Earlier today, Jay Fisette, a member of the Arlington County Board commented on the alleged “hate crime” reported by Regina Griggs, Executive Director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. Griggs claimed that a man was physically assaulted at a booth at the Arlington County Fair because he was an ex-gay PFOX volunteer. A subsequent investigation by Ex-Gay Watch found the allegations to be without merit. Fisette weighed in on the widening controversy:

“The alleged incident is a fiction. It makes for a good story, and possibly helps some with fundraising, but remains untrue. Both the Arlington County Police and the County Fair Board state they have no awareness or record of such an incident. Having spent quite a bit of time at the County Fair myself, I’m not sure the PFOX booth received much attention at all over that weekend.”

Jay Fisette
Member, Arlington County Board

Truth Wins Out called on Griggs to resign today, as this outrageous falsification of the facts has badly damaged her credibility on gay issues.

The Depraved Actions of Griggs Are Sickening And Unconscionable, Says Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen

LOS ANGELES – Truth Wins Out called on PFOX Executive Director Regina Griggs to resign today for faking a hate crime incident at a the Arlington County Fair in Virginia. Griggs claimed that a gay activist at the PFOX booth physically attacked an “ex-gay” volunteer. She said that police intervened and ejected the assailant from the event. Ex-Gay Watch editor David Roberts investigated her claims and found that Griggs’ story appears to be a complete fabrication.

“Once we started checking with people who would know, the evidence was overwhelming that it could not have happened the way they claimed,” said David Roberts, Editor of Ex-Gay Watch. “Fair officials, the police, eyewitnesses — they all report that no physical attack took place, police were not involved, and no one was escorted off the property. PFOX claimed all those things, and Focus on the Family and other Christian media repeated the claims.”

“Regina Griggs has lost all credibility and must resign in shame for her dishonest behavior,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “What PFOX did was warped, twisted and an insult to real hate crime victims.” (Read More)

‘Kennedy Caused A Great Deal Of Pain For Gay Americans,’ Said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen

MIAMI BEACH – Televangelist Rev. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church passed away today, only months after he suffered a heart attack. Kennedy was a radical fundamentalist cleric who demonized gay Americans, pioneered fraudulent ‘ex-gay’ ministries and fought to end the separation of church and state. Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen issued the following statement on Kennedy’s passing:

“Truth Wins Out offers its condolences to the Kennedy family in this time of mourning. It is never easy to lose a loved one and those who took comfort in Kennedy’s sermons will surely miss him.

However, we must also recognize that Kennedy was a great source of pain for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. In 1998, Coral Ridge spearheaded a national advertising campaign that featured so-called ‘ex-gay’ ministries. The campaign ended in shame, after Kennedy’s HIV+ ex-gay poster boy, Michael Johnston, resigned after allegedly having unsafe sex with men he met on the Internet. Kennedy never apologized for the suffering this deceptive campaign caused for Johnston’s victims or the thousands of people duped by the false hope peddled by Coral Ridge. (Read More)