Ex-Gay Watch

Timothy Kincaid and Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin have done a sterling job of exposing Insure.com for using research from the notorious anti-gay propagandist Paul Cameron.

The controversy started when Insure.com, an online provider of insurance advice, published an article entitled Top five ways to kill yourself and get away with it, of which the number one recommendation for certain self-destruction was “Being gay.” Author Joe White claimed that eight to 20 years’ reduction in life span was a “conservative estimate.”

It was not the first time White had made the claim. An earlier article was boldly named Gay men die 20 years younger. In support of his argument, he cited Hogg’s much-misused Vancouver study and the long-since-debunked, pseudo-scientific “research” of Paul Cameron.

Kincaid persevered with Insurance.com, notifying them of Cameron’s incredibly poor reputation and providing them with sound evidence to discredit his findings. Insure.com stood by what they published, and White continued to deny his article was anti-gay.

Box Turtle Bulletin has now presented Insure.com with the “Certified Cameronite award, for citing the discredited research of holocaust revisionist Paul Cameron.” Burroway summarizes:

[The] only people who rely on Cameron anymore are those who occupy the most radical fringes of anti-gay extremists. Insure.com, CEO Robert Bland, and author Joseph White are now officially in their company.

Hear, hear.

• Candace Chellew-Hodges proposes a new framework for the debate over the Bible and homosexuality.
• The Malaysian National News Agency reports on a worrying moral decadence; its tentacles had engulfed the west, and it is now gripping the country with its ills and evil ways. “Womanly” males are to be monitored, while parents are warned children will be trapped by its clutches. Like a malignant cancer, this felony threatens to bring destruction and devastation to society, along with many diseases. Its name? They call it “Homosexual“.
• A gay Christian blogger offers a thoughtful response to Alan Chambers’ recent New Man eMagazine article.
• The Italian government was ordered to give 100,000 Euros to a gay man as compensation for having his Constitutional rights violated. During a medical exam for the military, he disclosed he was gay and they ordered he re-take his driving exam or have his license suspended on the grounds that he was afflicted with “sexual identity disturbance.” Even after passing the test, he was granted a license for only a year instead of the usual ten. The judges deciding the case ruled on the grounds that homosexuality could not be called a mental illness.
• Peterson Toscano responds to a man struggling with his sexual orientation.
• Insure.com’s CEO Robert Bland, all the while protesting to have “no agenda,” not only espouses Paul Cameron’s “research” on his website, he goes so far as to continually support and defend Cameron’s work. The infamous “gay mortality study” is used to justify the blanket statement the being a gay man makes you die sooner in what is supposed to be an impartial, informative article.
• Right on the heels of Sally Kern, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart has produced his own comic book in which he fights homosexual “pedifiles” – many of whom are apparently eager to become Boy Scout leaders.
• A repeal of a Jim Crow-era law banning out of state marriages in Massachusetts has prompted MassResistance and Peter LaBarbera to react quite unfavorably, calling it a “recipe for chaos” and warning it would “cause havoc.”

The Asheville, NC Citizen-Times ran an article Monday on Exodus International’s annual conference, which started yesterday in neighboring Ridgecrest. The article profiles Exodus and its activities, as well as Equality Asheville, which is offering counter programming with the message “you’re okay the way you are.”

Both sides are given equal time, with quotes from Exodus leaders presented alongside statements by Wayne Besen and several members of Equality Asheville. For the most part, it’s business as usual. What stands out is a rather surprising comment by Alan Chambers:

“The truth is that homosexuality does not send people to hell. Gay people live in heaven. It’s not about fire and brimstone, it’s about an alternative option,” Chambers said.

While Exodus and its allies have for some time avoided directly stating that “gay-identified” Christians will end up in hell, this is nonetheless an extraordinary statement coming from the head of an organization founded on the premise that homosexuality and Christianity are completely incompatible.

Whether this latest admission really means anything in practical terms is a separate issue; Exodus has a track record of adjusting its public image to suit the situation without making substantial changes behind the scenes, as evidenced by Chambers’ announcement earlier this year that the organization was withdrawing from political activism.

In this case, Chambers’ statement appears calculated to reinforce the impression that Exodus’ highest value is the right to self-determination, and that it has no interest in converting GLBT individuals who accept themselves as they are.  Given the progressive and gay-friendly nature of the Asheville area, it makes sense that Exodus would want to soften its public image.

However, while it may be accurate to say that Exodus does not directly try to convert people (that job can be left to churches and to other ministries), it seems less than honest to suggest that Exodus genuinely respects the rights of gay individuals to make their own choices in life.  From actively opposing legal protections for GLBT individuals, both domestically and overseas, to characterizing such protections as “evil,” to ostracizing those who leave the ex-gay lifestyle, Exodus’ track record suggests that it values self-determination only for those who make the “right” choice.

That Exodus is willing to leave the question of each individual’s salvation to God is noteworthy, but it should not be interpreted as a lessening of its traditional hostility toward those it characterizes as “militant” gays.

There have been best wishes for David Benkof this weekend as he “takes his life in another direction.” Others confessed to having “misjudged” him, and hailed a change of position brought about through “logic [and] reasoning.”

What has the anti-gay-marriage activist done to provoke this response? He has announced on his blog (which blog now seems to have disappeared – cache here) that he is giving up the fight against gay marriage because of “disturbing information” that makes it “impossible” for him to keep supporting the pro-traditional marriage lobby.

While we have no solid sources we can quote at the moment, we have heard enough to suspect that he is speaking of the refusal of certain organizations, in this case Christian based, to hire a Jewish person (Benkof is Jewish). While we think this a fairly common practice for such groups — not hiring those who do not share their faith and mission — apparently Benkof was surprised by this and considers it antisemitic.

In some of the comments there appears to be an air of concern for Benkof, a sense that he has had some genuine change of heart, and even a sense of congratulation for this apparent volte-face.

Ex-Gay Watch cannot join in the celebrations. Benkof has proved himself consistently deceptive, vindictive and lacking in basic integrity. Our authors have personally been harassed and intimidated by Benkof, both publicly and privately. His turnaround on the marriage issue, accompanied by such vague reasoning, does nothing to inspire confidence.

One less voice decrying gays and lesbians and denying them their rights can only be a good thing. But do we at XGW (do gays and lesbians!) have any reason to trust Benkof because of this sudden announcement? Only if we ignore his consistently unprincipled behavior.

On the plus side, the crowd at Pam’s House Blend seem to have figured out Benkof pretty quickly.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Taken from original. Actual image here.

• Dr. Laura softens her anti-gay stance.
• Randy Thomas notes the increase of HIV contractions among men of color aged 13-24, and blames the promiscuity of the “gay lifestyle.” He fails to mention that the “down-low” culture created by intolerance of LGBTQ persons among Blacks and Latinos is what drives unsafe sexual practices that lead to infection.
• Focus on the Family is apparently opposed to gays being monogamous.
• Accusing political rivals of twisting her comments, Iris Robinson still boldly insist homosexuality is an abomination, but not a mental disorder. She believes homosexuals do not need psychiatric help for mental health needs caused by the stress of discrimination and isolation, rather, they need counselling from practitioners for their sexual confusion, she told the Northern Ireland Assembly.
• Theologian Miguel de la Torre challenges the theology of James Dobson.
• A straight Christian explains how he became gay-friendly.
• There are no reggae tunes to be played for LGBTs visiting Jamaica, still one of the most homophobic countries in the world, where they love their anti-gay Prime Minister.
• Box Turtle Bulletin reported that the American Family Association (AFA) had called for the boycott of Mc Donald’s for supporting the “homosexual agenda”. Unfortunately for the AFA, the proud man with the red wig, lips and shoes could not be bothered.
• Prominent Korean gay actor Hong Suk-Chun, recaps his coming out experience and how it changed his life.
• Beyond Ex-Gay to host Ex-Gay Expose opposite NARTH’s annual conference in November.
• Exodus Vice President Randy Thomas excited over finding two people who don’t think he is a jerk. Good for you, Randy.

Exodus President Alan Chambers is experiencing some confusion on the existence of a gay gene.

In New Man eMagazine this week, Chambers says that his response to the gay gene question is an “unequivocal … I don’t know,” yet only weeks earlier he told a radio host that “the only thing that we do know at this point in time is that [homosexuality] is developmental.”

Why the softening? Chambers would not be the first evangelical to steel himself for the possibility of a gay gene (and in fact he has done it before, in his 2006 book God’s Grace and the Homosexual Next Door). In 2007 Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler acknowledged the mounting evidence for a gay gene, going on to suggest that babies could be genetically modified in the womb to prevent homosexuality. A few months later, Exodus colleague Randy Thomas declared that a genetic component to sexuality was “no big deal.”

If a gay gene were found, would Chambers go as far as Mohler in suggesting prenatal treatment to prevent homosexuality? Logically, why wouldn’t he? In preparing for the possibility of a gay gene, Chambers does not hesitate to compare homosexuality to all manner of disease and genetic aberration:

Many things have been proven to have genetic influences: cancer, obesity, alcoholism and rage to name a few. … Just because something is genetic doesn’t mean it’s healthy, optimal or moral. The answer to the question of whether homosexuality is morally right doesn’t hinge on genetics. Similarly, gay rights should not be advanced on the basis of the genetic outcome or theory either.

Which is true, of course. Proof of a gay gene would no more make homosexuality right than proof that homosexuality is developmental would make it wrong. But the logic remains that if being gay is genetic and wrong, why not support prenatal preventive treatment, as Dr Mohler suggested? In 2007, Alan decried the notion – but on what basis? If there were a prenatal treatment for propensity to cancer or heart disease, would he reject that? Why then one and not the other?

But our biggest beef with Alan’s words remains. If the genetics of homosexuality are still a big “don’t know” to him, why did he lead Chris Fabry and his audience to believe he was certain it was developmental?

When Vince Cervantes began to notice his strong attractions to other men in his first year of college, he immediately panicked. At that time he was a student at Azusa Pacific University, a Christian school that taught that homosexuality was immoral. The only thing that made sense to Vince was to enter into ex-gay therapy, and he did so, with an Exodus-trained counselor at an Assemblies of God church. Otherwise, he feared, he would be kicked out of school, disowned by his parents, and worst of all, end up in Hell. His therapist told him to give up activities he loved, like musical performance. He complied, believing this would help him go straight.

After going so far as to consent to exorcism, Vince realized nothing was making a difference — he wasn’t going to change. At first depressed over this, Vince came to an “epiphany” that caused him to look at homosexuality and the Bible from a different perspective. He realized God was going to love him no matter what. “I knew that as a Christian I am taught that I can’t bear false witness, and to say that I wasn’t gay, meant that I was denying something that God made a part of me.” His parents had to take some time to “get used to” Vince’s decision to be true to himself, but they were able to eventually fully accept him.

Vince comes from a Latino family – his mother’s family is from Spain and his father’s from Mexico. His sexual orientation creates friction in a culture that tends to embrace the ideology of “machismo” or manliness. “There is a constant pressure in Latin culture to prove oneself. Men are taught to take pride in being a man, and to not be afraid to flex their masculinity,” he says. “Since there is a misconception that one man has to ‘submit’ to another man in order to be a gay couple, Latin communities tend to push away gay men. According to traditional standards, men are always to be dominant and never ‘lessen’ themselves. If a man calls another man a ‘sissy’ in Spanish or a girl, those are typically fighting words.”

While growing up, there was also a constant pressure to prove himself to his father. Vince pushed himself into “gender-normal” activities like playing sports, even though he might really want to be playing dress-up.

Latino families tend to be devout Christians, and what is taught in the church defines the morality of the culture. But they differ from culture to culture as to how accepting they are. “Many Mexican families in America tend to remain very traditional on all levels. They are typically Christian homes (primarily Catholic) that maintain a view that homosexuality is sinful,” Vince explains. “That causes so much censorship and lack of discussion about issues, that it makes it difficult to bring in new perspectives.” Spaniards, on the other hand, are diverse in their opinions – there are very traditional conservative Spaniards, and there are more progressive Spaniards. “With gay marriage being legal in Spain, many Spaniards have opened up more to the idea of same-gender couples.” Read more…

While investigating the removal of policy statements admonishing Richard Cohen and holding/touch therapy on the Exodus website, we received a reply from the assistant director of Cohen’s International Healing Foundation (IHF).  She describes what seems like a reconciliation of sorts between the two groups:

Richard explained more about his work and his position and methods to Exodus and they all made peace.

Exodus and IHF have either ignored or denied our request for any further comment for the record. However, we have been able to confirm through two credible sources (who wish to remain anonymous), one from inside Exodus, that the meeting did take place. Cohen came to Exodus for a discussion with the leaders. We have also confirmed through one of these same sources that Exodus agreed to pull their statement about Cohen from their website as a result of the discussion.

Exodus placed the following statement on their website after Cohen appeared in an embarrassing blitz of media throughout 2006:

Richard Cohen

Exodus International does not endorse the work of Richard Cohen or the methods utilized in his practice. Some of the techniques Mr. Cohen employs could be detrimental to an individual’s understanding of healthy relational boundaries and disruptive to the psychological and emotional development of men and women seeking clinical counsel and aid.

We asked Exodus President Alan Chambers for an official response as to why this statement was removed, but he refused to go on record.  Today, the following new statement appeared on the Exodus website: Read more…

On the heels of our post asking “does Exodus disapprove of Cohen or not?“, we seem to have at least a partial answer. In response to our inquiry about the apparent improved relationship between Cohen and Exodus, International Healing Foundation Assistant Director Hilde Wiemann gave the following response:

Richard explained more about his work and his position and methods to Exodus and they all made peace.

This response, along with the issues raised in the previous post, describes a rather stunning situation.

Addendum: We have sent email inquiries to Chambers and his alternate contact, as well as a request for more details to both Cohen and Wiemann.  We will report any responses we may get here.