Ex-Gay Watch

Whenever something remotely gay or ex-gay hits the headlines, Stephen Bennett is there pandering with a press release. He so desperately wants to be relevant, and yet he just isn’t. At times I actually feel sorry for him.

Responding to media questions about presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee’s 1992 statement on isolating those with HIV/AIDS, one can almost see Bennett jumping up and down like an attention-starved puppy as he issues yet another press release. This time he bills himself as “a worldwide Christian support community for parents with children who are homosexual, HIV positive or children who have died from complications due to HIV/AIDS.” When did he add the HIV/AIDS part? Apparently just yesterday, but then it does mesh nicely with the Huckabee issue.

It’s a coincidence that Stephen left his homosexual lifestyle in 1992 — the same year now presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made his statements on HIV/AIDS and reference to homosexuality as being “sinful.”

Smooth Stephen, real smooth.

Bennett has done a lot of things. He used to draw the portraits of celebrities (not half bad), then send them in as a fan and have them signed. Some might even think the work was commissioned by the celebrities themselves, though we are sure not intentionally. This was before his sign business, but on to the interesting stuff.

When he started a podcast, he called it a “nationwide radio program.” Apparently charging to listen wasn’t working out, so he started a church — a “virtual” church. Originally you could get sermons sent to you for $50 a month, but the material has become so stale it’s free now. It was creepy to hear him ask for everyone to gather round in a circle and hold hands, knowing he was probably sitting at his computer recording it all by himself. Read more…

Ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett suffered a racist verbal slip last week. But it was not an entirely isolated incident. Republic of T reminds us that Bennett has linked to white supremacists before. (Past coverage: Good As You, Ex-Gay Watch). Republic of T recalls other examples of ex-gay racism, and sees a broader pattern of racism in the ex-gay political movement.

Box Turtle Bulletin offers coverage-in-depth of this week’s angry war of words fired by far-right culture warriors Peter LaBarbera and Stephen Bennett against Exodus International and its president, Alan Chambers.

Chambers has stated for some time that “change” is slow (if it happens at all) among ex-gays. When word of this reached the mainstream press this week, LaBarbera and Bennett became outraged that their own message of easy, instantaneous heterosexuality had been undermined in some very public forums.

None of the three activists has yet documented a gay past to XGW’s satisfaction, and LaBarbera in fact claims never to have been either gay or ex-gay. So the credibility of all three regarding change of sexual attraction or identity is tenuous at best.

While Chambers speaks from the stated experience of Exodus member ministers, LaBarbera and Bennett demonstrate a vaporous, blustery preachiness that is heavy on flattery toward God and lacking in substance. LaBarbera, for example, speaks of “allegiance to a holy, almighty God”; apparently he could not find Bible verses to support his contention that dishonest sexual behavior is the Christian Way, nor could he find legitimate medical or scientific research equating sexual orientation with lust. LaBarbera pontificates that “ExGayWatch” (sic), in particular, is “decidedly evil” but fails to explain how it is evil to hold ex-gays accountable to measurable facts and healthy therapeutic outcomes.

Ex-Gay Watch sends congratulations to Bennett and LaBarbera — may this cat fight bring them a fleeting rise in contributions from people who don’t know any better.

Not long ago, the White House issued a picture of Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife holding their new grandchild, Samuel David Cheney. Samuel is the child of the Cheney’s daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe.

As we reported, ex-gay Stephen Bennett was so incensed that the White House would refer to the Cheney’s daughter and her partner as the parents that he issued a press release which stated emphatically that only biological parents were “REAL” parents. [emphasis in original] This prompted a principled rebuke from Exodus president Alan Chambers, the adoptive father of two children, and a less than adult counter comment by Bennett here on XGW.

For his part, Bennett wrote an after the fact post on his blog trying to explain that only same-sex parents were a sinful charade, saying this exonerated him from Chamber’s (and our) claims. He never did explain why this clarification was in an obscure section of his website and not in the press release itself.

Now it appears that Bennett isn’t so convinced of the worth of adoptive parents after all. He has made a similar statement in yesterday’s entry of his blog, the subject of which is the recent same-sex marriage vote in Massachusetts.

The Goodridge lesbians – plantiffs [sic] who started this “gay” marriage mess – broke up an left one another only two years after saying, “I do.”

Obviously — they didn’t and a ten year old girl was left in the wake of these self-centered lesbians’ destruction, while she has a REAL father somewhere, out there.

Just because the government is pandering to the P-Town crowd mentality, real marriage has been degraded and devalued and “playing house” has been elevated to “legal” status.

Again, emphasis on the “REAL” father, i.e. the biological father. Certainly after the ordeal two weeks ago Bennett should be aware of how callous it is for him to keep emphasizing the idea that biological parents are the only “REAL” parents — regardless of his opinion of same-sex relationships.

Bennett also makes sport of the fact that the couple’s relationship ended after two years, calling them “self-centered lesbians” and cracking a sarcastic joke about their vows. No one should have to point out the fact that same-sex couples are not behind the overwhelming popularity of no-fault divorce in this country. Marriages can and do fail, sometimes after only a brief time. It’s unfortunate to say the least, but it is not a gay or lesbian issue.

Self-proclaimed ex-gay Stephen Bennett has a habit of issuing questionable statements, apparently to gain news coverage. As he fades from his minor moment in the spotlight – even mainstream ex-gay organizations don’t seem to care for him – he makes more and more disturbing claims to draw attention to whatever ministry he is promoting at any given time. Bennett’s offerings are often for fee only, which is described as a tax deductible donation.

This time Bennett is upset over a picture issued by the White House of Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife holding their new grandchild, Samuel David Cheney. Samuel is the child of the Cheney’s daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe. That’s the part that incensed Bennett.

Unlike the official White House photo caption, a man and a woman, a Daddy and a Mommy, are Samuel David Cheney’s REAL biological parents.

Then who is Heather Poe?

Heather Poe is Mary Cheney’s live-in lesbian lover. She may act like a parent, she may treat the baby as a parent, she may love this baby with all of her heart, but in this reality we all live in, Heather Poe is NOT the baby’s real parent. She has NO biological connection to the child whatsoever. Some man, the baby’s real Daddy, is the child’s other REAL parent.

In his fervor to portray same-sex parents as vile and invalid, which is callous enough, he does the same to all families with adopted children. The foundation of his argument is that only biological parents are “REAL” parents [his emphasis] no matter how much genuine love exists between them. Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, the largest ex-gay organization and himself the father of two adopted children, had this to say in response:

Read more…

Subject: Brainwashing children about homosexuality: YouTube
The homosexual brainwashing of kids in schools…
If you haven’t already seen these, get ready.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mil2ohzJ6gs&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spz5yN5I2wU&NR=1

That was the juicy little email sent out by Mission America this evening, a conservative Christian political outfit operated by Linda Harvey of Columbus, OH. Ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett sent one out to his members as well. On the other end is what appears to be pirated video from the 8 year old documentary It’s Elementary, along with hardcore racist and Nazi propaganda.

The video in the links above is of a sample classroom where teachers speak intelligently about gay people to help demonstrate how to help prevent stereotypes and prejudice later in life. This is ironic, considering the fact that the owner of the YouTube account has tagged it with the word “faggots” and has surrounded it with other videos entitled Hitler and Keep America White.

With the other titles so obvious, and the epithets right next to the videos in the links, one is left to wonder if Bennett and Mission America are so entrenched in hate that they didn’t even notice what they were promoting.

It should be noted that Mission America is one of the organizations who supported a boycott of the Day of Silence, calling it a day “in which students and some supportive faculty intentionally remain silent throughout the school day to protest alleged oppression of homosexuals.” [emphasis added]

On Jan. 16, the national ex-gay umbrella network Exodus International declared its opposition to the inclusion of sexual orientation in federal hate-crime laws.

Exodus President Alan Chambers cited the Philadelphia-based antigay protest group Repent America as an example of Christians whose First Amendment rights were allegedly violated in 2004 by government officials and gay activists who were supposedly armed with local hate-crime laws.

Focus on the Family launched an almost identical campaign the same day, quoting Chambers and its own pundits as the sole sources of information about hate-crime laws.

Ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett couldn’t resist joining the campaign — boasting on Jan. 17 that he was coordinating a secret White House effort. According to AmericaBlog via Pam Spaulding, Bennett told the following to his mailing list:

“I cannot give any more of the details as of this time, but SBM is coordinating a private meeting with President Bush and other FORMER homosexual men and women, along with their families to VETO this bill, should it come to that point. A very well know Senator who believes in our efforts is working directly with SBM to secure this meeting. Lord willing, this meeting will be taking place VERY soon and we need you to PRAY.”

But just days later, on Jan. 19, a federal court ruled against Repent America for violating the First Amendment rights of others. As it turned out, the ex-gay campaign against gay/straight participation in hate-crime laws was built upon the shifting sands of arrogance, politics, and self-pity, not a solid foundation of fact regarding federal hate-crime legislation.  Read more…

A Tenable Belief analyzes ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett’s holiday fund-raising appeal. On his home page, Bennett claims an immediate need for $25,000 to repay debts and then warns that his activist operation might not continue unless donors supply $100,000 by Dec. 31 to cover just the first three months of 2007.

ATB notices what’s missing from Bennett’s claims of financial hardship:

• No mention is made of funds earmarked for, or expenses paid because of, the radio show, the Jerusalem trip, or the new church.
• A drop in donations would be expected after giving up travel for preaching and speaking engagements in June.
• Receiving $100K in December might increase Bennett’s peace of mind, but only $25K is urgently needed to pay off debt.
• Is the new church is consuming a significant proportion of the ministry’s energy? If so, is there a plan to bring in enough $50/month global members in order to fund it?

You try to make sense out of Stephen Bennett.

I can’t — every paragraph contradicts every other paragraph.

The one consistent element: Self-promotion.

Stephen Bennett of Stephen Bennett Ministries is available for comment on the Foley scandal. From the “Foley, Molestation and Homosexuality — Expert Available for Comment” media release:

…”Former Rep. Foley’s story is so tragically typical – the molested can become the molester. Yes, there are those who can deal with the trauma and make it through. However, we have to stop worrying about being ‘politically correct’ in the media regarding homosexuality and finally deal with the truths and facts that homosexual molestation (and heterosexual) of children can and does produce future homosexual men and women. It robs children of their childhood and in many cases, destroys their lives. I’ve personally dealt with so many homosexual individuals whose lives have been ruined because of childhood molestation – but the great news is they don’t have to be ‘by-products’ or victims of their childhood. These individuals can be ‘victors’ and not ‘victims.’ Change IS completely possible. For former Rep. Foley and so many others, there is help — and there is HOPE.”

Stephen is available to provide expert commentary on the Foley story in regard to homosexual molestation, as well as former NJ Governor McGreevey and share many other true accounts – even the story of a man molested who was jailed for molesting little boys, and hanged himself. He could no longer control his desires to molest boys and instead took his own life.

“No comment” from me (as any comment I would make would seem too obvious a rejoinder), so let me call this a “Foley scandal: Formerly Gay Identified People Speak” entry.
Read more…