I often end speaking engagements on the so-called “ex-gay” myth by comparing the charade to a play. I tell audiences that “ex-gays” are “like actors playing a role and in the end the final curtain of reality comes crashing down.”
It turns out that in Atlanta, a very surreal curtain will soon be lifted to reveal a bizarre play that promotes “freedom” from homosexuality and trashes gay life. Southern Voice, Atlanta’s LGBT publication, says that “Once Upon a Dream,” liberally uses the words “faggot,” “queer” and “abomination” in a negative way. It will show at the 14th Street Playhouse, conveniently nestled in Midtown, Atlanta’s gay neighborhood.
The show’s producer, Toni Henson, told Southern Voice in an e-mail that her production company wants to partner with area churches “to reach out to 155 million practicing homosexuals as we launch this unique, bible-based Christian ministry through this dramatic stage play.”
Wow, 155 million homosexuals in a country of 3oo million. One would think Gay Pride would have been a bit more crowded given such a surprising surge in our population. Hmm, now we know how Exodus leader Alan Chambers came up with his peculiar figure of “hundreds of thousands” of ex-gays – he must have employed Henson as his statistician.
Henson’s e-mail goes onto say: “‘Once Upon a Dream’ tackles the tough Issue… 1) Is FREEDOM from homosexuality possible? 2) Can I be gay and Christian? 3) How is same sex marriage & the pro-gay agenda affecting the church? 4) What are the risks if my church does outreach to gays?”
I guess that if one considers “freedom” self-denial, then it is possible. We can only imagine what risks there might be to a wholesome church if it reaches out to cootie-ridden homosexuals. And, what do you bet that the manufactured gay agenda they present won’t include the items:
I. Full Equality Under The Law
II. Being Left Alone And Free From Annoying Religious Zealots Who Promote Offensive Plays That Distort Out Lives
There is one thing Henson got right — seeking advice from “ex-gay” activist and Drama Queen, D.L. Foster, who is best known for his habit of drawing Hitler mustaches onto the pictures political opponents. In June 2006, Foster even drew one on yours truly. According to Exodus testimony, Foster had once engaged in orgies, drank and was hooked on poppers (is that even possible??), until he turned on basic cable late one evening:
“I slumped down in front of the TV and flipped it on,” wrote Foster. “When the screen came into focus, I saw an amazing sight: a badly beaten man dragging a heavy wooden cross through the streets of a city. Suddenly, the man stopped, and looked up at me as blood trickled down his face. Then he said, ‘I did this all for you.’ I began to weep uncontrollably as I realized Jesus had spoken to me.”
Given such a theatrical conversion, the play should be entertaining, to say the least. Instead of poppers, Mr. Foster can eat popcorn and watch his twisted vision of Biblical Broadway come to life. And, maybe Henson will win a Tony of Intolerance for her efforts to slime the GLBT community and promote simplistic and fictional versions of our lives.
Former ex-gay Peterson Toscano tells Bay Windows that he is assisting three young men who are in situations similar to Bryce Faulkner. “It’s just stunning, these kinds of stories, they just come up all the time,” Toscano said. More often than not, Toscano said, families suffer when one member is sent to an ex-gay ministry. “…Once their kid gets involved in the therapy, the parents then get blamed often for making the kid gay, so they all suffer for it.” Toscano also warns of the difficulties of trying to leave ex-gay ministries. “Cut off from the world – friends, TV, news, etc -the teachings of the programme fills the head. You get trapped in a world within a world… an alternate universe that warns of all sorts of dangers outside, that to leave, one is also leaving God’s will for your life.” Those who leave may be cut off from their families.
Common ground? Media ignorance of ex-gays abounds – and with all due respect, HRC’s current leader might benefit from a refresher course, too. It’s news to Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News and Joe Solmonese of HRC that Exodus promotes denial of sexuality — as well as obfuscation, ostracism, and discrimination. For some reason, Gilgoff views Alan Chambers’ admission as a sign of “common ground” with critics of the ex-gay movement. Not so, says Candace Chellew-Hodge, editor of the GLBT Christian publication Whosoever. She comments at length, noting that ex-gays have whispered for years that the “change” most can realistically expect is celibacy. “While it’s true that Alan Chambers would deny my Christianity and say that I am living in sin, his opinion doesn’t make it so.”
Alvin McEwen analyzes the ethical scandals and intentional deceptions of antigay, anti-education activist David Parker — including his arrest record. McEwen also analyzes how the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family distort science and fact to misinform audiences and defame entire blocs of the human population.
Focus on the Family’s DriveThru blog bluntly declares that minority rights should be determined by the whims of majorities. Constitutions shall be no safer from amendment than the nearest voter referendum. Most absurd statement: “We all take turns being part of a minority, depending on the issue du jour. That’s why majorities are sensitive to, and pass laws enumerating, the rights that will be protected even from an over-reaching majority.”
Live long: Ex-gay organizations say gay people die either young and diseased or old and lonely. Together for 70 years, this Jewish lesbian couple says it ain’t so — but they could have done without society’s fear of them.
Not so prosperous: Exodus leaders’ two main denominations, the Southern Baptists and Assemblies of God, continue to be overrun by popular mega-preachers teaching name-it-and-claim-it Prosperity Theology: God wants you to be a rich heterosexual, if only you pray hard enough. The result, acccording to Clint Rainey of Slate Magazine: Tens of thousands of additional home foreclosures among lower middle-income churchgoers who are too ashamed to condemn their pastors.
For real-time briefings about ex-gay news, join Truth Wins Out on Facebook.
In Plugging New Book, Exodus’ Alan Chambers Sets Low Bar For Exodus
Truth Wins Out responded today to an interview with a leading “ex-gay” activist who admitted that he was living in “self-denial.” Exodus International’s President, Alan Chambers, also told the conservative online magazine, Citizen Link, that Exodus clients should not expect that “they are going into heterosexuality.”
“If one reads through all of the convoluted double talk, Chambers is essentially letting potential clients know that they should have very low expectations of what Exodus has to offer,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Exodus is basically a support group for suppressing sexuality.”
The interview with Chambers promoted his new book, “Leaving Homosexuality”, which focuses on intimate details of his private life, such as his inability to perform sexually with his wife on their wedding night. More important, Chambers admits that becoming “ex-gay” is unnatural, a “hard road” and that the nagging “temptations” never end.
“The truth is, I’m in denial, but it is self-denial,” Chambers told Citizen Link. “…What I’ve found is that my freedom, and the freedom of those who’ve left homosexuality, was centered around denying what might come naturally to us…there is a way out for those who want it, but it doesn’t say that they are going into heterosexuality.”
“Attempts to ‘pray away the gay’ don’t work and can lead to depression and even suicide,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Alan Chambers was forthright when he said ‘ex-gay’ groups are not about ‘going into heterosexuality.’ I hope people will grasp this before they waste time and money on ineffective and dangerous programs.”
Chambers also said, “The most important thing for someone who doesn’t know the Lord is that they know Christ, not that they leave homosexuality.”
“We hope that Chambers’ sentiment translates into more acceptance for gay Christians and religious institutions that support equality,” said Besen. “Exodus must realize that the intolerance it preaches has driven away many gay people from all forms of religion.”
While boyfriend Travis Swanson struggles to free 23-year-old Bryce Faulkner from less-than-voluntary seclusion at an ex-gay boot camp, Faulkner’s antigay family members and a couple of friends appear to be conducting a Facebook campaign in support of Faulkner’s ex-gay reprogramming.
First, Faulkner’s mother Debra twice convinced Facebook to shut down a Facebook group that sought to locate and support her son. (Previous TWO stories.) Now two alleged friends or family members of Faulkner have started a closed Facebook group in support of his isolation and ex-gay re-education. The group introduction says:
Bryce Faulkner is many things to many people, but to Michael and myself he will always be one of the most caring, loving, generous people we have ever been blessed to know.
Contrary to what many people have heard, Bryce is not missing nor does he need to be saved or rescued. Bryce is safe, healthy and, most importantly, happy. Recently, he chose on his own accord to separate himself from the distractions from life that he believed were pulling him away from God. Seeking a spiritual reformation away from the worries and struggles of daily living, Bryce is in an environment where he has said he has come closer to the Lord than he has been in some time.
As recently as two days ago, Michael and I were both able to visit with Bryce. He appears to us as if a burden has been lifted from his shoulders, and he is at peace for the first time in a long time. Bryce was optimistic, joking and laughing through the majority of our visit. His outlook on life is something we admire and many strive to achieve, but he realizes there is still more to sort out as he plans his future.
The group description does not identify the group creator or Michael.
The claim that Faulkner is happily enjoying the isolation and amateur-led, shame-based counseling sessions that are typical at Exodus International boot camps is dubious: Numerous former ex-gays including Zach Stark have emerged from such boot camps to say that they were not there voluntarily and did not enjoy their stays, contrary to claims by relatives.
Swanson, for his part, continues to refute false information that has been released by Debra. In a lengthy interview with Quest, Swanson says: (Read More)
When actor/artist Thom Bierdz was asked to return to The Young and the Restless after a twenty year absence, he stated that he’d love to~~if he could play a gay man.
When Bierdz first played Philip Chancellor III on daytime TV’s top rated soap, he was a teen idol–and deeply closeted off screen.
As he recalls in his superb memoir, Forgiving Troy, he lived in fear, but yearned to come out. During the 1980s, sexual honesty in Hollywood meant career suicide.
Bierdz left the series in 1989. Soon after, he suffered through a series of real-life events that made his soap opera exploits seem tame in comparison. One shocking day, his mentally ill brother Troy picked up a baseball bat and murdered their Mom. In Forgiving Troy, Bierdz recounts the long, hard road to forgiveness, and his coming-out process. He also had to deal with the suicide of his other brother.
What Thom Bierdz lived through might have broken the spirit of a weaker person, but the now out, proud Bierdz bounced back, and forged a new, very successful career as an artist. He’s highly in demand for his detailed portrait work, often traveling for the many commissions he’s offered.
This past month, Bierdz returned to his second home. On July 7th, 2009, Y&R viewers were in for the shock of their lives: they had already learned that Philip Chancellor III had faked his death 20 years prior. On the 7th, they learned why: Philip didn’t want his conservative loved ones to know that he was gay. (Read More)
On Sunday, The New York Times featured a chilling article on how fundamentalist Christians stalked, harassed and ultimately murdered Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, who they taunted with the nickname, “Tiller the Baby Killer.”
A lone gunman, who used the e-mail name “ServantofMessiah”, shot Tiller while he ushered at Reformation Lutheran Church, where he and his wife were active members. Prior to Tiller’s assassination, the “loving” faithful had put bullets in his arms and bombed his clinic.
Unfortunately, with Tiller’s controversial clinic finally out of business, the lesson for the loony may be that lethal force is more effective than lobbying. In the Times article, Mark Geitzen, chairman of the Kansas Coalition for Life, expressed this sentiment when he said during a phone conversation, “God has his own way…but you can’t say our prayers weren’t answered.”
Tiller’s death vividly illustrates the danger posed by the violent language and imagery used by fanatics, who believe they are personally entrusted to enforce God’s will. What concerns me is that the aggressive tactics used against abortion providers are slowly seeping into the anti-gay movement.
As the wider culture becomes more accepting, homophobes are growing increasingly frustrated, which has led to bolder and more confrontational actions. Are anti-gay leaders egging on unstable followers to attack gay people or provoking gays to defend themselves so they can manufacture martyrdom and justify retaliation?
At the Dore Alley Fair in San Francisco last weekend, a number of muscular Christians wearing Jesus shirts reportedly tried to march through the event thumping Bibles and waving signs.
In Charlotte, Dr. Michael Brown, (pictured left) the founder of the Coalition of Conscience, organized several hundred followers in red shirts to descend like uninvited locusts on Charlotte Pride last week under the banner, “God Has a Better Way.”
Aside from the pompous name of their demonstration, the protesters confronted gay people and browbeat them with cherry picked Bible verses. Brown’s ostensible reason for marshaling the troops was to introduce Pride attendees to his angry version of God.
But, of course, the notion that gay people in conservative North Carolina needed Brown to educate them about religious fundamentalism was farcical. Indeed, many of the people at Pride had only found personal acceptance after long journeys to reconcile their spirituality and sexuality.
No, Brown was really there to besiege Charlotte’s gay residents with his hostile hordes. His group’s in-your-face presence was designed to disrupt peaceful assembly and make Pride attendees feel guilty and uncomfortable so that they might skip future gay events.
Fortunately, the pious proselytizers were on their best behavior after the militant writings and actions of Brown came under intense scrutiny by local Q-Notes editor Matt Comer. In his research, Comer found that Brown started his FIRE School of Ministry to “raise up a holy army of uncompromising spirit-filled radicals who will shake an entire generation with the gospel of Jesus by life or death.”
In a vacuum, such religious language may be viewed as a relatively benign rhetorical flourish. However, when followers are portrayed as holy warriors in a life and death struggle against a minority group that is falsely accused of working to undermine freedom of religion, the seeds of potential disaster are intentionally being sown.
In advertising his rally, Brown proclaimed that the “hour is urgent” and that Christians must “turn back the tide of homosexual activism.” In a written statement following his intolerance invasion of Pride, Brown wrote, “Enough is enough to the destructive goals of gay activism…we say it stops in Charlotte.”
Most alarming are these charlatans’ deliberate perpetuation of paranoia by trumpeting alleged religious persecution that exists only in their warped minds. For example, in his statement Brown accused gay people of “trying to put Christians in the closet.” And, he capped it off by saying that gay people are “tampering with the foundations of human society.”
Brown tries to cover his tracks by sprinkling his apocalyptic rhetoric with calls for non-violence. Good orators, however, understand the principle of “layering” messages. If in one sentence you speak of violence and in the next of non-violence, the listener will almost always embrace the words that support his or her belief system.
Dr. Brown isn’t naïve and surely understands that the GLBT masses will not retreat into the closet unless events conspire to make coming out a blood sport. Short of extreme bullying and brutality he’ll never accomplish his lost cause of “stopping” progress on gay rights in Charlotte.
Brown, of course, doesn’t actually have to make an overt pitch for mayhem. Simply by inciting his flock he is setting the stage for future tragedy. It is time for Brown and his comrades to abort their increasingly hostile and combative tactics before it leads to more wanton death in the name of abundant life.
When I worked for the Human Rights Campaign, from 1998-2003, “ex-gay” activist Greg Quinlan proclaimed that he had once lobbied for the organization. By showing a radical transformation – gay activist to ex-gay - his tale instantly became more marketable to the media and presumably for public speaking engagements.
This week, the recently divorced fundamentalist, now working with Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX), repeated the “lobbyist” story to the Christian Examiner, which uncritically dictated his claim. The problem is, Quinlan is either lying or greatly exaggerating any role he may have had with the gay organization.
I personally investigated this sexual engineer’s tale while still at HRC. No one in Washington or Dayton, Ohio, where he claims to have lobbied, remembers working with him. Now, it is possible that he licked stamps on volunteer night, at some point. Or, that Quinlan ate at a Human Rights Campaign dinner. But, that does not make him a lobbyist any more than the fact I went to a concert last month makes me a rock star.
If Quinlan has evidence that he played a major role with the Human Rights Campaign, he ought to present it or stop peddling his story to gullible Christian media outlets.
In an article at ChristianExaminer.com, ex-gay activist Greg Quinlan asserts that one cannot be gay, monogamous, and Christian; repeats his unproven claim to have volunteered for the Human Rights Campaign; and projects his own past “shallow, lust-filled and immature” lifestyle onto all sexually honest persons living today.
Quinlan says these things during a visit to San Diego for the National Education Association’s convention on behalf of the antigay parents’ group P-FOX and its “Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus.” He also consults for the New Jersey Family Policy Council, an affiliate of Focus on the Family. (P-FOX recently gave up its affiliation with Exodus International.)
Quinlan is pushing for access to teachers in an effort to oppose the union’s push for same-sex marriage rights to ease the social and economic burden on children of gay couples, and the union’s push for a curriculum that opposes antigay stereotypes and bullying.
Quinlan hopes to change public schools’ curricula by opposing comprehensive sex education and by changing science lessons so that they conform to the ex-gay myths of P-FOX mentors Richard Cohen and NARTH.
He blames his own past homosexual behavior on an “abusive ‘Archie Bunker-type’ father,” followed by an inability to reconcile his sexual behavior with his faith and identity in a healthy and responsible fashion.
Instead of life improving at home, the father’s abuse toward him worsened. Eventually he filled his desperate need for affection at the hands of a young teen boy who introduced him to sex. Quinlan said he became a willing molestation victim.
Unfortunately, Quinlan now works to deny gay youths the safe and affirming support that might have protected him from “willing molestation” at the hands of an older boy.
Because his own same-sex attractions allegedly faded during counseling for his father’s abuse, Quinlan campaigns to coerce sexual change in persons whose same-sex orientation is not derived from environmental factors such as abuse or parental neglect.
For a trend toward increasing sexual honesty among gay youths in the schools, Quinlan blames Christians who are not emphatic enough in silencing gay youth and coercing change.
“We’ve allowed this to happen,” he said. “There are so many Secret Service Christians who need to come out of the closet, but we also need to know how to argue and debate persuasively. This conspiracy and its wheel have been around for decades.”
Quinlan has yet to demonstrate that he can argue and debate persuasively, however — his past efforts have been hindered by anger, stereotypes, strawman arguments, and disrespect for those who are sexually honest. Are we now to believe that a kinder, gentler Greg Quinlan is emerging?
Addendum: Almost one year after Quinlan was caught lying about mainstream professional mental-health consensus regarding ex-gay therapy, and in particular lying about the human-genome research of Dr. Francis Collins, Good As You noted last week that Quinlan is repeating the same lies in order to rationalize his opposition to federal legislation that would equalize punishment for antigay hate crimes.
While in Port Angeles, Washington, we stopped at WalMart for a quick minute. (Interesting Fact: Port Angeles, WA is where the book and film “Twilight” takes place.) As I was walking into WalMart, I was stopped by a signature gatherer who asked my opinion on same-sex marriage. I told him that I am gay and we had a long conversation about equal rights.
After I bought some medicine at the pharmacy, I came back out to the van and grabbed my camera. I filmed the man collecting signatures for a bit, then I went over to talk with him. He was friendly and let me film him for a while.
We talked about his personal beliefs about same-sex marriage. He is in favor of equal marriage rights and would vote against the referendum if it gets on the ballot. He went on for a while about how gays deserve the same rights and that the church is wrong for trying to take those rights away. It was an interesting conversation.
Then it got even more interesting. He approached a woman and asked her if she supports same-sex marriage. When she said yes, he handed her the clipboard to sign the referendum. She though she was signing in favor of equal marriage. He tricked her, right in front of me, on camera. I called him out on it.
He said to her:
“Did you get a chance to sign our petition? We’re giving you an opportunity to decided whether or not you are in favor of giving homosexual couples legal marriage licenses. Not just the same rights as married people, but a marriage license too. Do you have an opinion on that? Yes? No? Or don’t care?”
The woman said yes, that she will sign, and he handed her the clipboard. It was obvious to me that she was signing what she thought was a petition in favor or giving same-sex couples marriage licenses. So I asked her if she supports same-sex marriage. She said that she did.
That is not it. The bigger deal is that, to collect signatures, he is telling people that the referendum is to stop same-sex couples from getting marriage licenses. That is not true. He is telling folks that same-sex couples would still receive all the rights of marriage with Domestic Partnerships, when in fact, the referendum they are signing has nothing to do with marriage; it would repeal the [new] Domestic Partnership law.
First they banned marriage and adoption by gay couples; now Florida religious-rightists want to tax marriage for heterosexual couples and compel lower-income couples to attend counseling that presently is provided by religious non-profits.
The $100 tax would raise the cost of a Florida marriage license to almost $200. The objective, antigay activists say, is to strengthen marriage. Marriage, that is, for middle- and upper-income Christian Republicans.
Who’s responsible for this plan to save marriage from po’ folks, non-Christians, and liberals?
John Stemberger and the Florida Family Policy Council, with support from the Catholic Church, is out to make it more difficult – or at least more expensive – for straight couples to wed.
It’s not that Stemberger has anything against heterosexual marriage. To the contrary, he said the goal is to make it stronger.
Stemberger and his allies want to add $100 to the fee for a Florida marriage license, bringing the total to $193.50. Most of the charge — $132.50 – would be erased for a couple that goes through eight hours of premarital education.
Currently, couples can get a discount of $32.50 for four hours of education, but supporters of the new proposal said the financial incentive isn’t enough to encourage participation.
Opponents don’t think the state should tax marriage or become involved in sectarian religious proselytization.
Rich said it’s fine for religious or non-profit groups to offer all the education and counseling they want – something the Catholic Church, for example, requires. “I just don’t think the state should be involved in this.” …
Gay rights activist Waymon Hudson, of Oakland Park, who battled Stemberger over the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment last year, said people who want to get married shouldn’t be forced to choose between paying almost $200 for a license or indoctrination into Stemberger’s ideal of the “Leave it to Beaver family.”
“It’s basically using state funds to proselytize their viewpoint,” he said.
Many people marry at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons, and many people are surprised at the difficulty of managing a marital relationship. Proper education may help people choose marital partners and manage marriage more wisely.
But such education should be voluntary, should occur a neutral context that is free of sectarian religious spin, and must not discriminate on the basis of income. Public secondary schools would seem to be an ideal place for teen-agers and young adults to learn about family life — and many public schools do offer family-life courses, despite opposition from the religious right.
Bryce Faulkner is many things to many people, but to Michael and myself he will always be one of the most caring, loving, generous people we have ever been blessed to know.
When Bierdz first played Philip Chancellor III on daytime TV’s top rated soap, he was a teen idol–and deeply closeted off screen.
Quinlan says these things during a visit to San Diego for the National Education Association’s convention on behalf of the antigay parents’ group P-FOX and its “Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus.” He also consults for the New Jersey Family Policy Council, an affiliate of Focus on the Family. (P-FOX recently 
