Bogus "Love Won Out" Moving to Exodus

In perhaps another sign that hatemeister Daddy Dobson's Focus on the Family is hurting financially, it has been announced that its snake oil sideshow, "Love Won Out" which claims one can "change" unwanted sexual orientation is moving/merging with Exodus International, the world's largest marketer of lies and misinformation about the "ex-gay" myth. The two organizations truly deserve each other and as a merged entity will continue send out ex-gays for pay and religious Kool-Aid drinkers to dupe and shake down the desperate and ignorant. In my opinion, these "ministry" operatives have less integrity than the nastiest prostitute. Despite whatever claims Exodus or Love Won Out put out, the true mission of these organizations is political: they are desperate to keep alive the "choice myth" so that stupid and ignorant legislators can be pummelled with the argument that since sexual orientation is a choice, gays deserve no legal protections. Here are some highlights from the Washington Blade:

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Facing a $6 million budget shortfall, Focus on the Family is shifting control of its Love Won Out conference to an outside organization. Exodus International, a group that claims people can overcome unwanted same-sex attractions with the help of its ministry, announced Tuesday it will take control of the program starting in November.“Exodus is the ideal organization to transition Love Won Out to,” said Melissa Fryrear, director of Love Won Out. She noted that Focus on the Family and Exodus have been closely aligned for years. That move comes at this time in part, Fryrear said, because Focus on the Family’s income is down $6 million from what was expected for this year. The shortfall was recently cited in an e-mail appeal to donors.

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Wayne Besen, a gay activist whose organization, Truth Wins Out, decries so-called “ex-gay” therapy, said he was not surprised at the development. He noted that Exodus “has acted as an unofficial subsidiary of Focus on the Family” for years.“Focus on the Family claims that they are facing a $6 million shortfall,” he said. “If they can eliminate a few positions due to this change, it will benefit their bottom line. This is especially true, because we suspect that Love Won Out is slowly losing support as gay people gain more acceptance each year. The crowds appear smaller and the road show has received less media coverage than it has in the past.“If they are downsizing, it is because the market for such misinformation has continued to shrink.”

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Plans for Love Won Out’s future were announced shortly after the American Psychological Association released a study saying there was insufficient evidence to suggest that efforts aimed at changing sexual orientation are effective. The study also addressed the conflict that sometimes exists between a person’s sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The study said that licensed mental health providers treating such clients recommend that they “explore possible life paths that address the reality of their sexual orientation, reduce the stigma associated with homosexuality, respect the client’s religious beliefs, and consider possibilities for a religiously and spiritually meaningful and rewarding life,” according to an APA press release.

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The best thing that can happen is that organization like Exodus wither on the vine and die. They knowingly disseminate lies and untruths as the evidence against their poisonous efforts mounts daily. Like anti-gay denominations, they need to move out of the Middle Ages and accept modern knowledge about the immutability of sexual orientation.