The ex-gay “professional” organization NARTH has published a new document highlighting its beliefs about homosexuality as a recommendation to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to continue its policy of not permitting gay Scouts. NARTH asserts the following false conclusions:

• A person’s environment can contribute to their sexual orientation. Research suggests this isn’t really true after someone’s born.
• Children experiencing “sexual confusion” can be harmed if encouraged to identify as gay. This is only true for people like NARTH members who believe homosexuality itself is harmful.
• Engaging in homosexual behaviors carries a “significant risk for serious health consequences.” These are largely caused by anti-gay stigma, not homosexuality itself.
• Gay young people are more sexually active than their peers. This is a distortion of data showing that young people’s first sexual experience is with a person of the same sex, not evidence about young people who actually identify as gay.
• Sexual abuse causes homosexuality. This is patently false.

Based on all these assumptions, NARTH warns that allowing gay Scouts would be a threat to other Scouts’ protection:

The most critical question to answer regarding this proposed policy change, however, is: How will child protection be assured? If openly homosexual boys are allowed to participate, how does a Scoutmaster monitor the influence or actions that these boys may have upon others in the troop especially during overnight events? Will equal but segregated facilities be required? This certainly would be the case if the BSA were to alter its policy and admit girls.

As the BSA deliberates a potential change in its membership policy, NARTH encourages the council members to carefully consider the complexities of sexual orientation development reflected in the aforementioned research. Council members must strive to envision the short-term and long-term consequences of any potential decision.

Ex-gay therapists like NARTH represents prey on young people who “struggle with same-sex attractions,” a struggle influenced by a disapproving family or community. Allowing gay Scouts to participate fully in the BSA would both compromise the stigma that they rely on to bring them clients and further disprove many of the claims they make to substantiate their shame-based treatment.

A group of ex-gay therapy advocates are objecting to a proposed ban on the treatment for minors in New Jersey, claiming that such a law would help protect pedophiles. The so-called “Citizens Against the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act” has been organized by the New Jersey Family Policy Council — not surprising given the group’s past president is Greg Quinlan, who identifies as ex-gay and is also president of the ex-gay advocacy group PFOX. The committee believes that homosexuality can be caused by sexual abuse, and thus if minors are not allowed to receive therapy to change their orientation, they’ll be less likely to report abuse they receive.

Ex-gay therapist Christopher Doyle, who works with infamously disavowed therapist Richard Cohen at the so-called International Healing Foundation, is also a member of this “Citizens” group. This week he told American Family Association radio host Sandy Rios that if New Jersey’s bill banning ex-gay therapy passes, “more Jerry Sanduskys will get off scot-free“:

DOYLE: What we’re trying to communicate to the press was gay activists are indoctrinating young people to believe that they’re born that way, that they’re born gay. And if young people believe that they’re born gay because of the gay activist indoctrination they will not seek a professional counselor to try to figure out why they have same-sex attractions. Many times, in fact about half of the clients that I have in my client list right now, have experienced sexual abuse, lots of them by pedophiles such as Jerry Sandusky. So if they’re never going to go and seek help for their unwanted same-sex attractions, which are a symptom of that trauma, then the Jerry Sanduskys of the world will not be discovered, they will not be reported by professional counselors. Kids won’t tell their parents they were molested because the kids are going to think, ‘Hey I’m born this way and my sex abuse didn’t have anything to do with my same-sex attractions,’ and then there you go — more Jerry Sanduskys will get off scot-free.

Listen to it (via RightWingWatch):

Doyle has previously claimed that there is no data available about the outcomes of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) for adolescents, a point he does not realize is a compelling argument against offering the treatment. There is also no evidence to substantiate any link between sexual abuse and sexual orientation — if anything, such claims only serve to prey on the vulnerability of young people who have been traumatized. In contrast, research continues to verify the unchangeable biological and genetic components of sexual orientation.

Besides the point that ex-gay therapy and its accompanying claims have no scientific merit, Doyle’s argument actually undermines his own espoused goal. If he truly believes that having an unwanted same-sex orientation is the only reason to report sexual abuse, then he also inherently believes homosexuality is the only consequence of sexual abuse. This disregards the very real trauma and very real consequences that actually result from abuse. It’s simply an absurd idea that if kids are okay with their sexual orientations that they’ll somehow just shrug off the abuse they experience.

A New Jersey Senate committee has advanced the proposed ban on ex-gay therapy for minors, and Gov. Chris Christie (R) has even indicated willingness to sign it should it pass out of the legislature. A similar ban passed in California has been suspended pending legal challenges from the ex-gay network NARTH and other anti-gay groups.

Televangelist Pat Robertson has long supported the idea of ex-gay therapy, telling parents that the best way to love their gay son is to force him into the shame-based treatment and encouraging conservatives to befriend gay people to encourage them to do the same. On today’s 700 Club, Robertson expressed concern that promoting ex-gay therapy will be considered hate speech, but that gay people can change just like murderers, rapists, and thieves:

ROBERTSON: For somebody to say that a homosexual can change — that somehow is a hate crime? It is a hate crime to say somebody can change their sexual preference? That that’s a hate crime? [...]

The power of God can change people’s orientation. A murderer can change. A rapist can change. A thief can change. That’s what the Gospel is all about. It’s not a hate crime.

Watch it (via RightWingWatch):

Robertson’s comparison demonstrates how little he understands the concept of sexual orientation, let alone its biological components. Of course, Robertson also believes that homosexuality is “related to demonic possession,” so he might not be easily persuaded, even if researchers from his own Regent University couldn’t prove that ex-gay therapy works.

Robert Gagnon with NOM's Jennifer Roback Morse and Pastor Jim Garlow

Opponents of LGBT equality often speak in prepared statements, but in private, their rhetoric is much more candid. This week, blogger Jeremy Hooper had the chance to see just how vile they can be. There is an email list of over seventy social conservatives that allows them to coordinate with each other, and in their own company, the anti-gay rhetoric apparently flows quite freely. This became a concern for Alan Chambers of the ex-gay group Exodus International, an organization that has moved away from its harsher past of claiming to “cure” homosexuality — so much so that Chambers added Hooper to the list so he could see just what was being said.

Hooper’s presence on the email thread only provoked harsher responses from its other participants. After Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute denounced Hooper’s writing as “deceitful, nasty, and juvenile,” here is how another individual came to her defense about Hooper’s inclusion on the list:

Jeremy, Your utter rebellion against your creator, and your efforts to encourage others to join in your rebellion are sins and crimes of the highest order.

If you call yourself a Christian, you are twice the son of Hell. [...]

Repent Jeremy, you have perverted God’s straight ways! Repent or you shall receive the penalty due. Repent or face the judgment for the little ones you lead into your sin!

A response from Robert Gagnon was even more scathing. Gagnon is helping to organize the Restored Hope Network, the ex-gay group that splintered off to insist that “Jesus Christ provides hope for transformation to broken sexual sinners.” Despite his extreme promotion of ex-gay therapy, Gagnon is featured every year at the National Organization for Marriage’s “It Takes A Family” conference. He responded to the email thread with a long screed attacking homosexuality as a “perverse behavior” comparable to, albeit not as bad as, bestiality. Here are some excerpts:

Bestiality is an even more unnatural form of sexual practice since it is cross-species. Adult-consensual incest is also a particularly perverse form of sexual practice since it involves sex with someone who is too much of a familial same. But Scripture treats homosexual practice as even more severely unnatural because the male-female requirement for sexual relations is foundational for all that follows (so Genesis and Jesus) and because sex or gender is a more constituent feature of sexual behavior than kinship. [...]

So, technically, those who willfully engage in unrepentant homosexual practice could be labelled “perverts.”

He also added this tidbit:

I also believe (ant this is just basic common sense) that having homosexual males as boy scout leaders is as stupid as having heterosexual males as girl scout leaders. It is a recipe for sexual abuse.

These candid remarks reveal a deeper and intentional animus against the gay community than is sometimes apparent in the remarks that these individuals — or the organizations they are affiliated with — make in public. Theirs is not a campaign for so-called “religious freedom,” but a blatant effort to demonize people who are gay.

At the end of every week, the National Organization for Marriage’s president, Brian Brown, sends out a weekly newsletter summing up the week’s events. Though many thought last week was a rough week because of the Boston Marathon bombings and West, Texas explosion, it was this week that Brown described as “a tough week” because of the many victories for marriage equality. This week’s letter remarkably crams most of NOM’s talking points all into one post, so here is a reminder of NOM’s various claims about the consequences of same-sex couples marrying:

Marriage Equality Discriminates Against Christians (Because They Want To Discriminate)

NOM is still upset that Rhode Island passed marriage equality this week. Rather than repeat his own claim that same-sex marriage is worse than divorce or death, Brown emphasized that marriage equality “redefines marriage for all people” by imposing upon Christian businesses who don’t wish to serve same-sex couples. Earlier this week, NOM admitted its desire to blatantly “refuse service” to gays and lesbians.

Marriage Equality Harms Children

As always, NOM ignores that many same-sex couples are already raising children, so Brown instead claims that “the rights of adults to marry any person they love trump a child’s right to a loving mom and dad.” He once again obsessed over a New York middle school that taught students about the diversity within the LGBT community, as if learning about the world was somehow harmful.

NOM Effectively Targets Republicans Who Support Marriage Equality

Referencing how the Republicans in the Rhode Island Senate unanimously supported marriage equality, Brown committed to challenging their re-election, boasting NOM’s success doing that in New York. The only problem is that NOM was only successful at flipping one of the four seats they challenged in New York; two of them were lost to Democrats because of NOM’s too-conservative primary challengers.

Being Gay Is A “Preference”

With the exception of Jennifer Roback Morse, NOM generally tries to avoid openly endorsing ex-gay therapy, but it finds subtle ways to condone the harmful practice. Brown used the email to champion Rhode Island Sen. Harold Metts (D), who offered a 12-minute religious condemnation of homosexuality during Wednesday’s floor debate. Among his claims, as quoted in NOM’s newsletter: “I can change my sexual preference tonight if I want to, but I can’t change my color.”

Read more

Earlier this month, John Paulk rebuked the ex-gay movement that he once championed as a spokesperson for Focus on the Family. Now he has issued a formal apology, clarifying that the therapy did not change his sexual orientation and admitting that he harmed people by suggesting otherwise. Here are some excerpts from his full apology:

For the better part of ten years, I was an advocate and spokesman for what’s known as the “ex-gay movement,” where we declared that sexual orientation could be changed through a close-knit relationship with God, intensive therapy and strong determination. At the time, I truly believed that it would happen. And while many things in my life did change as a Christian, my sexual orientation did not.

So in 2003, I left the public ministry and gave up my role as a spokesman for the “ex-gay movement.” I began a new journey. In the decade since, my beliefs have changed. Today, I do not consider myself “ex-gay” and I no longer support or promote the movement. Please allow me to be clear: I do not believe that reparative therapy changes sexual orientation; in fact, it does great harm to many people. [...]

Today, I see LGBT people for who they are — beloved, cherished children of God. I offer my most sincere and heartfelt apology to men, women, and especially children and teens who felt unlovable, unworthy, shamed or thrown away by God or the church.

Paulk asked for some privacy as he resolves some personal matters — namely, the demise of his 20-year marriage. His wife, Anne, still identifies as ex-gay and is among the founding members of the Restored Hope Network, an ex-gay advocacy organization that splintered off from Exodus International after that group stopped claiming that homosexuality could be cured.

At the end of his letter, Paulk also discouraged people from ever buying either of the two books he wrote about being ex-gay. Not only do they not represent who he is or what he believes, but he doesn’t receive royalties from their sale anyway.

John Paulk was once one of the most visible spokespeople for the ex-gay movement, appearing on the cover of Newsweek in 1998 under the headline “Gay For Life?” and championing Love Won Out ex-gay conferences across the country. For years, the group Truth Wins Out has been tracking Paulk’s continued presence at gay bars, and even despite news in 2012 that he was now living in Portland as an openly gay man, he refused to come out as gay. Now, though, he has at least admonished the ex-gay movement for the “pain that has been caused,” per an email to PQ Monthly:

Until recently, I have struggled all my life in feeling unloved and unaccepted. I have been on a journey during the last few years in trying to understand God, myself, and how I can best relate to others. During this journey I have made many mistakes and I have hurt many people including people who are close to me. I have also found a large number of people who accept me for who I am regardless of my past, any labels, or what I do.

I no longer support the ex-gay movement or efforts to attempt to change individuals — especially teens who already feel insecure and alienated. I feel great sorrow over the pain that has been caused when my words were misconstrued. I have worked at giving generously to the gay community in Portland where I work and live. I am working hard to be authentic and genuine in all of my relationships.

Paulk’s disassociation from the shame-based therapy that he once profited from — and which his wife still tries to benefit from — is commendable, but as Truth Wins Out points out, a simple apology does not undo the damage he has done. Groups like Focus on the Family and NARTH have highlighted his story as evidence of support for ex-gay therapy, despite evidence to the contrary. TWO calls on Paulk to take a more public role “renouncing and working against the harmful ‘ex-gay’ industry” and advocate for state bills, including in Oregon, that would ban ex-gay therapy for minors.

This Friday (4/19) is the annual Day of Silence (DoS), when students across the country choose not speak in school in protest of the mistreatment of LGBT youth. While some conservative groups are once again encouraging parents to keep their kids home, Focus on the Family and the Alliance Defending Freedom are hosting their annual pre-buttal, the so-called “Day of Dialogue” (DoD) on Thursday (4/18). The blatant goal of this event is to encourage Christian students to condemn homosexuality and transgenderism to their peers, but under the facade of opposing bullying.

Most of the materials on the DoD page were written by Jeff Johnston, Focus on the Family’s resident ex-gay, who rejects transgender identities as disordered and healthy and who describes homosexuality as “sexual brokenness.” For the Day of Dialogue, he encourages young people to talk about homosexuality with their classmates by suggesting they pursue ex-gay therapy because being gay is the same as being a prostitute or an adulterer:

Without God, and without following His intentions for us, all the good of sexuality is distorted. The good news, in the midst of our sexual brokenness, is that God still loves us deeply. He longs to reconnect with each of us and to begin healing, restoring and transforming us. He invites each of us to respond to His love.

All throughout Scripture, we see that God has a special place in His heart for people who messed up sexually. Jesus’ ancestors included prostitutes and adulterers, and He brought forgiveness and restoration to many people who were caught in sexual brokenness.  In the same way, Jesus is standing with His arms open to each of us. We’ve all had our identity, relationships, sexuality and desires impacted by sin. He invites us to experience new life, forgiveness, true relational intimacy with Him and healthy relationships with others.

As Christians, children of God and followers of Jesus, we have a unique opportunity to offer this good news to our classmates and those around us. In a disordered and hurting world we can offer hope, healing and renewal.

Interestingly, the DoD site does not use the word “gay” or “homosexuality” except on its page, “Responding To Challenges.” Participants are not encouraged to use the words at all, but respond that “God has a plan for our sexuality” (and it’s not homosexuality). Here’s an example of how Focus on the Family encourages students to explain that being gay is a chosen identity:

The fact is that nobody knows how same-sex attractions develop—it appears to be a combination of factors (from biology to individual temperament to culture to environment). There is no proof that it is purely genetic. For more information, you can read Are People Really Born Gay? as well as other resources posted here.

You can explain that the real issue, for those who follow Jesus, is not about changing from “straight” to “gay”, or what kind of sexual identity a person has, but about having a relationship with God. And as our relationship with him grows, we learn to manage our feelings, desires and behavior according to His best plan for us.

The fact is that many people have experienced great changes in their lives and voluntarily chosen  to align their feelings to God’s best plan.

These are blatant falsehoods. The American Psychological Association has determined over decades of research that sexual orientation is innate and attempts to change it are ineffective and harmful. Moreover, the most recent research in a growing field known as epigenetics suggests that sexual orientation is at least partially determined by genes — just not directly. Rather than being coded into the DNA directly, certain sex-specific switches on the genes known as “epi-marks” can be triggered during fetal development, causing variations in hormone levels that determine how the genes will express gender and sexuality for the rest of the individual’s life. It’s still not a perfect explanation, but it’s a clear indicator that biology has a significant impact on determining sex and gender and that they cannot simply be changed by shame-based therapy.

Read more

This past December, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints published a new resource about homosexuality, suggesting that it was moving away from its harshest condemnations of gay people. The counsel it included acknowledged that same-sex attractions are not chosen, and seemed to embody a “love the sinner, hate the sin” not unlike the Catholic Church’s. However, the so-called Center for Gender Wholeness, founded by Mormon ex-gay therapists, has launched a new resource that reinforces some of the most tired and offensive myths about homosexuality and encourages Mormons to subject their loved ones to the shame-based treatment.

Here’s just a sampling of the many bizarre claims and dangerous tips provided on the site. (Note: All of the resources are geared toward male homosexuality, because “the Center for Gender Wholeness does not have expertise in working with female homosexuality.”)

• Gay people are more likely to have a history of experiencing trauma and emotional and psychological problems.
• Among the supposed “causes” of homosexuality are unhealthy childhood relationships with females, distorted concepts of gender, feeling incongruent with one’s own gender, problems in relationships with other males, sexual conditioning, sexual abuse, certain biological and physical issues, and certain emotional and psychological problems. [Obviously, this approach completely conflates transgender identities, despite gender identity being a completely independent variable from sexual orientation.]
• People trying to help their gay friends should ask about how they have acted on their attractions, but should be careful not to give them ideas of behaviors they haven’t tried.
• Therapy is “necessary” if an individual “reports unsuccessful attempts to diminish their same-sex attractions.”
• Mormons should encourage (opposite-sex) marriage as a solution to same-sex attractions.
• Mormons should recognize “the hope window,” when people with same-sex attractions are most optimistic about change.
• Therapy can help resolve the “issues that underlie unwanted same-sex attraction.”
• Treatment can include an addiction recovery program and medication.
• The therapists apparently use “brainspotting” to determine “where a person is holding trauma or other negative experience in their brain.”

The promotion of this therapy seems to conflict with what the Mormon Church now says about homosexuality, and the small-text disclaimer at the bottom of the screen is telling:

This site was not created by, or with support from, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Center for Gender Wholeness (CGW) is not affiliated with the LDS Church. The contents of this site represent the veiws [sic] of CGW, which is solely responsible for its content.

Still, the site is designed to look like it’s official guidance from LDS, including detailed resources for training Church leaders on ex-gay therapy.

The American Psychological Association has found that ex-gay therapy is not only ineffective, but reinforces stigma and can thus have harmful effects. The proper therapeutic response when people are struggling with being gay is affirmation — which is coincidentally the name of the organization that supports LGBT Mormons.

Earlier this week, the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee voted to advance a bill that would ban ex-gay therapy for minors. Among the testimony the committee heard was a powerful pronouncement from high school senior Jacob Rudolph, who declared, “I am not broken, I am not confused, and I do not need to be fixed.” Rudolph has been petitioning Gov. Chris Christie (R) to announce his support for the bill, but Christie said after the committee’s vote that he was still undecided about the harmful treatment and wouldn’t make up his mind on the legislation until it arrived at his desk. Now he’s clarified that he opposes ex-gay therapy, according to spokesman Kevin Roberts:

ROBERTS: Gov. Christie does not believe in conversion therapy. There is no mistaking his point of view on this when you look at his own prior statements where he makes clear that people’s sexual orientation is determined at birth.

The statement stops just short of indicating whether he intends to sign the legislation, but it’s a powerful endorsement nevertheless. Christie admitted in 2011 that he believes people are born gay and that homosexuality is thus not a sin. Still, he vetoed marriage equality legislation, so his actions as governor do not quite align with his respectable basic understanding of homosexuality.