Salvation Army Drops Referrals To "Ex-Gay" "Ministries"

The Salvation Army is seemingly trying to rehabilitate its image after a history of homophobia which has prompted many LGBT activists - Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project is an example - have urged the LGBT community and the general public to walk past the Salvation Army's kettles without donating a dime.  Adding insult to injury, the Salvation Army has been heretofore directing those staying at its facilities to fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries.  A piece at Huffington Post by my friend Wayne Besen spotlighted the problem.  Here are excerpts (Note: I get credit for helping expose an "ex-gay" fraud - I still have in my possession evidence of Michael Johnston's "moral fall" to quote Peter LaBarbera, a/k/a Porno Pete):

The Salvation Army has a new campaign to debunk "the myth of LGBT discrimination." They want people to believe that they aren't anti-gay or bigoted. Here is what they have to say on their website:

For years, Facebook posts, forwarded emails and rumors have been leading some people to believe that The Salvation Army does not serve members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. These accusations simply aren't true. ...

More than 20 percent of all residents staying at The Salvation Army's youth homeless shelter in St. Paul voluntarily identified themselves as gay or lesbian. ...

However, the organization still has a ways to go before I can tell people to drop change in their buckets. 

For example, I discovered today that The Salvation Army refers clients to at least two "ex-gay" ministries. The first group in question is Harvest USA, which was an affiliate of Exodus International (formerly the world's largest ex-gay group), before Exodus disbanded. According to Harvest USA's website:

Harvest USA began in 1983, as an outreach ministry in Center City, Philadelphia to the homosexual community to provide hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The ministry reached out to men and women who heard the gospel and desired to leave behind the gay lifestyle.

The second group in question is Pure Life Ministries. This is the sexual addiction group where "ex-gay" activist Michael Johnston was sent after attorney Michael Hamar and I caught him having bareback orgies with men. (Johnston is now an employee of this ministry.) Here is what the group is saying on its website:

Whether you're addicted to masturbation, ensnared in Internet pornography, struggling with homosexuality, or merely battling an onslaught of impure desires, you've come to the right place.

How can The Salvation Army expect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and the people who love and support them to donate when the organization gives referrals to noxious ministries that try to pray away the gay?

Apparently, the pressure paid off because, the Salvation Army has ceased the referrals.  Wayne has more on the Truth Wins Out website:

CHICAGO – Truth Wins Out commended The Salvation Army today for removing links to two notorious “ex-gay” ministries that it had listed as sexual addiction resources. The move is consistent with the organizations new campaign against LGBT discrimination.

“We thank The Salvation Army for acting swiftly and decisively in addressing our concerns about links to ‘ex-gay’ organizations,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “This is a step in the right direction and congruent with their anti-discrimination campaign. We hope this action leads to further progress in gaining the full confidence and trust of the LGBT community.”

Truth Wins Out’s Associate Director, Evan Hurst, reached out to The Salvation Army this afternoon and expressed our concerns. As a result, the offensive webpage listing “ex-gay” programs was removed, and The Salvation Army responded with the following letter:

Dear Evan:
We sincerely appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. As you know, The Salvation Army strives to live out our mission of meeting human need without discrimination. Our doors are always open to anyone who seeks our help, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. We simply do not discriminate against the people we serve or the people we hire.

We have removed the page of referrals for sexual addiction centers. Truthfully this was an old page that had been archived but was reposted when we launched our new website last month. We apologize for our oversight and any confusion this may have caused. The Salvation Army does not consider homosexual orientation a sin. Please know that we serve anyone who comes to our doors without discrimination.

I can just imagine  the blow back that the Salvation Army will receive from hate groups such as Family Research Council, The American Family Association, and, of course, the Traditional Values Coalition.

A Really Bad Day for "Ex-Gay" Frauds

One of the most insidious lies utilized by the gay haters of the Christian Right and their puppets within the Republican Party is the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and/or that it can be "changed" through witch doctor like reparative therapy.  Today that deliberate line of lying and disinformation took two significant hits.  The first was the release by Truth Wins Out of an interview with Dr. Robert Spitzer's whose dubious and thoroughly attacked 2001 study has been used by utterly dishonest elements of the so-called Christian Right - not that all of them aren't extremely dishonest to varying degrees - such as PFOX, NARTH and Family Research Council, etc., to lend credibility to their fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries and intimidation of politicians.  The second blow to these snake oil merchants was the vote today by the California Senate approving SB1172 which ban forms of so-called reparative therapy on anyone under the age of 18.  First these highlights from Truth Wins Out's interview with Dr. Spitzer followed by a video clip of the interview:

What do you have to say about the conclusions of your 2001 study?
“I was quite wrong in the conclusions that I made from this study. The study does not provide evidence, really, that gays can change. And that’s quite an admission on my part.”

What made you go public with your change of heart?
“If I really have all these doubts about the study, I had to face up to whether I had a responsibility to acknowledge that.”

Is there a message you would like to impart to the LGBT community?
“I’ve been thinking about the study for many years. I felt that I needed to say that, the study is not valid, but I thought I should also say to the gay community, I apologize for any harm I have done to them because of the study and my initial interpretation. And I certainly apologize to any gay person who because of this study entered into reparative therapy and wasted their time and energy doing that.”

It took you two years to find a mere 200 study subjects, even though NARTH’s Dr. Joseph Nicolosi was trying to influence the study by begging clients to participate. Why do you think it was so difficult for NARTH to provide you with “ex-gays”?
“He [Nicolosi] just didn’t have many patients who could really claim that they had changed.”

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) is still misusing your study and a video featuring you remains prominently placed on the group’s website. Would you like to address PFOX?
“I ask that PFOX stop showing this video. This is quite misleading. I had no way, really, of knowing when I examined any particular subject whether they really had changed or whether they were deceiving themselves or even outright lying when they claimed that they had changed. So, please don’t show this [video] to anyone.”

The retraction of your study must be very upsetting to anti-gay organizations.
“I’m curious as to whether they have said anything or how they live with the fact that the one study that they have always been citing has now been taken away from them. I would think that’s a pretty rough place to be in.”
Is the “Ex-Gay” Industry capable of unbiased research on homosexuality?
“The people who are pushing the ‘ex-gay’ idea are so full of hatred for homosexuality, really, that I don’t think they can respond in an ethical way.”

What are your thoughts on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)?
“If people can recognize that being a homosexual is something that cannot be changed and that efforts to change are going to be disappointing and can be harmful, if that can be more widely known that would be very good. If somebody is troubled that they are homosexual, what they ought to do is face up to that and so something so they are more comfortable living with the way they are, because any attempt to change is misguided.”

Then there is this from The Advocate:

California moved one step closer today to outlawing any effort to change a minor's sexual orientation through therapy.

The state Senate approved a bill from Sen. Ted Lieu that would ban forms of so-called reparative therapy on anyone under the age of 18, according to San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. It still must be approved by the state Assembly and then by Gov. Jerry Brown, and if it is, then California would become the first state to crack down on therapy that the American Psychological Association has warned is damaging to patients.

The ban would be in effect regardless of whether a parent wanted to allow the therapy for their son or daughter.

Hopefully, the day will come when all of the fraudulent "ministries" are outlawed and those who try to defraud the ignorant and gullible will be subject to civil suits and/or criminal prosecution for peddling these lies and fraudulent "cures."

Truth Wins Out Files Defamation Lawsuit Against PFOX

In my opinion, one of the most pernicious and deliberate lies that the foes of LGBT civil equality disseminate is the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and that LGBT individuals can "change" their sexual orientation if they but want to do so. Hence the Christianist funded "ex-gay" ministries which - in my opinion - prey upon tortured LGBT individuals and their families while creating a mechanism to endeavor to convince ill-informed politicians and others that LGBT citizens deserve no legal protections because they could be heterosexual (i.e, translate to mean "normal") but for their own refusal to change. None of the legitimate medical and mental health associations agree with Christianist "ex-gay" ministries and their cheerleaders. And increasingly even former proponents of the "change" myth such as Warren Throckmorton are conceding that true "change," if it happens at all, is a rarity. Yet, the Christianist funded "ex-gay" organizations continue to peddle what I view as worse than snake oil.

The dissemination of lies about the effectiveness of reparative therapy is bad enough, but some of the "ex-gay" cheerleaders go even further and attack and defame those who merely work to expose their dishonesty. It is this context that the president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, Inc. ("PFOX") in a television broadcast accused Wayne Besen (pictured at right) - who I have known for over 8 years - of seeking to have the president of PFOX killed and then subsequently escalated the outrage by claiming that Besen had been fired by the Human Rights Campaign ("HRC") for misconduct. Both claims are untrue and HRC has confirmed the the falsity of the statement that Besen was fired in writing. Because PFOX has refused to withdraw the statements and, if anything has expanded on its untrue statements, Wayne Besen has filed a defamation law suit against PFOX and its president. Here are highlights from the Truth Wins Out press release:

Truth Wins Out announced today that it has filed a defamation lawsuit against Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) and its President Greg Quinlan after he claimed on a television show that Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen tried to have him killed. The lawsuit (Case number: CL12000008-00) was filed in Virginia’s Northumberland County Circuit Court where PFOX is headquartered. Norfolk attorney Michael Hamar will represent TWO.

“We will not let PFOX’s outright lies and bizarre fabrications go unanswered,” said TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Greg Quinlan’s false allegations were deviously designed to damage my reputation and that of Truth Wins Out. We look forward to vigorously challenging Quinlan’s delusional version of events and debunking them in a court of law.”

On October 7, 2011 Quinlan was interviewed on News-Plus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). At the 10:38 mark of the show, Quinlan fabricates an alleged hit on his life. According to Quinlan:

“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”

TWO sent PFOX a letter offering the group an opportunity to apologize for their smear campaign. Unfortunately, instead of taking the high road and expressing regret for his false and misleading charges, Quinlan angrily lashed out . . . . In Quinlan’s bizarre response, he defended his original character assassination with a second calumny that will be included in the defamation lawsuit. PFOX’s President falsely claimed that Besen was fired from the Human Rights Campaign, where he served as Deputy Director of Communications from 1998-2003. In reality, Besen left HRC after five years on good terms to pursue a new career opportunity.

Yes, yours truly is representing Wayne Besen and it will be interesting to see how the case plays out. Northumberland County, Virginia - where PFOX purports to have its principal office - is not the most progressive of areas (of course, the term "progressive" and Virginia in general are mutually exclusive) but the facts are the facts and the burden will quickly shift to PFOX to try to justify the untrue statements made against Mr. Besen.

Undercover at Marcus Bachmann's Clinic

With GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty joining the ranks of the science deniers on the issue of the changeability of sexual orientation yesterday on Meet the Press, The Advocate has a timely article by John Becker (pictured at left) who went under cover to one of Marcus Bachmann's "Christian counseling" centers and confirmed that Michele Bachmann's lisping, mincing husband is peddling the "ex-gay" snake oil - despite his public denials to the contrary. Pawlenty's effort to deny what ever legitimate mental health association has to say on reparative demonstrates how either he (and those like him) is an ignorant moron or he's so obsessed with prostituting himself to the rabid far right of the GOP base that he has thrown aside every shred of honesty and integrity. First this from Think Progress on Pawlenty's batshitery:

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In fact, there is no dispute among health professionals. All major medical professional organizations agree that sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed, from gay to straight or otherwise. The American Psychological Association, the world’s largest association of psychological professionals, describes sexual orientation as “a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors.” There is considerable evidence to suggest that biology, “including genetic or inborn hormonal factors,” plays a significant role in a person’s sexuality.

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Pawlenty’s comments underscore the reality that promoting ex-gay therapy and the idea that homosexuality can be changed or denied (which it cannot) are at the root of all anti-gay perspectives. The broad consensus of scientists have condemned such notions — and the kinds of discrimination Pawlenty has protected — for decades.

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Turning to Becker's experience at Bachmann's snake oil market, here are some highlights from Becker's piece in The Advocate:
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TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen decided that we were going to obtain that verification: I was to go undercover to Bachmann & Associates in Lake Elmo, MN posing as someone seeking counseling for homosexuality, schedule as many appointments as I could, and document what went on during my appointments with hidden cameras.

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When I called Bachmann & Associates to schedule my initial appointment, I told the receptionist who answered the phone that I was struggling with homosexuality. She referred me to Timothy Wiertzema, a counselor at the clinic, and scheduled me for a June 23 appointment.

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When asked why I came in for counseling, I said that I had been struggling with homosexuality for a long time and tried a lot of things, up to and including suicide, to make it go away – exactly how my 16-year-old self would have responded. I said that I was upset: this struggle has lasted for so long that I started to wonder if I was doing it right and decided to seek outside help.

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In later sessions he would say that he “…think[s] it’s possible to be totally free of [same-sex attraction]. For sure.” and that “It’s happened! It really has happened to people.” I was never told that every professional medical and mental health association rejects “ex-gay” therapy including the American Medical Association, American PsychologicalAssociation, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Counseling Association, or that the treatment I was seeking was totally unsupported by research. I was never informed about possible alternative treatment options such as gay-affirmative therapy. Nobody ever told me about the potential for harmful side effects like depression and suicidal thoughts. . . . . I was never given nor asked to sign any kind of informed consent document that disclosed the above information about “ex-gay” therapy.

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I was told that whenever I saw an attractive woman I just needed to reinforce in my mind that she was, indeed, attractive, and that God made her this way and made me to notice her. After all, “God designed our eyes to be attracted to the woman’s body, to be attracted to everything, to be attracted to her breasts.” Further, according to Wiertzema, “We’re all heterosexuals, but we have different challenges.” Attraction to the same sex “is there, and it’s real, but at the core value, in terms of how God created us, we’re all heterosexual.”

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Based on my experiences at Bachmann & Associates, there can no longer be any doubt that Marcus Bachmann’s state- and federally-funded clinic endorses and practices reparative therapy aimed at changing a gay person’s sexual orientation, despite the fact that such “therapy” is widely discredited by the scientific and medical communities. It’s time for Michele and Marcus Bachmann to stop denying, dodging, and stonewalling. They owe it to all Americans to provide a full and honest explanation for their embrace of these dangerous and fraudulent practices.

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Obviously, there need to be answers as to how and why the State of Minnesota is allowing Bachmann's clinics to engage in "treatment" that is labeled as unethical by all the major medical and mental health authorities. At the same time, the mainstream media needs to cover this issue and make it clear just how far out of the mainstream both Marcus and Michele Bachmann are in fact.

Under Cover Investigation Confirms Marcus Bachmann's Clinics Practice Ex-Gay Therapy

I'm sorry if of late I seem obsessed with Michele Bachmann and her lisping and mincing husband, but the two nut cases just keep doing things that make it hard to ignore their lunacy - especially given their vitriolic statements against LGBT citizens. Now, as The Nation is reporting, Truth Win's Out did an under cover investigation and has confirmed that Marcus Bachmann's "Christian counseling" clinics engage in reparative therapy - yep, the therapy that the American Psychological Association has declared to be unethical because it doesn't work and can do serious harm to patients who find themselves unable to "change." Like most of the quacks that practice this snake oil therapy, it appears Bachmann and his clinics are NOT licensed even though Minnesota law requires licensing for psychologists - which is what Bachmann holds himself out to be - family therapists, and counselors. One has to wonder what loop whole this disingenuous operation is using to avoid the state licensing requirements. And, of course, those who are so stridently anti-gay usually are the self-loathing closet cases. The obvious question is: can the country afford to have anyone who subscribes to such crazy, discredited bullshit in high office? Here are highlights from the story in The Nation:
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In the summer of 2004, Andrew Ramirez, who was just about to enter his senior year of high school, worked up the nerve to tell his family he was gay. His mother took the news in stride, but his stepfather, a conservative Christian, was outraged. “He said it was wrong, an abomination, that it was something he would not tolerate in his house,” Ramirez recalls. A few weeks later, his parents marched him into the office of Bachmann & Associates, a Christian counseling center in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, which is owned by Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus. From the outset, Ramirez says, his therapist—one of roughly twenty employed at the Lake Elmo clinic—made it clear that renouncing his sexual orientation was the only moral choice. “He basically said being gay was not an acceptable lifestyle in God’s eyes,” Ramirez recalls. According to Ramirez, his therapist then set about trying to “cure” him. Among other things, he urged Ramirez to pray and read the Bible, particularly verses that cast homosexuality as an abomination, and referred him to a local church for people who had given up the “gay lifestyle.” He even offered to set Ramirez up with an ex-lesbian mentor.
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There has been a great deal of speculation that his [Marcus Bachmann] clinics, which have received $161,000 in state and federal funding, try to cure homosexuality—and the chatter has only grown louder since his comments likening gays to “barbarians” who “need to be educated” and “disciplined” surfaced in the blogosphere last week. Marcus Bachmann has denied these allegations. “That’s a false statement,” he replied when the Minneapolis City Pages asked if his clinic tried to cure gays. And until now there was no firm evidence to back these allegations up. But information obtained by The Nation suggests that Bachmann & Associates therapists do, in fact, try to change sexual orientation. It also sheds new light on the Bachmanns’ embrace of the controversial ex-gay movement and related psychological approaches, which portray homosexuality as a disease to be rooted out.
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In late June, a Truth Wins Out activist named John Becker donned two hidden cameras—one embedded in a wristwatch—and attended five treatment sessions at Bachmann’s Lake Elmo clinic. Becker, who is openly gay, presented himself as a committed Christian who was struggling with homosexuality. The video he collected seems to confirm Ramirez’s allegations that staff members at Bachmann & Associates try to change sexual orientation. Becker’s therapist (another of Marcus Bachmann’s employees) repeatedly assured him that homosexuality could be overcome. “
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To curb Becker’s gay impulses, the therapist urged him to pray and read Scripture and suggested Becker “develop” his masculinity. He also encouraged him to find a “heterosexual guy” to act as act as an AA-type sponsor. Later, he referred Becker to Outpost Ministries, a church that helps “the sexually and relationally broken”—in other words, homosexuals—“find healing and restoration through relationship with Jesus Christ.”
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Both Bachmann & Associates and the Bachmann campaign declined to comment for this story, though in the past Marcus Bachmann has insisted his clinics don’t push people to change their sexual orientation. “If someone comes in a homosexual and they want to stay a homosexual, I don’t have a problem with that,” he told the Minneapolis City Pages. Nevertheless, the techniques the therapist at his Lake Elmo clinic used were typical of so-called reparative therapies, which cast homosexuality as a mental disorder and see conversion to heterosexuality as the only healthy outcome.
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[T]he [APA] group concluded that there was scant evidence that sexual orientation could be changed. What’s more, it found that attempting to do so could cause depression and suicidal tendencies among patients. Based on these findings, in 2009 the APA voted to repudiate reparative therapy by a margin of 125 to 4.
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The obvious conclusions - beside the fact that BOTH Bachmann's are crazy - are (1)that Marcus Bachmann is a liar when it comes to telling the truth about his ex-gay therapy practices, and (2) state licensing requirements need to be imposed on quack operations like Bachmann's clinics to protect the public.

Apple Appears to have Pulled Exodus iPhone Application

UPDATED: As the tweet above confirms, Apple apparently decided being in bed with an anti-gay propaganda affiliate of the Christian Right that pushes therapies condemned by the American Psychological Association and other legitimate mental health and medical experts was bad for business.

No company announcement seems to have been released, but it looks as if Apple has realized it made a huge mistake getting involved with Exodus International - an organization that attempts to "cure" gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The move may have been triggered by the fact that more than 144,000 people have reportedly signed a petition started by Truth Wins Out demanding that Apple remove the offensive iPhone app launched by Exodus International. As Wayne Besen noted, "This is not a question of free speech, but stopping a virulently anti-gay organization from peddling false speech at the expense of vulnerable LGBT youth."

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As more details are available, this post will be updated.

Misquoted Scientist Calls on Apple to Drop Exodus Application

Speaking of liars, University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Gary Remafedi (pictured at right) has called on Apple to drop its application for ex-gay myth marketer Exodus International. Professor Remafedi is incensed because he maintains that Exodus and the application distorts his research as supporting the argument that homosexuality is a behavior that can be changed. It is actually a common accusation made over and over against the "ex-gay" industry. When legitimate research doesn't support the religious based agenda of these "ministries," they simply twist and misquote actual research to make it sound like the "change myth" and "cure myth" are based in scientific fact as opposed to solely religious belief. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has details. Here are highlights:
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Dr. Gary Remafedi, director of the Youth and AIDS Projects and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, sent a letter Monday to Apple founder Steven Jobs and its interim CEO, Tim Cook, about the Exodus International app.
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In his letter to Apple's top executives, Remafedi wrote that the app "erroneously cites my research in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed. ... Associating my work with that of the ex-gay ministry and other unfounded treatments is professionally injurious and grievous."

Remafedi, in a telephone interview Monday afternoon, said Exodus' app falsely cites his research as saying the young people are "confused" about their sexual orientation. He said he has challenged many misrepresentations of his work over the years and has had "100 percent" success in doing so.
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One can only hope that Apple will value its image sufficiently to make it drop the foul Exodus application. Here is the text of Dr. Remafedi's letter to Apple via Truth Wins Out:
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Dear Messrs. Jobs and Cook,
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This message serves as a request to remove the Exodus International application from Apple’s iphone offerings because the website content is objectionable. It erroneously cites my research (Remafedi 1992) in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed.
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Various professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental or physical condition. Programs which aim to change sexual orientation have been opposed because they are unwarranted, ineffective, unethical, and harmful.
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Exodus’s website features an article (Buchanan 2010) which makes erroneous statements and conclusions and attributes them to Remafedi (1992). Statements were made to the effect to that many teens are confused about their sexual orientation and that sexual orientation is amenable to change. Further, associating my work with that of the ex-gay ministry and other unfounded treatments is professionally injurious and grievous.
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As a savvy consumer, I understand that corporations market phones both by offering a wide array of applications and by appealing to niche audiences like Exodus’s. In turn, Exodus applies the Apple “4+” smartphone application rating to its own website as an imprimatur (see http://exodusinternational.org/).
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From my perspective, the risk of offending and harming consumers by providing a platform for erroneous information about an important health and social topic far outweighs the potential financial gain. Arguably, corporations have no affirmative responsibility to vendors under the First Amendment of the Constitution, but they are accountable for the quality and consequences of their products.
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For the aforementioned reasons, I ask Apple to revoke the 4+ rating and delete the Exodus application from the iphone’s menu of applications.
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Respectfully,
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Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H.

Blogger and Activist Meet Up

While in New York City I received a telephone call from Lyndon at Focus on the Rainbow - one of the first bloggers I spoke with other than online - and then ran in to Nelson from NG Blog in the West Village. Then by sheer coincidence we ran into Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out and his partner on Saturday evening at a bar named Pieces just down the street from our friend's apartment we stay at when in NYC. Wayne and I first met back on July, 2003, when we worked together to out former national ex-gay poster boy Michael Johnston who was sleeping around with men in the Hampton Roads area - where Johnston is originally from - under and assumed name. Meanwhile his videos and books claiming that he was "cured" from homosexuality by accepting Jesus were being sold by all the leading professional Christian organizations.

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Both Lyndon and Nelson offered me encouragement in dealing with the post divorce war nightmare and had the chance to speak with the boyfriend as well. Lyndon - who began blogging at about the same time I did - in particular has been a loyal cyberspace friend and often drops me e-mails or forwards some outrageous story that he or one of our e-mail network contacts stumbles across.

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As for Wayne and Jaime (who is a sweetheart), we had a great visit catching up and by the time it was over we'd invited them to come down and visit the various historical attractions in southeast Virginia. The Internet and blogging are amazing in terms of the power provided to meet people and disseminate information. Blogging has truly helped keep me sane (or semi-sane) during some of my darkest times over the last two and a half years.

Legal Liability of Ex-Gay Programs

Truth Wins Out and Lambda Legal have teamed up to produce a booklet, 'Ex-Gay & The Law', that looks at the possible harmful effects of reparative therapy utilized by "ex-gay ministries" - which is condemned by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. More importantly, the booklet lays out steps those harmed by ex-gay ministries and their "counselors" should consider taking, including one or more lawsuits against the "ministry" and its counselors. Theories of recover of damages may vary based on the facts and laws of the state where the "therapy" is administered.

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By holding ex-gay "ministries financially liable for the harm they do through successful lawsuits will do much to put an end to these bogus programs and also educate the larger public as to the witchdoctor like practices that occur in these so-called ministries. The fact that (1) reparative therapy is condemned by the legitimate experts and (2) the ex-gay ministries are aware of the position of legitimate experts sets the stage for possible negligence law suits and/or complaints against any licensed professionals who put religious fanaticism over scientific knowledge and engage in therapy regimes condemned by the true experts. A copy of the booklet is available here. Here are some highlights:

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Anyone who may have been harmed by any sort of counselor or therapist should contact Lambda Legal or a local lawyer as soon as possible. All states have a “statute of limitations” which limits the length of time for filing a lawsuit. These periods vary greatly, and may have exceptions if the patient is a minor. To best protect your legal rights, it is very important to consult an attorney sooner rather than later.

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Whether or not someone can take legal action against an “ex-gay” counselor or facility will depend on factors including the law of the state where you met with the practitioner and the specific facts. There are many reasons “ex-gay” programs or practitioners may be liable for harm. If representatives of an “ex-gay” program make false claims, they may have committed fraud, breach of contract, or violated state laws against unfair business practices. If a practitioner does not adequately describe the potential harms of an “ex-gay” program, he or she may be liable for violating the duty to get consent from a person seeking care. If a practitioner is not qualified to provide therapy for a specific mental health condition and fails to refer to a qualified doctor or psychologist, he or she may be liable for negligence or violating rules governing professional licenses. If a counselor threatens to “out” you to your community if you decide you do not want to continue therapy, he or she may be liable under state law. If a practitioner tells third parties about details of your life or your same-sex attractions, that could
violate your right to privacy.

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It is impossible to list all of the factors that might be important in evaluating whether or not someone harmed by an “exgay” program or practitioner may be able to sue in court or take other legal actions, so it is important to consult an attorney. Minors as well as adults have legal rights, including the right to consult with an attorney.

Lies in the Name of God

Truth Wins Out, an organization run by my friend Wayne Besen - which has in the past featured a video of yours truly discussing fallen ex-gay, Michael Johnston - is taking out a full-page ad (above - click to enlarge) in the Salt Lake Tribune today in order to counter the Becket Fund's 'No Mob Veto' ad that ran last week in the New York Times. The Becket Fund ad, signed by a group of religious leaders known for their anti-gay views, falsely pretends that the Christianist leaders are friendly towards Mormons and seeks to characterized peaceful protests against Proposition 8 as a form of mob violence against religion. Wayne's comment on the backers of the Becket Fund ad are as follows:

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“These anti-gay activists are crying wolf on the Proposition 8 protests, but they actually are a wolf in sheep’s clothing that preaches religious tolerance while practicing the most defamatory form of religious bigotry. We refuse to permit this orchestrated campaign to rewrite history, nor will we allow some of the most notorious Mormon bashers in America to pose as friends of the Latter-day Saints."

Soap Opera GOP Convention

I suffered through a part of the GOP Convention coverage last night under my "know your enemy theory" and like many other viewers was struck by the fact that, other than trying to defend the selection of Sarah Plain as the VP candidate, the convention seemed out of touch with reality and seemed plagued by empty seats. Meanwhile, today the Sarah Palin thread is dominating the news and to me demonstrating to me that John McCain "shot from the hip" in selecting her without first doing his homework. The claims of sexism and such are merely a smoke screen to try to distract attention from the fact that McCain acted recklessly in making his selection with the result that he's now doing non-stop damage control.

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Other than statements emanating from the RNC, McCain campaign and Christianist organizations, just about all of the coverage raises questions about Palin and/or her religious extremism (such as her church's belief that gays can be "cured" ). More and more it looks like the Christianists may have forced McCain's hand in making the selection based on the orgasms they are having over her selection. One can only imagine the General Hospital quality of the convention given that young Bristol Palin and her beau, Levi Johnson, will be in attendance. Here are some highlights from Maureen Dowd's take on the Palin selection:

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For many years, reality was out of vogue with Republicans. They ignored the reality of Iraq and Katrina, of Pakistan and Osama bin Laden. . . . Now reality, in all its messy, crazy, funky glory, has flooded the party, in the comely, crackling form of Sarah Palin. Unable to stop the onslaught of wild soap opera storylines erupting from the Palin family and the Alaska wilderness, McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt offered caterwauling reporters a new mantra: “Life happens.”

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Indeed, it does. Only four days into her reign as John McCain’s “soul mate,” or “Trophy Vice,” as some bloggers are calling her, on the ticket known as “Maverick Squared,” Palin, the governor of Alaska, has already accrued two gates (Troopergate and Broken-watergate), a lawyer (for Troopergate), a future son-in-law named Levi (a high school ice hockey player, described by New York magazine as “sex on skates”), and a National Enquirer headline about the “Teen Prego Crisis” with 17-year-old daughter Bristol.

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Since John McCain played craps first and sent the vetters to Alaska afterward, Republicans have been defending Governor Palin by saying that, while she has no foreign policy experience — except, as Cindy McCain pointed out, that “Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia” — she has a lot of domestic policy experience as a supercharged P.T.A. and hockey mom.

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When McCain gets in trouble, he pulls out the P.O.W. card. Now Republicans are pulling out the sexist card. Hillary cried sexism to cover up her incompetent management of her campaign, and now Republicans have picked up that trick. But when you use sexism as an across-the-board shield for any legitimate question, you only hurt women. And that’s just another splash of reality.

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As for Palin's desire to censor libraries and the embrace of ex-gay ministries by Palin's church, Time magazine has the following highlight (I recommend reading the whole article since it underscores the recklessness of McCain's selection of Palin:

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[A]s mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

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"We like to call this the Bible Belt of Alaska," says Cheryl Metiva, head of the local chamber of commerce. Churches proliferate in Wasilla today, and among the largest and most influential is the Wasilla Bible Church, where the Palins worship.

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At the 11:15 a.m. Sunday service, hundreds sit in folding chairs, listening to a 20-minute sermon about the Book of Malachi and singing along to alt-rock praise songs. The only sign of culture warring in the whole production is an insert in the day's program advertising an upcoming Focus on the Family conference on homosexuality in Anchorage called Love Won Out. The group promises to teach attendees how to "respond to misinformation in our culture" and help them "overcome" homosexuality.

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Here's what ex-gay critic, Wayne Besen, has to say about Daddy Dobson's disingenuous Love Won Out program run by ex-gays for pay:

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NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out expressed deep concern today after learning that Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s church appears to support so-called “ex-gay” ministries. These programs that aim to “pray away the gay” are ineffective and have harmed thousands of gay and lesbian people. TWO urged the media to ask Palin if she supports such programs and what her views are on this topic.

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“We are deeply concerned that Sarah Palin may share the extreme and medically unsound view that gay and lesbian people can and should be cured,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “We call on Palin to express her views on this issue so we have a clear idea of where she stands. We hope this is an area where she disagrees with her church.”

Truth Wins Out - Exposing the Ex-gay Lies

My blogger friend, Vanyel, sent me a message this morning telling me to check out a post that referred to a site he thought might be of interest to me. Ironically, it turns out that the site is Truth Wins Out (http://www.truthwinsout.org/) which is headed up by my friend Wayne Besen and which is now utilizing the talents of Mike Airhart, the founder of Ex-Gay Watch (http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/), who will be posting blog entries and other news and information on the TWO web site. As some readers know, I got to know Wayne back in the summer of 2003 while working with a client who had unknowingly had sexual relations with the fraudulent "ex-gay," Michael Johnston. Ulimately, in August, 2003, Southern Voice did a story exposing Johnston and he was whisked off to Pure Life Ministries where he remains more or less in hiding. Subsequently, I was lucky enought to have the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Mike Airhart and his partner while visiting friends in Washington, DC. Between Wayne and Mike, TWO has a dedicated team working to put forth the truth about "ex-gay" programs and propaganda.

More recently, Wayne interviewed me about the efforts of some of the anti-gay Christianist organizations that are trying to rehabilitate Johnston and selling materials by Johnston even though they know he is a fraud. The video of the interview can be seen on TWO's website. WARNING: I look like frigging hell - in bad need of a haircut and looking very tired - in the harsh lighting. But I digress. One of the things that TWO is seeking is volunteer efforts to further expose the dishonesty of the ex-gay ministries and/or the fact that they do NOT utilize licensed professionals with legitimate backgrounds in medicine and/or mental health issues. Following up on TWO's request, I decided to check out a local "ministry," Sought Out, Inc., located in nearby Virginia beach which is an affiliate of Exodus International. I once knew a guy who had gone through their program with less than a good outcome: he was still gay, but as a result of all the religious guilt that had been beaten into him, he became an alcoholic. So, I visited the ministry's website and not surprisingly, it program is religion based. First, it puts forth a statement of the following beliefs among others:

The factors which produce a situation conducive to homosexual acts or a person receptive to homosexuality are often beyond that person's control, but the homosexual act is a conscious, volitional act of sin. Albeit a sin, it is equally forgivable in God's redemptive plan as any other sin.

God is able to provide grace and strength to empower a person wanting to cease an addictive, self-defeating, or homosexual lifestyle and to restore that person to a right relationship with God, with others, and with one's own self.

The applicantion for would be participants also contains a few interesting questions that indicate the program's obsession with sin and sexual matters:

Have you or anyone in your family been involved with Satanic Ritual Abuse?

What specific areas of support and/or instruction do you desire?
_______Compulsive masturbation
_______Homosexual brokenness
_______Pornography
_______Compulsive sexual behavior
At what point in your life did you consider yourself a Christian?

Not surprisingly, the organization lacks legitimate licensed mental health care professionals. Unlike many such "ministries," Sought Out at least is somewhat honest in being up front about telling would be participants everything that it is not (and that results are not assured). It also covers its ass by making applicants sign a release form which among other things contains the following:

I am aware that my participation in the SALT program is not a substitute for psychiatric treatment, psychotherapy, therapeutic counseling or any other form of professional therapy. I am also aware that my participation in the SALT program is not a substitute for my active involvement in a local Christian church body of my choice. I am voluntarily participating in the SALT program with full knowledge of these facts, and I accept complete responsibility for my own psychological, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being.

I acknowledge that my emotional vulnerability may increase along with the desire to act out new or old compulsive behaviors. In order to maintain a safe environment, we ask that you refrain from casual, social contact with other group members for the twenty-week program. Exchanging phone numbers within the small group is encouraged for accountability purposes, unless there is the possibility of a sexual pull between two group members.

Sought Out does, in fact, have referral links to parties that are actually licensed in mental health care. However, even such referral soucres all make it clear from their respective websites that "Christian" values and outlook predominate as opposed to safe, sane mental health care views. Thus, why it is importnat for the APA and other professional groups to toughen their policies to bar religion based reparative therapy efforts.

Truth Wins Out Launches Video Series Exposing Ex-Gay Frauds

My friend Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out ("TWO") are doing a great job at exposing the false and utterly disingenuous claims of the ex-gay “ministries,” which in my opinion are motivated by (1) the money they extract from desperate, trusting and uninformed families with gay children, and (2) the need to maintain the myth that sexual orientation is a choice for the political purposes of the Christian Right in their opposition of LGBT rights and hate crimes protections based on sexual orientation. In short, in my opinion, their motivation is based on cynical political manipulation and greed with little or no regard regard for the damage done to individuals and families. As an interviewee in one of the TWO film clips (I certainly do NOT look my best - Wayne, next time let's use better lighting!) concerning my representation of a client in connection with unmasking prominent ex-gay, Michael Johnston, as a fraud, I fully support exposing these programs. Hopefully, the day will come when they will be shut down by legitimate mental health regulators. I know a number of individuals who were placed in these programs by their families and most have yet to get over the emotional and psychological damage done to them as a result. Here is what Truth Wins Out has to say about the video series and my interview (http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/truthwinsoutorg-introduces-seven-new-videos-leading-up-to-march-3-launch-of-dynamic-website/):

NEW YORK – TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) introduced seven new Internet videos today featuring a noted clinical psychologist, the attorney who represented a man who had possibly been exposed to HIV from an “ex-gay” leader and several ex-gay survivors. Each week leading up to the March 3 launch of TruthWinsOut.org’s updated website, the organization will release new educational videos addressing the “ex-gay” myth from unique angles.

In Aug. 2003, TruthWinsOut.org founder Wayne Besen received a call from Virginia attorney Michael Hamar. He had a client who believed he may have been infected with HIV from ‘ex-gay’ leader Michael Johnston. Johnston was the founder of National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day. He was Rev. Jerry Falwell’s personal ex-gay leader. Johnston also starred in a video for the American Family Association, “It’s Not Gay, and an ad for Coral Ridge Ministries. Additionally, he partnered with anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who paraded Johnston around and hawked his tale of change. In this exclusive TWO video, we interview Virginia attorney Michael Hamar, who represented one of Johnston’s victims.

The unmasking of Michael Johnston was previously reported in the Southern Voice and its sister publications: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2003/8-8/news/national/exgay.cfm

TRUTH WINS OUT RELEASES 'EX-GAY = EX-WIFE' VIDEO THAT DETAILS HOW EX-GAY MARRIAGES LEAD TO HEARTBREAK AND DIVORCE

My friend Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out is releasing a new video to combat the false message put out by the Christianist funded "ex-gay" programs. I am setting out Wayne's press release in full because it not only addresses the failed marriages of ex-gays, but also the failed marriages of other LGBT individuals who try to conform to societal and religious dictates only to meet with ultimate failure. I know of what I speak - I am one of them and my children are collateral damage.

Groups That Encourage Marriage As A Cure For Homosexuality Destroy Families And Treat Spouses and Children As Collateral Damage

NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out released an exclusive National Coming Out Day video today, "Ex-Gay = Ex-Wife," that features the stories of four courageous women whose families fell apart after their closeted husbands came out. This video is the latest in TWO's "Talking Truth" campaign and highlights the harm of ex-gay programs from a unique perspective - that of the spouse who gets left behind when the promised "cure" does not endure.

"Ex-gay programs love to show the wedding photos, but they never show you the divorce papers that result from such ill-conceived marriages," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director, Wayne Besen. "These programs hold marriage up as the Holy Grail to heterosexuality, but the truth is, these marriages wholly fail, leaving shattered lives and broken families."

Bonnie Kaye, an author and director of the organization www.GayHusbands.com, has dedicated her life to counseling women after the demise of her own marriage. She blames anti-gay activists, such as Alan Chambers of Exodus International and James Dobson of Focus on the Family, for creating such miserable and doomed marriages.

"Alan Chambers and James Dobson are destroying the lives of families, not helping them...It's not a choice, people are who they are. Learn to love them and learn to embrace them and help them love themselves so they don't have to go and get married to be somebody they're not," said Kaye.

In the video, Nancy Davis shares how her former father-in law, a psychologist, recommended that his son meet a woman, get married and lead a straight life. "I feel like I was used, I was like an innocent lamb lead to slaughter," Davis said. The pain of such marriages can linger, long after the divorce is final. "Many of us are severely damaged...the spouses and children end up being the collateral damage," said Carol Silverman of the Straight Spouse Network, who was divorced after being married for nearly three decades.

Ignoring the failure and destruction all around them, ex-gay groups arrogantly and selfishly continue to use such families as pawns in their divisive culture war. "These organizations that try to convince people that they can be cured need to be stopped," asserted Tracy Rosenberg, who divorced her husband after almost 20 years.

"This video is a powerful reality check and a warning for those who would marry thinking that it will help them go from gay to straight," said Besen. "We are now looking to tell the stories of husbands whose marriages ended when their ex-gay wives came out as lesbians."