As Right Wing Leaders Cover Their Tracks, Personal Responsibility, Law and Order and Accountability Are Tossed Out The Window, Says Truth Wins Out

MIAMI BEACH — Leading right wing groups closed ranks this week to attack Truth Wins Out after it filed complaints with two Attorneys General against The American Family Association and Americans For Truth About Homosexuality for promoting and selling a deceptive video, “It’s Not Gay,” featuring failed ex-gay leader Michael Johnston.

Johnston, who is HIV-positive, offers testimony in “It’s Not Gay” that he became heterosexual in 1998 “through the power of Jesus Christ.” In August 2003, Johnston’s claims at sexual conversion collapsed in an embarrassing scandal that included unprotected sex with multiple men. In lashing out to cover their tracks over the hawking of this misleading video, the extreme right abandoned all pretenses of real conservative values.

“There is a double standard where personal responsibility, ethics and accountability don’t seem to apply to these right wing organizations,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “The American Family Association and Americans For Truth About Homosexuality have made a mockery of traditional conservatism by cheerleading disgraceful behavior that has placed lives in jeopardy.” (Read More)

Montgomery County Public Schools
Board of Education
Attn: Ms. Nancy Navarro, President

Dear Ms. Navarro:

As the founder of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that monitors “ex-gay” ministries, and as the author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth, I have studied Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) for many years. I am deeply concerned about the deceptive PFOX flyer going home with students on Feb. 1. If you look beneath the surface, PFOX is a dangerous group that puts children at risk and has ties to a group that recently justified slavery.

Before I further discuss PFOX’s troubling record, I want to thank you and the board for instituting a curriculum that works towards greater understanding and tolerance. In the face of organized pressure, you have stood firm and taken steps towards reducing harassment and making life better on campus for GLBT students. This is why I think it is essential that the Board of Education have the full story regarding PFOX. (Read More)

Dobson’s camp has publicized a small portion of the story on gay “rehabilitation.” Dr. Robert Spitzer, author of often quoted research, tells us the rest of the story, including how hard it was to gather a sample group for the study.

Group Behind Flyer Promotes Pseudoscience and Is Tied To Group That Justified Slavery

WASHINGTON - Truth Wins Out called on the Board of Education of Montgomery County Public Schools to immediately halt the distribution of a harmful flyer produced by Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. PFOX poses a threat to vulnerable children because it is led by a discredited therapist and linked to a fringe “therapy” group that recently caused a controversy after a key member justified slavery. Mike Rogers, the editor and founder of PageOneQ, first reported the story.

“It is unacceptable that Montgomery County schools are steering students to a website with strong ties to an organization that believes Africans were better off as slaves,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “There are also concerns that this organization’s President, Richard Cohen (pictured), has suggested that avenging spirits are the cause of homosexuality. This could surely influence the way some students view their gay peers, leading to increased alienation or harassment.”

Students who receive a PFOX flyer will be directed to PFOX’s website where there are copious references or referrals to the notorious National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. In 2006, NARTH’s President, Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, announced he would step down after controversy ensued over an article that appeared on the group’s website. It was written by “Scientific Advisory Committee” member Gerald Schoenewolf and seemed to justify slavery. (Read More)

So-Called Miracle ‘Cure’ Did Not Endure, Yet Consumers Intentionally Kept In The Dark About ‘Ex-Gay’ Leader’s Failed Sexual Conversion

JACKSON, Miss. – Truth Wins Out announced today that it would file a complaint this week with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood against the Tupelo, Mississippi-based American Family Association for selling a misleading video on its web-site titled, “It’s Not Gay.” In a letter to Hood, Truth Wins Out urged him to expeditiously pull this fraudulent video from the marketplace, require a written apology from the AFA and that refunds be offered to dissatisfied consumers.

“Nowhere does the American Family Association inform potential viewers that Johnston’s ‘cure’ did not endure,” wrote Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen in the letter to Hood. “This organization is undeniably peddling false hope to vulnerable and desperate people and bilking them out of their hard earned money. In doing so, the American Family Association is unscrupulously capitalizing on the sincere and heartfelt religious convictions of its followers and exploiting them for the organization’s financial gain.”

The primary spokesperson featured in “It’s Not Gay” is Michael Johnston, an HIV+ so-called “ex-gay” leader who offers testimony claiming he became heterosexual in 1998 “through the power of Jesus Christ.” He went on to collaborate with The American Family Association, Americans For Truth, Coral Ridge Ministries and Rev. Jerry Falwell. (Read More)

So-Called Miracle ‘Cure’ Did Not Endure, Yet Consumers Intentionally Kept In The Dark About ‘Ex-Gay’ Leader’s Failed Sexual Conversion

CHICAGO – Truth Wins Out filed a complaint today with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan against the Naperville, Illinois-based non-profit organization Americans For Truth and its president Peter LaBarbera for selling a misleading video on its web-site titled, “It’s Not Gay.” In a letter to Madigan, Truth Wins Out urged her to expeditiously pull this fraudulent video from the marketplace, require a written apology from LaBarbera and that refunds be offered to dissatisfied consumers.

“Nowhere does Americans for Truth inform potential viewers that Johnston’s ‘cure’ did not endure,” wrote Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen in the letter to Madigan. “This organization is undeniably peddling false hope to vulnerable and desperate people and bilking them out of their hard earned money. In doing so, Americans for Truth is unscrupulously capitalizing on the sincere and heartfelt religious convictions of its followers and exploiting them for the organization’s financial gain.”

The primary spokesperson featured in “It’s Not Gay” is Michael Johnston, an HIV+ so-called “ex-gay” leader who offers testimony claiming he became heterosexual in 1998 “through the power of Jesus Christ.” He went on to collaborate with The American Family Association, Coral Ridge Ministries and Rev. Jerry Falwell. (Read More)

Dear Mr. Chambers:

Truth Wins Out is inquiring when Exodus was going to publicly address Peterson Toscano’s serious allegations of inappropriate behavior between an adult and a minor at an Exodus retreat/ministry. The silence is leading many people to believe that the mistreatment of youth took place in an Exodus “ex-gay” ministry and that this transgression occurred on your watch.

Additionally, Truth Wins Out would also like to know why it has taken Exodus so long to post new guidelines that would help avoid such situations. After all, the Los Angeles Times reported that there was a child abuse case settled out of court with Desert Stream a few years ago. Exodus has yet to explain what happened in this case. However, the big question is, why did you expand the youth program without creating an environment that would stop the next Desert Stream-gate from occurring?

You have been on the job for several years with an increasing focus on youth. Shouldn’t making changes to protect kids have been your first priority, rather than expanding your program? You have had a youth director, Scott Davis, for some time. Clearly, you have the staff to create and implement such a policy. Yet, you are only getting around to this now? It appears that you may have been derelict in duty by not addressing the problems Exodus has encountered in the past.

Finally, the word is that Exodus has reported the alleged incident to the police and that the parents of the minor in question have been notified. To confirm that this actually occurred, I would appreciate if you would provide me contact information for the police department notified, as well as the parents. Your immediate cooperation would be most appreciated and would go a long way in clearing any misperceptions and dispelling myths that may exist on Exodus’ handling of this unconscionable situation.

Sincerely,

Wayne Besen
Executive Director
Truth Wins Out

By Wayne Besen

The anti-gay groups, the American Family Association and Americans for Truth should be immediately shut down for committing wanton and craven acts of fraud. They are unabashed con artists duping their own members by selling a product both groups have admitted was misleading.

The merchandise in question is the AFA’s anti-gay video “It’s Not Gay,” which is described on the box as “former homosexuals tell a story few have heard.” Unfortunately, the story most Americans have not heard is that Michael Johnston, the supposedly ex-gay star of the video, is a fake that witnesses claim participated in unethical and possibly illegal sexual behavior. (Read More)

Miami Beach, FLA. – Truth Wins Out today called on Focus on the Family’s leader James Dobson to apologize for his egregious pattern of lies and for disrespecting his own followers in regard to his gross distortion of research in a TIME Magazine article.In a recent edition of TIME, Dobson wrote a guest opinion article condemning same-sex parents and demeaning Mary Cheney’s pregnancy. To back his viewpoint, Dobson quoted two esteemed researchers, Dr. Carol Gilligan of New York University and Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale University. Both researchers swiftly wrote letters to TIME and Dobson claiming he distorted their research. If this wasn’t humiliating enough, in the same week, Angela Phillips, author of “The Trouble With Boys,” and professor at Goldsmiths College in London, said she was “incensed” to find she was misquoted in another Dobson article.

On Focus on the Family’s website, Dobson defended himself by insinuating that these professors were “liberal” and “politically correct.” If this is true, it begs the question why Dobson quoted these researchers in the first place. It seems he only objected to their work once they accused him of a shady manipulation of science. Furthermore, Dobson has failed to point out to loyal Focus on the Family members that this is the sixth time in less than a year that a venerated professor has accused him of misusing research.

“If ‘Double-Talk Dobson’ had been accused by only one professor of manipulating research, it might be a legitimate mistake,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “However, when six researches in three countries have stepped forward in less than a year, I think it is fair to say that a pattern of lies has emerged. This is particularly disrespectful to Focus on the Family members who see Dobson as the nation’s grandfather, when he is really a grand forger of the facts.” (Read More)