefest against LGBT people.
You Are Friends With an Atheist
If you live in the United States, you are almost certainly friends with at least one atheist, agnostic, nonbeliever, skeptic, or unaffiliated humanist, whether you know it or not. And your friend almost certainly endures prejudice and unequal treatment, whether you know it or not. And your friend is roughly as decent, good, loyal, honest, courageous, and generous as your other friends, and you know it.
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Those who get along without God are not lynched or stoned in this country, but neither do they have equal rights or acceptance. They encounter prejudice and cruelty on a personal level often. They pay taxes that support “faith based” programs and discriminatory organizations, as well as proselytization in the military, they see religion and religious based pseudo-science imposed on their children in public schools, and the stigma attached to their free-mindedness restricts their participation in public life. There are probably 20 atheists in Congress, but only one who admits it, and he won’t use the word. President Obama’s parents were both atheists, whether or not they used that word for it, and he got along fine without religion but would not have gone far in politics had he not adopted it.
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Pastor may have lost post over Prop 8
Surprise! It’s not because he supported “traditional marriage” or advocated for Proposition 8. So much for the claim that religious people are being persecuted by us for pushing their bigotry masquerading as religious beliefs.
The pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento was removed from his post by the denomination’s regional leadership Monday without explanation. LGBT activists believe his firing, which began in earnest in January, is likely the result of his ordination of three gay parishioners to leadership positions within the congregation and his staunch opposition to Proposition 8.
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Why should it matter to you if Proposition. 8 is upheld by the Supreme Court, especially if you aren’t gay and you don’t care about anyone who is gay? The bottom line: Are you part of any minority — single mothers, people over 60, Mormons, children of alcoholics, truck drivers? If so, your legal rights could change if the California Supreme Court rules to uphold Proposition. 8.
Right now, Californians are supposed to be treated equally under the law, and there are equal protection laws that allow residents to fight discriminatory treatment when it happens. By upholding Proposition 8, the Supreme Court will make the new law of the land “equal protection by majority rule.” If you are part of the majority, you get equal protection. If you aren’t, you don’t, whenever enough people vote away your right to be treated equally.
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How important are your equal protection rights? Are you ready to lose them?
Virginity Fetish: How Our Obsession With “Sexual Purity” Hurts Women
There is a moral panic in America over young women’s sexuality — and it’s entirely misplaced. Girls “going wild” aren’t damaging a generation of women, the myth of sexual purity is. The lie of virginity — the idea that such a thing even exists — is ensuring that young women’s perception of themselves is inextricable from their bodies, and that their ability to be moral actors is absolutely dependent on their sexuality. It’s time to teach our daughters that their ability to be good people depends on their being good people, not on whether or not they’re sexually active.
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If we’re to truly understand the purity myth, we have to recognize that this modernized virgin/whore dichotomy is not only leading young women to damage themselves by internalizing the double standard, but also contributing to a social and political climate that is increasingly antagonistic to women and our rights.
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10 Years After Matthew Shepard and Media Still Can’t Get It Right
Ten years ago, a gay University of Wyoming student was picked up at a bar by two young men, driven out to the middle of nowhere, pistol-whipped, tortured, robbed, tied to a fence and left for dead. Eighteen hours later he was found — still alive but comatose — by a bicyclist, who at first thought the seemingly lifeless body, its face completely covered in blood except for the skin-colored trails left by tears, was a “scarecrow.”
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Perhaps fearing a hate crimes bill that protects gay, lesbian, and transgender people will soon be enacted — thanks to a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and the president — many media conservatives have seen fit to maliciously attack the legislation, just as 20/20 twisted and misreported the events surrounding Shepard’s death.
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Reporters, hosts, anchors, and pundits — indeed, all Americans — are free to feel and speak as they wish about the gay, lesbian, and transgender community. It’s their right, even if they aren’t being honest. Unfortunately, too many have chosen to use this freedom with complete disregard for the facts.
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Cardinal Cormack Murphy-O’Connor: Secularists and atheists are “not fully human”.
Antigay Activists Falsely Report APA Change of View Regarding ‘Gay Gene’
The notion that a single gene might determine sexual orientation was briefly proposed and swiftly rejected in the early 1990s.
That hasn’t stopped antigay activists from circulating the myth that, because numerous researchers in the past decade have found a mix of biological factors and possibly other unknown factors in the formation of sexual orientation, therefore these experts must believe in the existence of a single “gay gene.”
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WorldNetDaily, LifeSiteNews, Virtue Online, and Peter LaBarbera’s Americans for Truth all parroted A. Dean Byrd of NARTH, who repeated his previous false assertions that “activist researchers” have contended anytime in the past decade that there is a gay gene.The antigay activists (Byrd included) illogically contend that, because there is no single gene that determines sexual orientation, therefore sexual orientation is caused entirely by the environment — lousy parents, in particular — and therefore, they insist, anyone can “change” their sexual orientation with sufficient right-wing Christian brainwashing.
Not so, said the APA last year:
Many [researchers] think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.
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‘Coming out’ can be a trial for atheists and agnostics
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According to a religious identification survey conducted in March by Trinity College in Connecticut, about 12 per cent of Americans now identify themselves as atheist, or non-believing, while another 12 per cent describe themselves as agnostic, or unsure whether there is a God.
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Many students compare what’s taking place to the “outing” of the gay community, and describe their decision to go public with their atheism using similar terms.
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“People ask, ‘how do you live life as an atheist? How do you fit in the community?’ ” he said. Many fear getting kicked out of their homes or losing key friendships. “I know the analogy of coming out as a gay person is not perfect, but in a lot of ways it really does fit.”Many atheists say they regularly face hostility, and even threats of violence.
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Year of the Bible Resolution Contains False Claims
Rep. Thad McCotter is co-sponsoring House Resolution 121, which calls on President Obama to declare 2010 “The National Year of the Bible.” Unfortunately, the resolution contains historical inaccuracies that undermine its credibility. For instance, the resolution states:
Whereas shared Biblical beliefs unified the colonists and gave our early leaders the wisdom to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States…There are several problems with this statement. First, the notion that the colonists had “shared Biblical beliefs” that unified them is inaccurate. In reality, 11 of the 13 colonies at the time of the writing of the Constitution had established churches that denied equal rights not only to non-Christians but to other denominations of Christianity.
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Perhaps even more inaccurate is the claim that those “shared Biblical beliefs…gave our early leaders the wisdom to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.”…
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We also know from what sources the ideas found in the Constitution are derived because they are spelled out in great detail in the Federalist Papers, written by James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. In those 85 essays, written to explain and defend the new Constitution to the people of America, the Bible is nowhere mentioned at all. Nor was the Bible ever mentioned as justification for anything during the debates at the constitutional convention in 1787. The intellectual sources for the provisions of that Constitution were found in the same places Jefferson looked to for the ideas in the Declaration, particularly Locke, Sidney and Montesquieu.
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A church lobbyist in the Telegraph’s story used the term “militant atheist”, and said that “militant atheists were attacking the children”. I’ve heard the term used before, but didn’t really think about it in depth until now. What exactly is a militant atheist? The word militant has a very strong and very negative connotation in today’s post 9/11, 3/11, 7/7, and Mumbai world. When someone says militant, what is the next thought in your head? I know for me it conjures up terrorist, extremist, guerrilla, and other less than desirable labels. The word is very much associated with violence and unrest. Naturally this is done on purpose by the religious right to discredit and demonize atheists. Trying to define their opponents with a negative label, easily repeatable slogan or caricature has been their strategy for a long time. Anyone reading a “tax and spend liberal”, or a “flip flopper”? The fact is atheists aren’t militant in the sense we think about today, if anything they could stand to be more forceful in their rejection of faith (new atheism). What purpose do these negative labels serve? Well, from an academic stand point, it’s much easier to dismiss the militant atheist, or Darwinist Dawkins, than it is to the Oxford Professor of Evolutionary Biology Dawkins.Atheists and theists alike can agree the above mentioned terrorist attacks were all done by religious militants. Ever heard of an atheist terrorist attack? No. Large religious gatherings in the Muslim world often include burning effigies, anti-American chants, threats and calls to violence against non-Muslims and the staple riotous mob. In using the term militant atheist, apologists want to stir up images of Dawkins igniting a crowd with fiery, Palin-esque speeches. Christians pal-around with Satan maybe? How about Christopher Hitchens leading a mass protest/riot with an alleged “militant atheist” fringe, burning churches and attacking believers? During the annual American Atheists Convention, did the atheist take to the streets? Did they Burn effigies of the Pope? Were there calls to harm and indeed murder theist? The fact is, you will never see anything like that. Atheist do not display the raw hostility and hatred that is found in many theist groups. Hopefully by now you can see the point I am driving at here. Just because a theist group can have moderates, and militants, doesn’t mean this structure applies to all ideological organizations. There are no militant, terrorist, or extremist atheists in the modern world…
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In the Theist/Atheist system, only one can be said to militant. To suggest otherwise is at best a misrepresentation, and at worst an outright lie.
“Confused Children” TV Ad.
Ostensibly children, who can grasp the fact that God is Himself, His own Son and the Holy Spirit–and not be traumatized by the notion that God sent his only son to Earth to be brutally slaughtered to appease Himself, will be irreparably confused and psychologically damaged by learning that some children have two mommies/daddies instead of one of each. But since when have the NOMbies ever made sense?
And speaking of NOMbies….
This is important for anybody who has been, or may potentially be, harmed by “ex-gay” programs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Feb. 20, 2009Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: Wayne Besen
Web: Truth Wins Out.orgNew Landmark Publication By Truth Wins Out and Lambda Legal Offers Legal Options To Those Hurt By Ex-Gay Programs
If You Have Been Harmed By ‘Ex-Gay’ Programs, ‘Ex-Gay & The Law’ Is For You
CHARLOTTE – Truth Wins Out and Lambda Legal released a landmark publication today, “Ex-Gay & The Law“, that aims to educate victims of “ex-gay” programs of their legal options. This work was inspired by the many people who have had their lives damaged by programs that seek to “pray away the gay” or use questionable counseling techniques.
“Ex-Gay & the Law helps survivors of ex-gay programs explore their legal rights if they believe they have been harmed,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “This groundbreaking publication offers practical legal advice so important questions can be answered.”
“We are pleased to help support this publication and to be a part of this effort,” said Hayley Gorenberg, Deputy Legal Director of Lambda Legal. “Groups that proclaim to ‘cure’ gay people of their sexual orientation lack any legitimate medical backing, cause harm, and sometimes operate unlawfully and unethically. If you have experienced any of the scenarios outlined in the last pages of ‘Ex-Gay & the Law‘, we welcome you to contact or Legal Help Desk.”
Each year, thousands of men and women enter “ex-gay” programs. Adolescents are even forced into these boot camps by their parents. While their stories differ, nearly all of these individuals have one thing in common: They are harmed by the traumatizing experience.
The American Psychiatric Association says, “The potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self destructive behavior.”
Ex-Gay & The Law was released at a press conference in Charlotte to counter Focus on the Family’s ex-gay Love Won Out conference. The Charlotte Rainbow Action Network for Equality (CRANE) hosted the event.
CRANE is a grassroots coalition of activists and community members working toward civil and social equality for Charlotte’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that defends gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from anti-gay lies. TWO also counters the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life.
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
Download Ex-Gay & The Law (PDF Format, 1.4 MB)
I’m not at all surprised. Focus on the Family is well known for pushing propaganda, half-truths and outright lies as “facts”. So hiring a known plagiarizer would be par for the course with them. From Truth Wins Out:
Truth Wins Out (TWO) today called Tim Goeglein a perfect hire to be the lead Washington lobbyist for Focus on the Family. He resigned from the Bush White House on Feb. 29, 2008, after ex-Fort Wayne News-Sentinel columnist Nancy Nall discovered that Goeglein, while he wrote guest columns for the newspaper, had plagiarized 19 of 38 columns. According to the Colorado Independent, he had used the works of such luminaries as the Dartmouth Review, Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein and the Pope without credit.
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“Instead of hiring a writer with a Pulitzer Prize, Focus on the Family hired one who plagiarized, which reveals the organization’s true character,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Goeglein seems well qualified to work for an organization known for distorting research and confusing fact with fiction. Already the ‘Master of Misquote,’ Goeglein won’t need on-the-job training.”Focus on the Family is no stranger to controversy surrounding the group’s honesty and integrity. In the past two years, at least seven researchers have accused the organization of manipulating or cherry picking their results to back their anti-gay teachings. Letters and videos documenting the concerns of these respected professors can be viewed at TruthWinsOut.org .
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Apparently Focus on the Family doesn’t care how unethical you are or how many Biblical commandments you’ve violated–just so long as you aren’t gay. Perhaps they should focus on their own family and take the moats out of their own eyes, instead of worrying about the specks in the eyes of everybody else’s families.
The RRRW likes to put forth their phony statistics and self-proclaimed “experts” on homosexuality to bolster their claim that LGBT people are flawed, damaged, in need of “fixing” and certainly not deserving of equal rights. They put enormous time, effort and money into their campaign to eradicate marriage rights for same-sex couples in California. They claimed that same-sex marriage was a “threat to traditional marriage” and that “experts” say children fare better with “a mother and a father“–in other words, with straight couples.
But the reality is that genuine mental health professionals do not support what the RRRW shills are dishing out, but instead see homosexuality as a natural, normal expression of human sexual behavior. They condemn efforts to change sexual orientation, otherwise known as “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy” and have stated that it is both ineffective and harmful. Studies on same-sex parenting show that children are just as healthy and happy with these couples as with opposite sex couples. Once again the RRRW manipulates legitimate studies, omits pertinent details and blatantly lies to achieve their anti-gay agenda.
Recently Psychologists for Social Responsibility released the following statement about same-sex marriage.
In accord with the commitments to individual liberty and equal protection under the law enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) affirms its support for the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. Keenly aware of the deeply destructive effects of prejudice, discrimination, and social stigma on unjustly marginalized members of society, PsySR stands opposed to any national or state legislation that seeks to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.
We further believe that psychological research provides compelling support for this clear social justice imperative. After reviewing the empirical evidence, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Association of Social Workers have concluded that (1) the institution of marriage offers social, psychological, and health benefits to couples, (2) lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and (3) the children of same-sex couples and heterosexual couples are equally well-adjusted and psychologically healthy.*
Psychologists for Social Responsibility therefore strongly supports efforts by concerned citizens and social justice advocates to reverse current state bans and to advance the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Sadly this won’t stop the RRRW from pushing their own phony “experts” (who have either no training in psychology/psychiatry or whose religious bigotry far outweighs any sense of professionalism they might otherwise have). Nor will it stop them from claiming the genuine experts are under the evil influence of Teh Gays and/or Teh Liberal Left. Nonetheless it’s an important statement that will hopefully carry some impact.
Prayers for Bobby, based on the true story of the Griffith family, will air on Lifetime tonight. It depicts just how damaging the “ex-gay” movement is with it’s insistence that gay people can and must change.
Bobby Griffith committed suicide because his mother would not accept the truth–that he was gay and nothing was going to change that. It took his death for Mrs. Griffith to realize the truth. You cannot “pray away the gay”, and attempting to shame and coerce LGBT people into pretending they are something they are not is harmful, even deadly.
Sadly the purveyors of “ex-gay” programs keep pushing the claim that their hateful programs work despite the fact that the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association have stated the following:
* Homosexuality is not a mental disorder and the APA opposes all portrayals of lesbian, gay and bisexual people as mentally ill and in need of treatment due to their sexual orientation;
* Psychologists do not knowingly participate in or condone discriminatory practices with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients;
…..Is It Possible To Change One’s Sexual Orientation (“Reparative Therapy”)?
There is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of “reparative therapy” as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientation, nor is it included in the APA’s Task Force Report, Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders. More importantly, altering sexual orientation is not an appropriate goal of psychiatric treatment. Some may seek conversion to heterosexuality because of the difficulties that they encounter as a member of a stigmatized group. Clinical experience indicates that those who have integrated their sexual orientation into a positive sense of self-function at a healthier psychological level than those who have not. “Gay affirmative psychotherapy” may be helpful in the coming out process, fostering a positive psychological development and overcoming the effects of stigmatization. A position statement adopted by the Board in December 1998 said:The American Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder, or based upon a prior assumption that the patient should change his/ her homosexual orientation.”
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Simply put, “reparative therapy”, which is what the “ex-gay” programs are (no matter what they try to bill them as) is a complete sham. It is psychologically, spiritually and even physically damaging to the participant. No reputable therapist would advocate it and typically those pushing it are not licensed psychologists but religious groups. Why do they do so? It brings them great amounts of money, for one. It also helps them push through anti-gay legislation, for another. If they can push the notion that gay people can “change”, they can reason that there is no need for laws protecting our rights. What’s worse is that they use the money gay people give them for “reparative therapy” to fund anti-gay legislation. Quite a beautiful scam they have going there, and yet another reason their sham programs need to be stopped.
Watch the movie tonight on Lifetime and do what you can to learn about the insidious nature of the “ex-gay” agenda. Then do all you can to stop them in their tracks.
Required reading on the “ex-gay” movement: visit Truth Wins Out.
A collection of worthy blog posts and news stories covering a variety of topics.
From Truth Wins Out:
“Ex-gay” bootcamp where teens are sent by their parents in an attempt to forcibly “turn them straight” is demanding $500,000 in tax dollars.
From Right Wing Watch :
The “war on Christmas” and related baloney; How Right-Wing Myths get Started
From PublicEye.org :
A comprehensive, must-read analysis of how the anti-gay forces got Proposition 8 passed in California.
From Americans United :
New Years reflections on the importance of Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists , and those who would gladly tear down the wall (however weak it might be right now) separating Church and State.
From Joe. My. God. :
Another example of why we need a national health care system is presented via the story of Mrs. Witten
From The Republic of T :
Terrance writes a beautiful tribute to Harvey Milk and recalls his personal journey coming out and becoming an advocate for LGBT rights.
From Friendly Atheist :
From the some people will buy anything files comes Sand of Christ.
From Heaving Dead Cats :
Neece presents 20 Reasons I am Godless.
From NPR :
Joseph Shapiro tells us what we’ve long known; reducing anti-gay bigotry leads to fewer gay teen suicides. I don’t expect the RRRW bigots will pay any attention despite their persistent claims that they’re doing everything “for the children”.
From Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters :
The RRRW is calling for a mass exodus from public schools so Teh Gays and Liberals won’t sully their precious children. It appears this is going to be an annual event considering they did the same thing a year ago.
I couldn’t have said it any better than Wayne Besen, so here’s his take on the insane prattlings of those behind “NoMobVeto” (previously covered by my wife).
In a breathtaking display of lies and hypocrisy, a group of anti-gay culture warriors and long-time Mormon bashers placed a full page ad in the New York Times pretending to be both victims of alleged homosexual “mobs” and staunch defenders of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Both claims are absurd and a cruel attempt for the victimizers to claim the mantle of the victimhood - which is a manipulative and cynical political ploy.
The dishonest Times ad essentially claimed that violent mobs of gay protesters were attacking the Mormon Church and its followers in the aftermath of California voters narrowly approving Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in that state. They even launched a website www.NoMobVeto.org. (It seems they forget that they put basic human rights up for a vote, which is essentially mob rule)
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Yes, but anything done in the name of “deeply held religious beliefs” or The Children is justifiable regardless of the collateral damage. It’s only those who disagree who are to be held in contempt. Who are we to question or criticize God, or those who claim to speak for him?
The anti-gay organizations and individuals who sponsored this “Big Lie” ad are trying to pull off a remarkable feat: They are both crying wolf, while being the wolf in sheep’s clothing. The degree of chutzpah is remarkable and eye-popping.
Consider that a few of the unctuous signers of the ad, convicted felon Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship; Rich Cizik, The National Association of Evangelicals; and William Donohue, The Catholic League are now pretending to love Mormons. In the ad they wrote:
“The violence and intimidation being directed against the LDS or ‘Mormon’ church and other religious organizations - and even against individual religious believers - simply because they supported Proposition 8 is an outrage that must stop.”
The ad ended with the following propaganda:
“Furthermore, beginning today, we commit ourselves to opposing and publicly shaming anyone who resorts to the rhetoric of anti-religious bigotry - against any faith, on any side of any cause, for any reason.”
Well, that is good news. The authors of this hypocritical ad can start by spotlighting themselves:
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“Mormonism either affirms historic Christianity, or it doesn’t. Since it doesn’t, it can’t call itself Christianity – a fact that all the good will and public relations in Utah can’t change…“While Mormons share some beliefs with Christians, they are not Christians.” –Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship Ministries“Most evangelicals still regard Mormonism as a cult.“ — Rich Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals
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I myself have noted more than once that the Mormons are quite foolish to trust the Evangelicals and Catholics. (I’ve also theorized that the overwhelming effort the Mormons put into the Proposition 8 and Proposition 102 campaigns had a great deal to do with their desire to no longer be the bastard stepchild of the Christian family. )Yes, they’ve been playing friendly for the past few months or so and at the moment they’re all but fawning over the LDS church. But as soon as the Mormons cease to be a useful tool in their war against gays it will be right back to Mormons are a cult that we don’t even recognize as Christians . I realize feeling like heroes for a few months is a grand thing, but is it worth it just to play butt-monkey to people like Dobson, Colson, Donohue, et. al. ?
Of course I’m rather wondering whether they’re having a better time playing hero because they spearheaded the effort that mashed Teh Gays into the pavement or martyrs because we had the audacity to not lie there and take it without a peep. Perhaps they’re just playing both to the hilt as the publicity is too good to pass up.
As you might have been aware, Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out went to Anchorage, AK to counteract the lies being foisted on the city by Love Won Out, Focus on the Family’s traveling “ex-gay” roadshow. His visit got a good deal of attention including a large feature story in the Anchorage Press
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Except that outside of these ex-gay ministries, virtually no one agrees that homosexuals can be turned straight, or that the “reparative therapy” these ministries offer is anything but damaging.“There is no published scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of reparative therapy as a treatment to change one’s sexual orientation,” states a report by the American Psychiatric Association.
The American Psychological Association agrees, and has stated that conversion therapy can “do more harm than good.” And an American Medical Association report stated, “aversion therapy… is no longer recommended for gay men and lesbians.”
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But there’s something more basic at work here at the Love Won Out conference. Few, if any, of the attendees offering their “amen’s” seem to be people struggling with same-sex attraction. These churchgoing folks are having their belief that overcoming homosexuality is a choice one can make successfully reinforced. And statistics show that if people believe homosexuality is a choice, they’re more likely to support anti-gay legislation.
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Read that last sentence again. Regardless of all the prattle about love, change and desire to “help” gay people that groups like Love Won Out peddle they have only one true desire. To convince people that being gay is a choice so they’ll support anti-gay legislation, and to actually support anti-gay legislation. That’s all it’s ever been about. Why do you think that Focus on the Family (the people who run Love Won Out) turns around and donates hundreds of thousands of the dollars they get from things like Love Won Out to anti-gay causes like Proposition 8? That’s pretty sick, using money obtained from harming gays to further harm gays. But I’m not the least bit surprised.
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“By and large, these so-called ex-gay ministries are really on many levels a propaganda operation aimed at convincing the public that homosexuality is a choice,” says Mark Potok, executive director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, an organization that tracks extremism and monitors civil rights violations.…..
Potok says that he believes that at first, a number of these ex-gay ministries were genuinely concerned with the welfare of the people they were treating. But now, he says, “I think that is less true every day. Every single one of these programs is based on a fundamental lie, which is that homosexuality is a mental disease. This kind of propaganda from the Christian Right has the effect of demonizing individuals and damaging them in serious psychological ways.” He describes Love Won Out particularly as “really noxious.”
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Besen, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, has flown to Anchorage specifically to help organize opposition to Love Won Out. A non-practicing Jew, he tells the congregation the story of when he got a job as a television reporter in Bangor, Maine covering politics—until his co-workers discovered him at a gay bar, upon which he was taken off the political beat and later fired.“This is what we face,” Besen says, noting that if he holds his boyfriend’s hand on a New York subway he has to look around at the people near him to see he’ll end up in a fight because of it.
“This industry is out there to keep discrimination strong,” he says of Focus on the Family and Love Won Out. “They do everything in their power to make us miserable. They ask you to lie to God, and have lust in your heart forever, while you bury your head in the sand. They need to open their eyes to the damage they’re doing, destroying families in the name of family values.”
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Sadly the RRRW doesn’t seem to care how much psychological, spiritual and even physical damage they inflict on LGBT people and their loved ones, so long as they get their way. It appears, though, that the tide is turning, though it seems to be doing so slowly, and these hateful bigots are a dying breed.
Now that you’ve read the article, watch the video.
