Ex-Gay Watch

After losing a lawsuit, the heterosexual-only dating service eHarmony has opened it’s gay mirror image, Compatible Partners. It officially opens for business on April 1 (yes, we know) but it seems to be working now, offering:

The founder of eHarmony, Dr. Neil Clark Warren is a psychologist with a divinity degree. He was initially affiliated with Focus on the Family, and the site was promoted as being “based on the Christian principles of Focus on the Family author Dr. Neil Clark Warren.” However, Dr. Warren began to distance himself from FOTF and Dr. Dobson back in 2005, claiming among other things that they were becoming too narrowly political for the dating site. He stopped radio appearances with them and bought back the rights to the books he’d written for them.

If you decide to give it a try, let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: ugpluse.com

Gay rights activists in Uganda held a press conference today in response to a recent anti-gay push coordinated by Family Life Network (FLN) leader Stephen Langa.  Ex-Gay Watch has posted exclusive video (here and here) of Langa addressing a group of people in Kampala with all manor of misinformation concerning homosexuality.  Apparently, gay leaders there thought it was time to respond publicly.

Victor Mukasa, the coordinator of the Uganda Minority Sexual Rights group says the campaign against homosexuals in the country is based on wrong information that homosexuality is an acquired behavior which can be taught to people.

Mukasa says homosexuals are naturally born attracted to people of the same sex and do not “change like weather”. Mukasa says it is wrong for Langa and his group to accuse homosexuals of being in a campaign to recruit and change school children into homosexuality. He says these allegations are aimed at making Ugandans to hate homosexuals and force the government to become punish homosexuals.

Langa has resorted to the demonization of gays with claims that they are “after the children,” reportedly bringing his pleas to FM radio stations around the city.  Some have come forward to say they had done exactly that. Mukasa comments further:

But the Family Life Network recently presented a group of former homosexuals who claimed they used to recruit students through offering them money and friendship.

Mukasa says the people claiming to have been working to promote homosexuality in schools have been paid to talk bad about homosexuals in order to make Ugandans hate homosexuals, instead of appreciating their differences.

This agrees with information we have received that those coming forward are doing so at the behest of Langa and FLN, and only after receiving money to do so. Earlier we speculated that perhaps they had been given such assignments as an alternative to jail (after having been arrested), but the apparently money is a more potent motivator.

The Illinois Family Institute, an anti-gay organization once fronted by Peter LaBarbera, has protested at being declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Member Laurie Higgins claims the IFI has been targeted purely because of its moral views on homosexuality.

Writing on the website Opposing Views, Higgins says that:

Since, in the distorted view of pro-homosexual organizations, our efforts constitute hatred, the only way we can be deemed not hateful is to change our views on the nature and morality of homosexual conduct, or to accept the continued use of public money to affirm and advance liberal/radical views on the nature and morality of homosexual conduct through public education. That’s a pretty tall and scary order.

Higgins would have us believe that merely being conservative on homosexuality makes one a target of the SPLC – but in fact, of the hundreds of anti-gay groups in the US, the SPLC has identified only 12 as hate groups.

Closer investigation reveals that IFI is typical of those on the Center’s list. As Alvin McEwen writes:

[The] problem with groups such as IFI is that they practice a sort of intellectual violence in which they are willing to distort credible research as well as rely on bad studies to give a negative view of the lgbt community – i.e. painting them as monsters who should be hindered and stopped at every turn.

In the OV article, Higgins tries unsuccessfully to absolve the IFI of a classic, giveaway trait of anti-gay hate groups: use of the flawed, heinously distorted “research” of Paul Cameron, the discredited academic whose studies have been denounced by numerous credible scientific organizations.

There is nothing arbitrary about the SPLC list. The website defines an anti-gay group thus:

Anti-gay groups are organizations that go beyond mere disagreement with homosexuality by subjecting gays and lesbians to campaigns of personal vilification.

The IFI finds itself in the company of Watchmen on the Walls, a group co-founded by Scott Lively, the Holocaust revisionist who recently called for homosexuals in Uganda to be subject to state-sponsored, involuntary reparative therapy.

At the same meeting in Uganda described here, Family Life Network (FLN) leader Stephen Langa continues his discussion with the group on the evil, clever “gay agenda.”  In doing so, he turns to Richard Cohen’s book, Coming Out Straight : Understanding and Healing Homosexuality.

Cohen has been a bombastic embarrassment for ex-gay groups over the years, appearing about anywhere that would have him.  His demonstration of “bioenergetics” on CNN has him beating a pillow with a tennis racket while yelling at the top of his lungs.  The same appearance includes a session of “holding” or “touch” therapy where Cohen cradles his client in his arms while on a sofa.  He has repeated this and other stunts in multiple venues.

An XGW exclusive in 2007 revealed another account of Cohen’s bizarre behavior at an Exodus Annual Freedom Conference in 2000.  Cohen had been invited to speak and also demonstrated one of his therapy techniques.  As Exodus president Alan Chambers later recounted in an email to their parents group:

During that class, which I attended, he asked for a volunteer to demonstrate on. His volunteer was a seasoned Exodus leader. This leader was instructed by Mr. Cohen to lay on the floor and spread his legs wide open. Dr. Cohen then laid down on top of this other man face to face and embraced him.

Mr. Cohen made the comment, “This might cause some stimulation. However, what goes up must come down, I always say.” He made other vulgar comments of this nature.

To our knowledge, Cohen has no license to practice any sort of therapy. The licensing authorities in his state, Maryland, told XGW that a license is not required there to offer services as a “psychotherapist” as long as one does not diagnose and treat from the DSM-IV.  They added that the term is essentially meaningless and did not reflect any official designation.  Also in 2007, Cohen claimed to stop counseling clients.

Of note here is the fact that, in this book, Cohen uses the seriously flawed data provided by discredited  researcher Paul Cameron.  One would be hard pressed to find a source with less credibility on this subject, except perhaps another Langa source, Scott Lively.  Langa has truly scraped the bottom of the barrel for information with which to mangle the lives of GLBTs in Uganda.

Yet to such “noted authorities,” we can add Exodus board member Don Schmierer, who traveled halfway around the world to be in such esteemed company while talking to the people of Uganda.

-Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, comes out in favor of gay marriage.

-More than 50% of voting-age adults in North Carolina oppose a marriage amendment, according to a new poll.

-Mel White, founder of SoulForce, and his son, screenwriter Mike White, are still hanging in there on “The Amazing Race.” Timothy Kincaid reports that they are winning many fans and supporters while demonstrating true Christian graciousness.

-Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas announces his intent to veto the same-sex marriage bill overwhelmingly passed by the state senate.

-The New Hampshire house votes in favor of a gay marriage bill.

-Pam Spaulding calls Concerned Women for America on their use of Cameronesque life expectancy statistics.

-Jim Burroway examines the list of anti-gay groups that receive money from Scott Lively’s charitable trust.

On March 15, 2009, Stephen Landga of the Family Life Network in Kampala, Uganda, held a meeting to follow up on the conference from a couple of weeks prior.  Approximately 60 people attended the talk in which Langa attempts to blur the line between pedophilia and homosexuality.  While nothing especially new in the history of homophobia, the tactic is still both disgusting and dangerous, particularly in that region of the world.

In this clip, Langa uses the holocaust revisionist book “The Pink Swastika” as a source for a “history of the modern gay movement.”  The premise of the book, which appears to be largely based on conspiratorial fiction, is that the Nazi party upper echelon was comprised primarily of homosexuals, and that it was an integral step in the social evolution of the gay (rights) movement.  Such is the hatred of the author, Scott Lively, for homosexuals, that he has constructed a history in which they are responsible for the greatest holocaust in the modern era.  It is a commentary both sadistic and ironic.

They don’t care about you, they want your children…

The text Langa reads from so dramatically here was written by Michael Swift in 1987. “Michael Swift” is a pseudonym – a nod to 18th-century satirist Jonathan Swift – and the text attributed to him is satire. Despite this, it has been treated as a serious “gay manifesto” time and again by anti-gay activists to incite fear and hatred of the gay community. The essay contains the deliberately outrageous claims that gays “will sodomize your children,” that churches “will be closed” and “the family unit eliminated.” What is rarely quoted is the preface, which clearly marks the piece as satire:

This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor.

Depicting this work of satire written in the heat of the AIDS crisis as having serious intent is nothing less than an incitement to violence. Combined with the prestige provided by supposed American “authorities” on homosexuality in the meetings of March 5-8, Langa here brings to the surface the greatest fear, and one that has been used by so many campaigns against marginalized groups throughout history — they are a danger to your children. A lie served up by a “man of God,” backed by “experts” from the West and representatives of their own government. This is all a dangerous recipe for violence against anyone who is, or is perceived to be, gay in Uganda.

Owing to their passive participation with the earlier conference, their affirming position towards their representative and their unwillingness to take even the most basic steps to counter this menagerie of lies being used to generate anger and hatred towards gay men and women in that country, Exodus International and its president, Alan Chambers, has a direct line of responsibility for what happens next.  Along with Caleb Brundidge of the International Healing Foundation (Richard Cohen) and Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries, they all carry responsibility for what is coming.

Not only have they actively participated in a sham conference, held by a person known to distort the truth, but they have been absolutely useless since, avoiding inquiries and desperate pleas alike, all the while posturing for whatever audience they ultimately care about.

Have you spoken with any gay people on the ground in Uganda, Mr. Chambers?  Well I have and they are terrified, and thanks in part to you, they should be.

A survey has found that 17 percent of therapists in the UK have offered a client therapy to “reduce” same-sex attractions. Four percent said they would try to “change” a patient’s sexuality if asked.

The findings are from a study carried out by a team at University College London, whose ongoing research into conversion therapy is being documented online at www.treatmentshomosexuality.org.uk.

The reseachers, led by Dr Graham King, questioned 1,400 mental health professionals. They described the number willing to offer help for gays to become straight as “a significant minority,” and concluded that the lack of evidence for change made such therapy “unwise or even harmful.”

The study was published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, and is available to read online in full.

A documentary about the controversial ex-gay program Love in Action will be released on DVD on June 6 2009.

Love in Action revisits the furore of summer 2005, when then-16-year-old Zach Stark gained the attention of activists worldwide after his parents forced him to attend the Memphis-based program. In the film, Zach speaks for the first time about his ordeal.

From the official blog:

In the documentary, former Love In Action director John Smid as well as former adult and teenage clients share their hearts on these experiences. In addition, local bloggers, community activists and classmates of Zach tell their stories of becoming involved with what would become a story that gained the attention of largest international news organizations.

[...]

The documentary chronicles the personal stories of those involved and their relationships with God, the world around them and themselves as this agonizingly divisive and polarizing issue unfolds. It also features an extremely surprising, and highly unlikely friendship that developed over this time period, which no one could have predicted would form.

It follows the events that led up to and sparked this story, the ongoing protests and the events that have continued since, including state investigations into LIA’s practices, a lawsuit filed by LIA against the State of Tennessee, as well as the story of the return of a former teen client of Refuge a year later to speak out against the program in a “one year anniversary protest.”

At the end of this past January XGW noted the deafening silence made by Exodus while the movie “Prayers for Bobby” was being prominently featured in both mainstream and gay-specific news outlets. It was critically acclaimed and drew in millions of viewers for Lifetime, a mainstream cable network. An open thread featured here generated responses from people genuinely affected upon viewing the movie. But you could have heard a pin drop over at the blogs of the Exodus leaders.

For those who don’t recall, “Prayers for Bobby” is a book, based on the true story of Bobby Griffith, that was made into a movie about a young gay man who commits suicide when he can no longer endure his mother’s and community’s religious intolerance. Up until his death, Bobby’s mother Mary refuses to “give up” on her son, whom she takes to a Christian psychiatrist in an attempt to “heal” him, and fervently prays for his release from homosexuality. Her attitude changes after she is struck by the tragedy of her son’s death, and becomes an active supporter of LGBTQ equality. Prominent in the story is conflict between the acts and attitudes Mary engages in out of “love” for her son, and how “loved” Bobby truly feels.

“What do I say to my gay loved one?” asks Mike Ensley, as he prepares to answer in an article, published February 24th on the Boundless Webzine. Ensley worked for years as Exodus International’s “Youth Consultant,” until his recent layoff from the organization. Mary knew how to love her gay son: He may or may not have seen his behavior as sinful, but his perceived homosexual identity, in his mind, was independent of behavior. While she knew his belief to be in error, it was “right” to him. He was hurt and broken and needed the touch of the great physician, Jesus Christ.

Actually, those aren’t the words of Bobby’s mother. They’re the words of Exodus International. They’re part of a response to the question, “My friend says if I really love him, I’ll accept his homosexuality. Is that true?”

Ensley reassures his readers:

You need to be prepared for the person you love to hate you. They will probably insist that it’s you who hates them. This is their last line of defense against the truth, and it’s a strong one.

The culture we live in tells the gay person that you are the reason they are unhappy. It’s your refusal to celebrate homosexuality that is responsible for pretty much everything that goes wrong for them. Even when you refuse to debate or argue, even when you open your home and your heart to them, your love may be counted as hate.
…
We must continually pray for the Spirit to melt the hearts of the people we know — and to keep ours soft, fresh and resilient.

The most unsettling thing in Ensley’s article is the idea that he “knows” what’s best for a gay person even should a gay person insist otherwise; he “knows” how a gay person really feels even when they say they’re “at peace” with their Christian faith and their sexuality.

Another common quandary I’ve seen is when a person claims to be “at peace” with living a gay life and simultaneously professing faith in Jesus. Sometimes that person will even tell you they have gone before the Throne and been given God’s blessing for their gay identity and/or relationship.

You see, the “peace” a gay Christian will claim to have is not really “peace.” They might think it’s peace, but it really isn’t. It’s really just a “double-minded” rationalization they have concocted, and it is very “fragile.”

The truth is that people can find ways to be happy on either side of the fence; what really makes a person miserable is being double-minded. These are the people who know they can’t deny the truth expressed in Scripture, yet also refuse to let go of their on-again, off-again romance with sin. However there’s a natural relief a person experiences when any internal conflict has been settled.

Split devotions lead to instability. Resolve — whether it’s to do wrong or right — brings relief. That relief can easily be mistaken for holy peace — especially by someone who desperately wants it to be just that.

The difficulty then is being the person who disturbs that fragile calm. Now, I’d never tell a gay non-believer that they weren’t really happy. But if a person is claiming faith in Jesus, and it’s someone you are in relationship with, you can’t be silent. To just go along with it would be to disregard the duty that Christian love calls you to.

Knowing what’s better for others and telling them how they’re wrong and not really at peace even if they insist otherwise is tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

In short, Exodus International’s attitude towards Bobby Griffith – and all gays who are sexually honest – is the same as Mary’s was until he took his own life in response. So it’s understandable that the veneer of “love and compassion” they’ve worked so hard to show the public would begin to crack if they told the truth about their opinion of a movie that demonstrates such an attitude has – and still can – result in a loved one’s death.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) has emailed an “action alert” from Mission America to their subscriber list.  Recipients are asked to “help keep the activists accountable” by reporting the web site “Prop 8 Maps” to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a hate group.

Subject: Protect Heterosexuals

Help Keep the Activists Accountable: One simple thing you can do

Please do one simple thing to keep rabid homosexual activism accountable.

Go to this page of the Southern Poverty Law Center web site:

http://www.splcenter.org/center/contact.jsp

Send them a complaint about a hate group. In the selection box, click on “Report hate activity in your community.” This should work even if you are not in California. Then just compose a quick message about the following group:

The group is this web site,

http://www.eightmaps.com/

This site identifies the physical addresses of the Prop 8 donors–those who contributed to the successful California measure affirming traditional marriage.

Here’s a suggested text for your message:

Please list among your hate groups the organization responsible for the web site, http://www.eightmaps.com/ . This site has made it easy for anyone who wants to physically target a person who contributed funds to support the Proposition 8 marriage initiative. This is a direct incitement to possible violence, and the site needs to be taken down. In addition, please list under your “hate incidents” all the pro-homosexual, anti-marriage violence that occurred following the passage of Prop 8. Right now, there seems to be nothing listed on your site. Please be objective and list ALL types of “hate” incidents.

Thank you.
———
Please pass this along message to as many people as possible.
If the SPLC really monitors hate and incitement to violence, they need to identify these folks as a hate group and also, list the virulent actions of the anti-marriage activists.

Mission America

Mission America is one of the more extreme anti-gay “ministries” in the US, founded and led by an equally extreme and anti-gay Linda Harvey. Most recently they have backed the Walk Out on the Day of Silence, but XGW has a record of years worth of behavior that leaves little doubt about their stance on GLBT issues, or the rights of just about anyone who does not share their own particular sect of Christianity.  Their home page is titled:

Mission:America – Learn the Truth about Homosexuality, Witchcraft, Changing Christian Church, Radical Feminism, and the Youth Culture

Prop 8 Maps (EightMaps.com) has taken publicly available campaign donation records, in this case concerning those who donated one-hundred dollars or more in support of Proposition 8 in California, and made the information easily searchable on a Google Maps mashup.

As we understand it, posting this information is legal and complies with transparency laws in that state. Mission America and some other pro-Proposition 8 groups believe instead that this is an attempt at intimidation. An attempt to persuade a judge of the latter was unsuccessful.