It's Time For Virginia to Ban Conversion Therapy

For years bills have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly to ban gay "conversion therapy" - a practice condemned by every legitimate medical and mental health association in the country - and every year Republicans kill the bills in committee and prevent a full vote on the bills. Meanwhile, LGBT youths and young adults are subjected to psychological - and  on occasions, physical - torture. While the Virginia GOP continues to prostitute itself to far right Christian extremists (particularly those at The Family Foundation, Virginia's leading hate group) who support the myth that gays can "change," Virginia's licensing boards and other states are moving to ban the practice.  Click these links to submit your personal messages demanding a ban of the practice in Virginia.  Make sure to include your name & location! Board of Psychology, Board of Counseling, Board of Social Work   At the legislative level, Colorado became the 18th state to ban the dangerous and unethical practice as The New Civil Rights Movement reports: 

Today, Colorado House Bill 19-1129: Prohibit Conversion Therapy for Minors, goes into effect.

Sponsored by Representatives Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, and Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, and Senator Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, HB19-1129 bans a state-licensed medical or mental health care provider from engaging in the discredited, harmful practice of conversion therapy on a patient under 18 years of age in order to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. A physician or mental health care provider who violates this provision engages in unprofessional conduct under the applicable professional licensing board.

Colorado is the 18th state in the country to ban conversion therapy for minors.

A version of this bill was first introduced in 2015, and was introduced every session after. All were previously sent to kill committees in the Republican-controlled Senate after passing the House. This year, the bill passed with bipartisan support in both chambers.

 Meanwhile, in North Carolina, that state's governor has signed an executive order banning the use of state funds to pay for any form of gay conversion therapy.  Not surprisingly, the usual "Christian" hate merchants are not happy since they only find satisfaction when condemning or actively harming others.  The News & Observer looks at the development:

No taxpayer money should be used for “conversion therapy” practices that treat being gay as a mental illness, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Friday when he signed a new executive order targeting the controversial therapy.

Conversion therapy is the process of trying to force LGBTQ people to change their sexual identity or preference. It can use techniques ranging from prayer to electrical shocks.  The American Psychiatric Association considers it an unethical practice with “no credible evidence” to back it.

Cooper, a Democrat, said in a tweet announcing his executive order, “Conversion therapy has been shown to pose serious health risks, and we should be protecting all of our children, including those who identify as LGBTQ, instead of subjecting them to a dangerous practice.

Executive orders only affect state government, so Cooper’s order Friday can’t stop any private practice of conversion therapy. But his order stops the state from sending any money to groups that use conversion therapy on children.

Meanwhile, Virginia has an opportunity to change Republican blockage of needed legislation by voting in a Democrat majority in the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate in November. Meanwhile, Blue Virginia describes the current status:

Since the last legislative session, the three main relevant medical boards–Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work, with the assistance of Equality Virginia and the Northam Administration, have all issued letters of guidance declaring that conversion therapy “has the potential to harm patients…and should be considered as a violation of standards of practice.” 

But there is more work to be done, and that includes getting these licensing boards to support a complete ban on the practice. The licensing boards are now accepting comments from the public on whether to ban conversion therapy. Equality Virginia has a complete set of talking points and links to the public comment portals here. Please visit before August 7th to get your comments in!

Again, go to the portal and demand a total ban of conversion therapy.  Be assured that hate groups like The Family Foundation will be lobbying to block any ban.  Your action is needed. 

UK Considering a Ban on Fraudulent "Gay Conversion" Therapy

One of the biggest lies - out of so very many - that Christofascists organizations continue to peddle is that on can "pray away the gay" and/or be cured of homosexuality through fraudulent "therapy" typically administered by quacks and charlatans, often hiding from regulation behind the pretense of being "Christian ministries."  Lunatic Michelle Bachmann and her closeted husband run such a program under the guise of being a "Christian counseling" center. The lie serves two purposes: (1) it rakes in lots of money, and (2) it is used to bolster the Christofascist claim that since sexual orientation is a "choice," no legal protections are needed for LGBT individuals.  True, some gays suffering from internalized homophobia and religious brainwashing will pretend - both to themselves and others - that they are "cured," but the list of those who have later admitted the lie is a long one.  The practice needs to be banned and thankfully, the United Kingdom is poised to do just that, a nationwide ban.  Here are highlights from Gay Star News:

A UK Government survey could lead to making the controversial ‘gay cure’ practice illegal, Gay Star News can reveal.

The Home Office will publish the results of a National LGBT survey later this year. It includes an analysis of how much conversion therapy is happening in the country. Previously the Government rejected calls to make the practice illegal, saying it had done enough to stop the practice. But now the Home Office will use the results to explore new measures, to stop the practice.

A government spokesperson calling ‘gay cure’ therapy ‘bogus’ tells GSN: ‘This Government is absolutely clear that being LGBT is not an illness to be cured. The practice of conversion therapy is wrong. . . . . We have already been working with the main registration and accreditation bodies for psychotherapy and counseling practitioners, including the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to put a stop to this bogus treatment."

Paul Twocock, Director of Campaigns, Policy and Research, Stonewall UK says: ‘It is good that the Government is so clear in recognizing that more needs to be done to tackle the bogus, deeply harmful practice of conversion therapy. All forms of “therapy” that attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are unethical and unacceptable. Lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are not ill.

Malta became the first country to ban ‘gay cure’ therapy in 2016. And now eleven states in the US have banned the cruel so-called ‘therapy’, including in Washington and Hawaii last week.

Raymond Buys was left starving after torture where he had to eat his own feces. Severely malnourished, dehydrated, with burns and wounds all over his body. He lay in intensive care for four weeks until he died.  He was just 15. Just 10 weeks before, the teen’s parents signed him up in 2011 for the Echo Wild Game Rangers course in South Africa in perfect health with the intention of ‘making him a man.’

Writing for Gay Star News, editor-at-large Joe Morgan says: ‘Many people believe ‘gay cure’ camps are basically full of repressed gay dudes sitting around praying all day. And then going into each others bunks to have sex. But even if you are not murdered in the attempt to make you ‘manly’, the vast majority of the people sent to these camps are vulnerable teens. ‘I shudder to think about the LGBTI teens whose families sent them to find a ‘cure’. Leaving traumatized, and later committing suicide. The number is countless.

Of course, the third reason Christofascists support these awful programs is because it helps them avoid admitting that the Bronze Age beliefs on human sexuality are simply untrue and wrong.  Harming others is preferable to threatening the fantasy world beliefs.

ILLINOIS: Governor Signs Bill Banning Ex-Gay Torture

The "ex-gay" myth and claims that sexual orientation are a choice have been among the weapons the Christofascists have used in their war against LGBT equality.  Never mind that every legitimate medical and mental health association - i.e., those not bankrolled as fronts for anti-gay "family values" organizations - condemn "ex-gay" therapy and bogus church affiliated "ministries."  Slowly states are belatedly beginning to recognize the evils and fraud perpetrated by these voodoo like ministries and unethical therapist.  Now Illinois has joined the list of states banning the practice.  Here are highlights from a the Human Rights Campaign press release:

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 217 into law, making Illinois the fifth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy. House Bill 217, which protects LGBTQ youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through these practices, which are linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide, was overwhelmingly approved by the Illinois House of Representatives and General Assembly.

The law will go into effect January 1, 2016. “We are thrilled that Illinois has joined the rapidly growing number of states leading the way to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy,” said the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) #BornPerfect Campaign Coordinator and Staff Attorney Samantha Ames. “Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain. Most importantly, Illinois kids can now rest easy in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or coerced to undergo dangerous and discredited treatments to fix who they are. Today brings us one step closer to the day when all LGBTQ youth know they were born perfect.”

No doubt the usual hate merchants will be crying as if someone had pissed in their Cheerios.  I wish legislatures would go a step further: make subjecting one's child to ex-gay therapy a felony child abuse offense.

Complaint Filed to Challenge Illinois ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapist’s Professional License

In a move that needs to be undertaken around the country, several organizations have filed a complaint in Illinois seeking revocation of the professional license of clinical social worker (pictured at left) who practices scientifically-discredited “reparative therapy.”  Given that every legitimate mental health and medical association in the nation condemns so-called "reparative therapy" - a/k/a "pray away the gay therapy" - the thrust of the complaint is that the clinical social worker is acting unethically and endangering his clients.  Reparative therapy has recently been banned in California for those under 18 years of age and a similar ban effort may be launched in New Jersey.  Until such bans spread nationwide, complaints such as this one in Illinois may be the way to shut down the lies and snake oil peddled by the "ex-gay" ministry crowd and Christianist therapists who put their extremist personal beliefs (and money) ahead of the well being of their clients.  A copy of the complaint can be found here.  Here are highlights from Truth Wins Out:

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, and the American Psychoanalytic Association filed a complaint today against Paul McNulty, a state-licensed clinical social worker who practices scientifically-discredited “reparative therapy” in Bloomington, Illinois. The groups lodged their complaint with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the agency that oversees professional licensing in that state.

In the complaint, SPLC Deputy Legal Director Christine Sun notes that the department “has the authority ‘to suspend or revoke a license, refuse to issue or renew a license or take other disciplinary action, based upon its finding of unethical, unauthorized, or unprofessional conduct.’” She also points out that bringing bias into the patient-counselor relationship is is prohibited, concluding:

“By offering and embracing scientifically unsound and potentially harmful services that reflect prejudice, Mr. McNulty appears to be in violation of the State’s licensing standards.”

McNulty’s profile boasts of his memberships in Exodus International and NARTH and says that he is “passionate” about his therapy with males “ in the areas of relationships, sexuality, same-sex attraction, and various addictions.”

I applaud this set in shutting down these therapists and bogus "clinics" like that of Michele Bachmann and her husband "Marcia" Bachmann.  A voodoo practitioner or witch doctor has just as much likelihood of "changing" someone's sexual orientation as this therapists who in my view are nothing more than unethical, parasitic quacks who prey on gays or more frequently the parents of gays.   Not by coincidence, frequently these merchants of the ex-gay myth receive financing from virulent anti-gay organizations and SPLC registered hate groups.

Christofascists Freaking Out Over California Ban on "Ex-Gay" Therapy for Minors

It did not take long for the Christian extremists, mentally unstable and snake oil peddling charlatans of the "ex-gay" industry to begin their shrieking and sabre rattling in the wake of California's ban on the use of fraudulent "ex-gay" therapy on those under the age of 18 years.  The law was signed into law on Saturday and already the theocrats and would be inquisitors from Liberty Counsel and Liberty University (the late Jerry Falwell's parting blight on Virginia) to threaten law suits.  Personally, I think they would be utterly crazy to go the lawsuit route which would once and for all allow opponents of "ex-gay" and "reparative" therapy to document that the programs do not work, are potentially very harmful and are nothing more than a mechanism constructed for political purposes by far right groups that seek to keep alive the myth that gays can "change."  If forced to provide actually documentation of those who have "changed" all that Matt Staver (pictured above) and his cohorts will be able to provide is a small group of "ex-gay for pay" minions on "ministry" payrolls.  Think Progress looks at the uproar and flying spittle.  Here are highlights:

California Gov. Jerry Brown just signed into law a ban on ex-gay therapy for people under the age of 18, and conservative groups are already threatening to sue on behalf of the harmful treatment. Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel claimed today that the suit is necessary because he believes the law will harm children:

STAVER: The California governor and legislature are putting their own preconceived notions and political ideology ahead of children and their rights to get access to counseling that meets their needs. A number of minors who have struggled with same-sex attraction have been able to reduce or eliminate the stress and conflicts in their lives by receiving counseling of their choice which best meets their needs and religious convictions. This bill will harm children, stress families, and place counselors in a catch-22, because they will be forced to violate their licensing ethical codes.

Not only is there no research to support his claim that children benefit from ex-gay therapy, which actually adds to the stigma LGBT youth experience, but there is an epidemic of homeless youth because of family rejection, which the false promise of conversion therapy reinforces. Christopher Rosik, president of the ex-gay professional network NARTH, has promised the organization will support the legal challenge:

ROSIK: NARTH is saddened but not surprised by this unprecedented legislative intrusion and will lend its full support to the legal efforts to overturn it. [...] We fully anticipate that activist groups like Equality California will be back next year to see what further erosions of parental rights and professional judgment politicians and mental health associations will authorize in California and other states. Counselors adhering to traditional values cannot be blamed for wondering what other practices disliked by these activists are going to be targeted as “unprofessional conduct” in the future, particularly in states that have legalized same-sex marriage.

Incidentally and unsurprisingly, Staver is the featured speaker at NARTH’s convention next month. Contrary to NARTH’s delusions, offering ex-gay therapy is already “unprofessional conduct” according to psychotherapy professionals. Parents are not entitled to the right to subject their children to harmful, stigmatizing treatments; California lawmakers have made the right decision to protect young people.

California Senate Bill Aims to Limit "Ex-Gay" Therapy

In a move that ought to be emulated in legislatures all around the country - assuming that legislators such as those in the Virginia GOP truly desire to protect citizens from fraudulent and potentially extremely harmful treatments - a bill (which can be found here) has been introduced in the California that aims to (i) ban reparative therapy, a/k/a "ex-gay" therapy for individuals under the age of 18 years, and (ii) require that all reparative therapy participants be required to sign an informed consent containing a strong disclaimer.   I can already hear "Marcia" Bachman shrieking in his falsetto voice already!  Ditto for PFOX mouth piece Greg Quinlain and the snake oil merchants at NARTH.  And let's not leave out porcine blowhard Cardinal Timothy Dolan who will no doubt claim that this very necessary bill is a threat to "religious liberty."  Here are highlights from Think Progress:

A California Senate committee today advanced SB 1172, a bill that would help protect citizens from harmful, ineffective ex-gay therapy. The law does not outright ban all ex-gay therapy, but it does prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from undergoing sexual orientation change efforts. It also requires that any prospective patient sign an informed consent form that includes the following disclaimer:

Having a lesbian, gay, or bisexual sexual orientation is not a mental disorder. There is no scientific evidence that any types of therapies are effective in changing a person’s sexual orientation. Sexual orientation change efforts can be harmful. The risks include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior.

Medical and mental health associations that oppose the use of sexual orientation change efforts include the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Counseling Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

This is model legislation that applies scientific knowledge to the benefit of the general welfare. Ex-gay therapy has been debunked repeatedly and deserves the marginalization that this bill would implement.

The intention behind the therapy, as essentially admitted in NARTH’s alert email today, is to simply reinforce religious bias against homosexuality. (The same email also mistakenly described the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ted Lieu (D), as openly gay, in an apparent attempt to further bias the group’s followers.) SB 1172 is an important step forward to protect gay youth and limit the dangerous impact of such stigma.

The sooner that reparative therapy is banned nationwide and its proponents lose their licenses the better for everyone.   States routinely curtail and ban fraudulent marketing and products and that's precisely how one can best describe reparative therapy.

Federal Appeals Court Kicks Anti-Gay Jennifer Keeton to the Curb

Many readers may recall when I wrote about wingnut and Christianist martyr du jour Jennifer Keeton who was booted from the school-counseling program at Augusta State University (in Georgia) because of her anti-gay views and refusal to counsel LGBT individuals. Keeton challenged the university's action in federal district court and when down in absolute flames with the University's action being upheld. Keeton, with the help of so-called "Christian organizations defending religious liberty" appealed the district court decision the the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Once again, Keeton has gone down in flames and her expulsion upheld. Here are highlights from The Chronicle of Higher Education:

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court’s ruling against a graduate student who had sought a court order preventing Augusta State University from expelling her from its school-counseling program.

The student, Jennifer Keeton, sued the Georgia university in July 2010, saying that it had violated her rights to free speech and the free exercise of her Christian faith when it told her that, in order to stay in the program, she would have to change her beliefs about homosexuality—that it is immoral, unnatural, and a “lifestyle choice” that can be reversed through “conversion therapy.”

But in an August 2010 ruling, a federal district court disagreed with Ms. Keeton, finding that the university had sought only to have her learn to not let her personal views affect the counseling she would provide to gay and lesbian clients, a part of the practical training in the school-counseling program.

In its ruling on Friday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed with the district court, ruling that because Ms. Keeton was unlikely to prevail in her lawsuit, a court order for her at this stage was unwarranted.

The court noted that the requirements of the counseling program—needed for its continued accreditation and compliance with the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics—are similar to the rules for judges, who must apply laws even if they consider them erroneous.

“In seeking to evade the curricular requirement that she not impose her moral values on clients,” the court said, “Keeton is looking for preferential, not equal, treatment.”

Note the last paragraph. Keeton was seeking preferential rights - a/k/a special rights - as is the norm with the Christianists who want their rights and beliefs to trump all others. Kudos to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Marcia" Bachmann Demands Payment for Fraudulent "Ex-Gay" Therapy

As many may recall, earlier in the year Wayne Besen's Truth Wins Out exposed Michele Bachmann's husband Marcus - a/k/a "Marcia" because he lisps like the biggest flaming queen one could ever meet - Bachmann as promoting "ex-gay" therapy at his "clinics." These "clinics" which appear to be masquerading as religious ministries - Christian counseling centers to be exact - to circumvent licensing requirements. Oh, and then there's that little issue of the American Psychology Association defining "ex-gay" reparative therapy as being unethical. Truth Wins Out exposed the fraud taking place at the Bachmann "clinics" by sending in the very cute John Becker with a hidden video camera. The rest is history - or so we thought. "Marcia" is in a snit and demanding payment for two fraudulent sessions that Becker failed to attend. Truth Wins Out's attorney's have written Marcia a letter dated November 17, 2011, basically telling her to put her demands where the sun doesn't shine. Here are some highlights:

Dear Dr. Bachmann:

The undersigned is personal counsel for John Becker of Burlington, Vermont.

It has come to my attention that Bachmann & Associates has wrongfully billed my client Mr. Becker, representing the organization Truth Wins Out, for therapy sessions that he never attended.

More so, you have personally called my client demanding he remit immediate payment to Bachmann & Associates in the amount of $150.00 for cancelled appointments. In truth and in fact, these so called appointments were timely canceled pursuant to and in compliance with your clinic’s stated procedures.

According to Bachmann & Associates’ no-show policy, patients are assessed a $75 fee for each appointment that they miss without giving prior notification. Becker’s telephone records indicate that he called the clinic in early July to cancel his remaining sessions, giving Bachmann & Associates ample time to schedule appointments with other clients.

However, if you are persistent in this claim, and attempt to employ the collection agency you have threatened to, you should know that my firm and our associates in your jurisdiction would take legal action against you.

Specifically, and you should make no mistake about the same, we consider your therapy and practices fraudulent. We have concluded your services are dubious and questionable, not worthy of any billing at all. We consider your fees and charges part of a larger civil conspiracy to defraud vulnerable individuals.

As you know, the American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to alter one’s sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression, and self-destructive behavior.” Truth Wins Out has conclusively documented your office engaging in this discredited “therapy” while masquerading it as treatment.

If you go forward with your claim, we are prepared to show that your clinic’s presentations and practices are specious and surreptitious, unworthy of financial compensation. In furtherance of our assertion, we are going to ask the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General to investigate your policies, practices, and procedures. Specifically, we are going to ask them to evaluate the purported ‘scientific’ basis for your patently false representations that your clinic offers ‘therapeutic’ services.

We are gravely concerned that you contacted my client out of spite, because he disclosed the truth about the discredited and outmoded techniques practiced in your office, instead exposing the way you misled the public- by denying that this “therapy” was even taking place.

Please advise me that Bachmann & Associates will summarily dismiss this claim within 72 hours, or we will necessarily engage counsel and institute appropriate legal actions of our own against your firm, premised on the three legal arguments I have outlined above:

First, that my client was compliant with your business practices, albeit questionable though they are;

Second, that because your services involve a conspiracy to defraud otherwise innocent parties they constitute fraud in the inducement; and

Third, that your attempt to facilitate the collection of an unjustified debt constitutes a retaliatory and malicious prosecution, warranting attorney’s fees and court costs.

It should also be noted that some serious questions exist concerning Marcia's purported degree that would justify addressing him as "Doctor." The man, like his "clinics" is a fraud and he (with his business partner, Michele Bachmann) needs to be put out business.

Quote of the Day - Michele Goldberg Takes Down the Bachmanns

Some may think that I've focused far too much on the Michele/Marcus Bachmann reparative therapy story. However, the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and the myth that gays can "change" are the lynch pins to the Christianist message in opposition to LGBT equality on all fronts. Once the public at large realizes that being LGBT is an unchangeable and immutable characteristic, Christianist anti-gay efforts begin to crumble and all they have left in their arsenal is unadulterated religious based discrimination. Moreover, if sexual orientation is immutable, it then falls within constitutional equal protection rulings and analysis. This fact terrifies the Christianists. Michele Goldberg has some powerful statements in the Daily Beast. Here are some of the best:

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But reparative therapy is dangerous no matter how good the intentions behind it. It doesn’t work, and it exacerbates the self-loathing that leads gays and lesbians to seek it out in the first place. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “The potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient.” The American Psychological Association condemned reparative therapy in a 1997 resolution, affirming the principle that “psychologists do not make false or deceptive statements concerning...the scientific or clinical basis for...their services.”
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So Bachmann’s clinic, which has received $137,000 in Medicaid funds, is subjecting people to psychologically damaging techniques with no scientific basis. Wiertzema’s approach is not unique there. Indeed, the clinic sells copies of Janet Boynes book Called Out: A Former Lesbian’s Discovery of Freedom, which argues, “Homosexuality, like any sin, separates us from God, for He cannot tolerate sin in His presence.”
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Neither Bachmann nor many of his therapists, it’s important to note, have serious psychological training. His Ph.D. comes from the Union Institute, a Cincinnati-based correspondence school; in 2002, it was cited by the Ohio Board of Regents, which said, “Expectations for student scholarship at the doctoral level were not as rigorous as is common for doctoral work.” As Politico has reported, he’s not licensed with any of the boards that certify mental-health professionals in Minnesota, one of the few states that allows unlicensed people to practice mental-health care. Similarly, Wiertzema’s M.A. comes from Argosy University, a for-profit diploma mill.
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Why does any of this matter? Bachmann may be dishonest about his practice, but he’s not the one running for president. Yet in describing herself as a small-business owner, Michele Bachmann clearly takes partial credit for Bachmann & Associates, and so its activities reflect on her. Besides, she’s made it clear that Marcus exerts authority over her, telling one church audience that she bowed to her husband’s instructions to study tax law because “the Lord says be submissive. Wives, you are to be submissive to your husbands.” That means his character and beliefs are more germane to her candidacy than those of other political spouses. He’s the head of the woman who wants to be the head of country. He’s also a man with dubious qualifications running a clinic whose counseling techniques can ruin lives.

Michele Bachmann: Being Gay is "Part of Satan"

Fellow LGBT Blogger Summit participant Jeremy Hooper at Good As You - who's even smarter than he is cute - has once again demonstrated that he's the best when it comes to unearthing past statements and demagoguery by opponents of LGBT equality. His latest "gold strike" is a 2004 video of Michele Bachmann at a National Education Conference in the Twin Cities area in 2004. Very little has changed in Bachmann's hate and fear based extremism over the last seven years and LGBT Americans remain her whipping boy of choice. And given her husband's now documented promotion at the ex-gay myth and reparative therapy, it's not too much of a stretch to see that the 2004 anti-gay rant (see the video below) was possibly calculated to be good for the Bachmann household's bottom line financially.



Obviously, only time will tell whether or not Michele Bachmann and her lisping, mincing husband truly believe the "ex-gay" rhetoric or if they are merely laughing all the way to the bank. Either way, the situation shows that both Bachmann's are ethically challenged and that she's unfit for high office. Here are highlights of what Jeremy unearthed:
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Well there's something that's happening in our schools, and one of the reasons why I felt I was called to take up this issue, of bringing a constitutional amendment to the state of Minnesota before our people — I was the chief author in the MN state senate — is because of the profound impact this [legal recognition of same sex couples] would have on every man, every woman, every child in the state of Minnesota.
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Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle—we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It’s a very sad life. It’s part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It’s anything but gay.
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The Love Won Out conference was here not too long ago in the Twin Cities, and it’s profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female.
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this new legal enforcement of a new status—homosexuality, lesbianism, bringing it into the mainstream, if you will, giving it a legitimacy if you will -- that will impact not only the gay community, but every man, woman and child, particularly the schools."
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As Jeremy notes, the Dump Bachmann Blog has a full hour of her anti-gay batshitery> It it she goes on to say this about being LGBT:
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“It leads to the personal enslavement of individuals. Because if you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. Personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement. And that’s why this is so dangerous.
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Frankly, if there's anyone suffering from personal bondage and enslavement, it's Ms. Bachmann and her lisping husband. They are in bondage to their false and discredited medical and mental health beliefs about LGBT individuals. One can only hope that the general public will wake up and see how such vitriolic homophobia points to Bachamann's own emotionally and mentally disturbed state.

Coverage of Marcus Bachmann's Bogus Therapy Expands

Personally, I find few things sleazier than the Christianist efforts to perpetuate the "ex-gay" myth which is promoted for two reasons, the first is political and relates to the far rights efforts to dupe the public into believing that sexual orientation is a choice and, therefore that no legal protections should be afforded to LGBT citizens. The second, of course, is money. Desperate individuals and their parents are often willing to pay big bucks to "de-gay" themselves or their children. It's bad enough that individuals have been paying for this snake oil, but Bachmann & Associates has likely been letting tax payers pick up the check for the unethical and ineffective "therapy" via Medicaid reimbursements to the tune of almost $140,000.00. Kudos to my old friend Wayne Besen and John Becker of Truth Wins Out for confirming Bachmann's use of the discredited and fraudulent Fortunately, the media does seem to be smelling the blood in the water that this farce represents for Kool-Aid drinking GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Yesterday and last night saw growing coverage. Here's a sampling of the coverage. *
Anderson Cooper's 360:
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Lawrence O'Donnell's show:
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The Ed Show on MSNBC:
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Chris Mathews on Hardball:
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Needless to say, the Christofascists are big time unhappy that the fraudulent nature of reparative therapy and its proponents like the Michele and Marcus Bachmann is getting so much mainstream play. Expect more flying spittle from Peter LaBarbera and other anti-gay hate group spokespersons. The last thing they want is for the general public to realize that the ex-gay myth is a deliberate and cynical lie.

ABC New's Nightline Covers Marcus Bachmann's Ex-Gay Therapy

UPDATED: The Ed Show on MSNBC featured a segment with John Becker of Truth Wins Out where more coverage of the Bachmann's unethical and scientifically invalid "ex-gay" therapy was broadcast to the viewing public. In addition, the Los Angeles Times had an article that focused on the fraudulent therapy being conducted at Bachmann's "Christian counseling" centers.
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As the Advocate is reporting, GOP loon Michele Bachmann is ducking questions on whether or not her husband's "Christian counseling" clinic is engaged in fraudulent and unethical "ex-gay" therapy. Meanwhile, however, ABC's Nightline has picked up on the undercover investigation conducted by Wayne Besen's Truth Wins Out. Here's a video clip from the Nightline segment:



Obviously, the pressure on both Bachmann's needs to continue and more needs to be done to widen the coverage of Marcus Bachmann's questionable credentials that were discussed on this blog and elsewhere yesterday. In my view, BOTH Bachmann's are lunatic frauds who need to be 100% exposed for their extremism and dishonesty.

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.

Bill McCollum's Ethical Challenge

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Psychologists Repudiate Ex-Gay Therapy

In a major blow to the liars and demagogues among the Christianists like James Dobson who preach that "change is possible" for gays and their minions who have been making a lucrative living off of peddling snake oil and being "ex-gay for pay," the American Psychological Association issued a report that debunks "reparative therapy." In addition, the report states that mental health professions should not tell their clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments, thereby likely setting the stage for disciplinary action against therapist that continue to lie to clients and subject them to bogus therapy. Similarly, the new APA position should help Courts to dismiss the claims of Christianists that sexual orientation is not an immutable characteristic worthy of protection. And to be frank, this new report further underscores that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is based purely on RELIGIOUS based discrimination against LGBT citizens.

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The report would also seem to make it easier hence forth for those who are subjected to false ex-gay therapy to sue those who treat them with practices that have now been unequivocally condemned by the APA. Wayne Besen and I have long talked about identifying past victims of "ex-gay" ministries and suing the ministries and therapists on a tort theory based on their use of practices condemned by the APA. The APA stance should also put more pressure on rational religious denominations - rational, that automatically excludes the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention - to drop the argument that homosexuality is immoral and/or evil. The full 138 page report can be found here. Here are some highlights from Yahoo News:

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The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. Instead, the APA urged therapists to consider multiple options — that could range from celibacy to switching churches — for helping clients whose sexual orientation and religious faith conflict.

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In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA's governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called "reparative therapy" which seeks to change sexual orientation.

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The APA had criticized reparative therapy in the past, but a six-member task force added weight to this position by examining 83 studies on sexual orientation change conducted since 1960. Its comprehensive report was endorsed by the APA's governing council in Toronto, where the association's annual meeting is being held this weekend.

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The report breaks new ground in its detailed and nuanced assessment of how therapists should deal with gay clients struggling to remain loyal to a religious faith that disapproves of homosexuality.

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In dealing with gay clients from conservative faiths, says the report, therapists should be "very cautious" about suggesting treatments aimed at altering their same-sex attractions. "Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome," the report says.

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"There's no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don't work, they feel doubly terrified," Glassgold said. "You should be honest with people and say, 'This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have."

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The report also addressed the issue of whether adolescents should be subjected to therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation. Any such approach should "maximize self-determination" and be undertaken only with the youth's consent, the report said.

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I sincerely hope that the APA will put some teeth into the consequences of licensed mental health practitioners who continue to disseminate the lie that sexual orientation is something that can be changed. HRC released a press release that in part echoed my thoughts:

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"We honor a person's right to believe what they will but that right does not extend to hurting others. And, as this report aptly demonstrates, 'reparative therapy' programs are hurtful," said Harry Knox, Director of HRC's Religion and Faith Program. "It is critical for licensed professionals to understand that one can live a deeply religious life as an openly LGBT person. Many denominations, as well as individual affirming congregations and affinity groups, are leading efforts to create welcoming and safe places for adolescents and young adults to come out within a religious community. Young people need to know that there are diverse faith communities that will accept them just as they are."