Vicki Nantz and her partner, Mary Meeks, shot this wonderful video at our press conference yesterday - where we spoke out against Focus on the Family’s “ex-gay” Love Won Out road show. The two women also filmed a documentary about Ryan Skipper, a man who was murdered in Florida because of his sexual orientation.

To highlight the trauma ex-gay ministries often cause families, TWO has eleased an exclusive video documenting the story of “ex-gay” survivor Robert Elster, who participated in ex-gay programs for 20 years. Convinced by these groups that he was cured, he married his wife Judy for 15 years and they had two children. Unfortunately, the marriage ended because Robert had not become straight. He had been sold false hope and bought into what he now calls his “inauthentic self.” Today, he lives as an out, proud openly gay man in California.

In Exclusive New TWO Video, A Survivor Tells Of His Escape From ‘Ex-Gay’ Ministries

ORLANDO - A coalition of gay and lesbian community leaders held a media conference today to counter Focus on the Family’s ex-gay Love Won Out symposium, which will take place on Saturday. The ex-gay road show was specifically planned to coincide with Gay Days at Disney and to push Focus on the Family’s election year political agenda, says TruthWinsOut.org (TWO).

“Love Won Out distorts gay life and confuses stereotypes with science, while selling false hope to vulnerable people,” said TruthWinsOut.org’s Executive Director Wayne Besen, at the media conference. “The symposium promotes outdated ideas that are rejected by every reputable mental health association in America. Unfortunately, the real goal of this conference is to pass anti-gay laws and stigmatize gay men and women.”

The conference is strategically timed in a presidential year that will include a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot that seeks to prohibit same-sex marriage and domestic partnership benefits. The event also coincides with Gay Days at Disney and takes place in the shadow of the monumental California Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Focus on the Family has exploited these opportunities and promoted this conference by placing offensive billboards in Orlando.

“This is a hurtful symposium that sends the toxic message that some people are inferior and need to change,” said Besen. “Love Won Out divides communities and pits people against each other for political gain.”

To highlight the trauma ex-gay ministries often cause families, TWO released an exclusive video today documenting the story of “ex-gay” survivor Robert Elster, who participated in ex-gay programs for 20 years. Convinced by these groups that he was cured, he married his wife Judy for 15 years and they had two children. Unfortunately, the marriage ended because Robert had not become straight. He had been sold false hope and bought into what he now calls his “inauthentic self.” Today, he lives as an out, proud openly gay man in California.

Additionally, TWO will participate in a Saturday PFLAG-sponsored prayer vigil in front of the Love Won Out conference at 7AM. (First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, 106 East Church Street).

Today’s media conference was held at The Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida. Speakers included: Dr. Kathryn Norsworthy, licensed psychologist; Garrett Granger, Survivor of ex-gay ministries; Rev. John Middleton, Joy Metropolitan Community Church; Pastor Brei Taylor, Oasis Ministries; Linn Possell; Hope Unites United Church of Christ; Wayne Besen, Executive Director, TruthWinsOut.org.

Love Won Out is a quarterly ex-gay symposium that preys on vulnerable and desperate parents. John Paulk, an ex-gay leader who was on the cover of Newsweek, founded the program. Love Won Out suffered a major setback after Paulk was photographed inside a Washington, DC gay bar by Besen in 2000.

TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life.

Exodus International executive vice president Randy Thomas stated on his weblog June 3 that he supports the latest efforts to deny gay California and Florida couples access to marriage, and implied his support for GOP efforts to exploit marriage for political gain in November:

I am posting this because this November is shaping up to be very similar to ‘06 with regard to State marriage battles. Except this time, you have some HUGE populations (CA and FL) in the mix.

By Wayne Besen

One thing we Floridians loathe is being upstaged by California – that other bastion of sun and fun. We have worked hard to outdo them. For example, we countered their Disney Land with Disney World – a version of Mickey on steroids. Both states grow oranges – but we one-upped them by making the orange our state fruit.  Still, California seems to get all the love with its glamorous movie stars who cruise in their fancy convertibles, enjoying humidity and mosquito free evenings.

In 2008, Florida was poised to become the center of the gay activism universe after the right wing placed a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot that would prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions.

I attended the initial meeting of Florida Red & Blue, the organization that was created to fight the Amendment. It took place inside the luxurious condo of a storied political operative. Seated in a circle, some of the most powerful and well-connected people – Democrats, republicans, gay and straight - strategized on how to win. Several of the major gay organizations and foundations announced they were onboard for this epic battle. An Equality Florida led coalition, Fairness for All Families, was also created to organize at the grassroots level.

All eyes were on Florida – until the California Supreme Court ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This was a monumental victory and the cause of mass celebration across America. While marriage in little ole Massachusetts was an appetizer, this was the four-course meal at the best restaurant in town.

The decision gave birth to countless news stories and endless chatter on the blogs. Unlike Massachusetts, there are no residency requirements for gay couples to marry in the Golden State. This led to New York Gov. David Paterson directing state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states and countries where they are legal.

Unfortunately, California was back in the news this week because the initiative to ban same-sex marriage received enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. So far, California polls have split on which side will win. A Los Angles Times survey suggested that the anti-gay amendment would narrowly pass. However, a few days later the Sacramento Bee released a field poll showing the amendment would fail 51 to 42 percent. This is clearly going to be a multi-million dollar nasty brawl that will capture the nation’s attention.

While California is back in the spotlight, we can’t let it eclipse what is happening in Florida. The right wing is gearing up to launch a huge campaign to win here. Indeed, Focus on the Family is hosting its ex-gay road show, Love Won Out, this week in Orlando. The group has placed billboards in the city and brazenly scheduled the event the same week as Gay Days at Disney – to receive maximum exposure. The conference will be fertile ground to recruit volunteers to work on passing the Amendment. My organization, TruthWinsOut.org, will join local advocates at a media conference to help counter the ex-gay symposium and its political implications.

The Florida measure is clearly a cynical ploy to get conservatives to the polls in a key election year – when Republicans are showing weakness in the south, losing special congressional elections in once “safe seats” in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The good news is, it will take 60 percent of the vote to amend the Florida constitution – increasing the likelihood that this amendment will fail. However, this means we can’t allow California to be a distraction. It is crucial that we keep one eye on Hollywood California, and the other on Hollywood, Florida. An affirmative win for marriage in California, combined with turning back a negative amendment in Florida, will take the air out of this issue nationally.

It would be a Godsend if we surfed to victory in California. But we also can’t get bogged down in the notorious Florida political swamp that led to the failed presidency of George W. Bush. The west coast wonder will once again be the leading man, but we must ensure the Election Day production isn’t spoiled because we forgot about the supporting cast in the Sunshine State.

The Unseen Disciple is among those voices that, speaking from an informed Christian perspective, express concern over the ex-gay movement’s un-ministerial, un-servantlike, and ultimately un-Christian objectives and methods.

In serving their own interests, ex-gay ministries fail to serve God; in short, they cannot serve two masters.

In a WorldNetDaily article promoting the Love Won Out ex-gay road show, writer Bob Unruh reports:

One organization, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, said the term “ex-gay” threatens the homosexual community because “it implies that one remains homosexual by choice. That the gay person need not continue in the homosexual lifestyle is an unsettling message.”

[Gary] Schneeburger [of Focus on the Family] agreed. He said the one thread that runs through all the testimonies of speakers at Love Won Out conferences is the revelation individuals had when they realized that change was possible.

“That message is what folks [in the homosexual community] are intolerant about. They don’t want to have the discussion,” he said.

Various web sites periodically voice the false hope that the ex-gay movement is moderating its dishonest rhetoric of undefined “change”; PFOX and Focus on the Family, however, demonstrate a steadfast commitment to the failed rhetoric of the past. (Read More)