In January 2011, Truth Wins Out will begin to hold multi-media educational seminars to offer college students and LGBT advocates the tools they need to counter the dangerous lies peddled by the “ex-gay” industry.
Instead of going where we can make the most money, Truth Wins Out is traveling to regions where our powerful and insightful information is most needed. In the coming year, we will focus on proactively bringing our vital message to “Red States” where the myths and stereotypes peddled by “ex-gay” activists remain an obstacle to equality.
Truth Wins Out will kick off the new year by taking its powerful, fact-based presentation to; Fargo, ND; Minneapolis, MN; Milwaukee, WI; Des Moines, IA; Lincoln, NE; Kansas; Oklahoma City; Little Rock, AR; Chicago, IL; and Alabama.
We will no longer simply respond to “ex-gay” conferences, but move forward to take the initiative and educate America so people will understand that “ex-gay” programs are dangerous and ineffective.
However, none of this can happen without your generous financial support. Please consider the costs of our “Pray Away the Gay?” tour – and help us with an end of year tax-deductible contribution.
How about sponsoring an individual city on our tour for $500 or a state for $1,000? If this is beyond your means, please consider helping our efforts with $100, $50, $25, or $10.
Seeking donations is by far the most difficult part of my job. I’d much rather be engaging in activism or conducting research. However, I ask for your kind consideration today because I believe so strongly in the crucial mission of Truth Wins Out. We simply cannot fight religious extremism and the “ex-gay” myth without your continued support and generosity.
With Truth Wins Out, a little bit of help can go a long way in our efforts to challenge anti-gay religious extremism and the “ex-gay” industry.
What an exciting year 2010 has been. It was tumultuous, trying, tempestuous and ultimately triumphant time for the LGBT Community. Most of all, it signaled a tipping point where a long tormented and oppressed minority finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.
Here are the Top 10 LGBT events that made 2010 a memorable year:
10) The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movement was infused with energy through the creation of new advocacy organizations. Among the most notable was Get Equal, a direct action group that made headlines by confronting politicians at events to hold them accountable for campaign promises. Other new organizations that had an impact include Queer Rising and Fight Back New York. The year closed with the formation of Equality Matters, a “War Room” to fight against anti-gay misinformation led by former Clinton official Richard Socarides and former Advocate magazine reporter Kerry Eleveld.
9) The “ex-gay” industry was on the rebound earlier this year led by The American College of Pediatricians (ACP), a sham mental health association, and People Can Change, which aims to make gay men more macho through its woodsy Journey into Manhood (JIM) weekends. The ACP’s efforts came crashing down after its lead researcher, George Rekers, (also affiliated with the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, NARTH) was caught vacationing with an escort he met on RentBoy.com. People Can Change was also discredited after one of its senior trainers for JIM weekends, Alan Downing, was accused of having clients touch themselves in front of a mirror. Additionally, Truth Wins Out and the South Florida Gay News exposed Arthur Abba Goldberg, the co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), as a convicted felon.
8) In early 2010, The American Prayer Hour (APH) was started by Truth Wins Out to stop Uganda’s notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The event highlighted the role those involved with the National Prayer Breakfast played in fomenting anti-gay hatred in Uganda. The APH formed a broad coalition of supporters, which helped lead Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and President Barack Obama to speak out against this bill. As a result, the legislation was placed on hold for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, the bill’s sponsor, David Bahati, has vowed to revive it in 2011 and there is an urgent need to once again mobilize and take action.
7) For the first time, a Gallup Poll found that the percentage of Americans who perceive “gay and lesbian relations” as morally acceptable crossed the 50 percent mark.
6) Another Gallup Poll showed that 53% of Americans oppose marriage equality compared to 44% who support it. These improved numbers set a clear trend towards acceptance and highlight the possibility that majority support is an attainable goal in the near future.
5) The Southern Poverty Law Center’s new listing of major anti-gay organizations, such as The Family Research Council and the American Family Association, as certified hate groups was a significant blow to their credibility.
4) A federal judge in Boston ruled in July — in two separate lawsuits — that a key part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Taken together, these cases help lay the foundation for the dismantling of DOMA.
3) The federal lawsuit, Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, to overturn California’s Proposition 8 prohibiting same-sex marriage in the Golden State, was a significant development. In an unusual twist, liberal super-lawyer David Bois joined conservative legal icon Ted Olsen to send the message that equality should not be a partisan issue. The result was the beginning of thoughtful conservatives publicly breaking ranks with social conservatives over marriage equality.
2) Following an outbreak of LGBT teen suicides, columnist Dan Savage launched the “It Get’s Better” campaign, which let gay teens know that if they hung in there, life would improve after high school. It was a stunningly brilliant public relations coup that gave hope to countless LGBT youth worldwide and cast a harsh spotlight on the harm caused by bullies. This was one of the rare efforts that could be described as a transformative cultural phenomenon.
1) Repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell was a monumental victory. Not only was this an impressive and meaningful legislative win, but the fight for repeal flooded the media with positive gay and lesbian role models, which significantly undermined the propaganda of anti-gay organizations. The images of brave gay service members will endure in our culture long after the victory celebrations stop.
While victory is not assured without another decade of backbreaking work, it certainly is – for the first time — within grasp. As 2010 comes to a close, the outlines of achievement are on the horizon and the sweet smell of success permeates the air.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and I go way back. Here is a picture of us chilling in Fire Island.
Well, okay, the truth is we met just once — briefly — at a fundraiser. But there is no one I am more proud to have shared a moment with in all my years in the political arena. Sen. Gillibrand championed overturning the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Through her relentless pursuit of equality her promise to the LGBT community became a reality. She is a major reason why we won this fight and Truth Wins Out is thrilled to call her an ally.
I still think back to that fundraiser this summer on Fire Island. She spoke with eloquence, passion and conviction about overturning the failed DADT policy. Was it simply a calculated political act or a genuine expression of support?
Well, we all know the answer to that question now. Congratulations, Mrs. Gillibrand.
Today, The New York Times had a feature story on Gillibrand’s ascent in the Senate that is well worth reading. Here are a few key snippets:
Pounding the lectern on the Senate floor, raising her voice almost to a shout, Ms. Gillibrand hectored, reasoned with and sought to shame her colleagues into ending the 17-year-old ban on gays’ serving openly in the military.
“If you care about national security, if you care about our military readiness,” she demanded, “then you will repeal this corrosive policy.”
The repeal passed two hours later on Saturday, but Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat, had little time to savor the moment.
Her mother — a black belt in karate who the senator said “did things differently her whole life” — worked in the arts and surrounded herself with gay friends. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Ms. Gillibrand’s sister, a playwright and actress, volunteered to help children with AIDS.
And when Ms. Gillibrand was a young associate, working long nights at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, she recalled, “the straight men found time to date and get married and have kids and went home at six every night, and the only ones left were the women and gay men.”
So she wound up vacationing with gay colleagues on Fire Island and in the Hamptons, and forging lifelong friendships. “A lot of them are now having children,” she said. “And it never occurred to me that they should not have every benefit that I have.”
Richard Socarides, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and founder of Equality Matters, a gay advocacy organization, said he was initially wary of Ms. Gillibrand, thinking she was courting gays for purely political reasons as she sought to broaden her appeal statewide.
But she won him over with her fervor, strategic thinking, fearlessness and litigator’s tenacity. “If she has decided she’s going to get something done,” he said, “don’t get in her way, because you will get run over.”
There is much more to read in the story by David Halbfinger, so check it out.
I’ll end by saying how nice it was to write a post on a politician who did right by the LGBT community and made us proud. We usually pen articles about scoundrels and double-dealing hypocrites. But not this time – because Sen. Gillibrand IS THE REAL DEAL.
Not only is she the prettiest Senator, it turns out she may be one of the brightest and most effective. She has served New York with aplomb and the nation is fortunate to have such a wise and tenacious stateswoman. I hope she one day considers a run for the White House.
On behalf of Truth Wins Out — thank you for your leadership and support for equality. It will not be forgotten.
Anti-gay activists have long considered 1993’s Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell compromise one of their most prized victories. In one fell swoop, they humiliated President Bill Clinton, flexed their political muscle, and put lesbian and gay people in their place.
What the extremists never understood was that Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell was their movement’s death knell. This bitter fight elevated gay rights to a national issue for the first time in history. Prior to 1993, discussions about LGBT people were usually spoken in hushed tones. Suddenly, gay people were photographed on the cover of magazines, quoted in the A Section of newspapers, and interviewed on television news programs (not just the daytime talk shows). The nation was introduced to honorable role models such as Tracy Thorne, the Top Gun pilot with movie star looks, (pictured) and Vietnam Bronze Star recipient Grethe Cammermeyer.
The national March on Washington occurred at roughly the same time, offering an opportunity for thousands of people, emboldened by the gays in the military debate, to come out of the closet in a safe and inspiring atmosphere.
Up until that moment, the public, the media, and religious institutions had decided to render gay people invisible or portrayed them as sinful circus acts. There was virtually no effort to show homosexuals as multi-dimensional people who led complete, fulfilling lives.
The first Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell loss was actually a victory (except for the 14,000 brave gay troops who were fired) because it destroyed the taboo of homosexuality. At that moment, LGBT people became an identifiable group to mainstream Americans and were firmly ingrained in public consciousness.
Seventeen years later, the scare tactics of the opposition were rendered ineffective because people had friends and family members who were openly gay. Even the majority of the troops said they thought they had served with gay service members.
This time around, our gay spokespeople were seen as dignified and patriotic, while the opposition appeared freakish, paranoid, and melodramatic. America looked at our opponents and asked, “What are you so scared of? Your fears are misplaced and, quite frankly, weird.”
There was one striking difference in this year’s tussle. In 1993, it was the politicians who were trying to get out in front of public opinion. In 2010, two-thirds of the public was squarely in favor of repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell, yet many elected officials were bucking the views of their constituents to appease anti-gay special interests.
The unsettling disconnect between the majority of Americans and some members of Congress – overwhelmingly Republican — who kowtow to hardcore litmus test voters, remains a real problem that will be exacerbated in 2011 when Republicans take over the House. Indeed, passing the bill took a massive lobbying effort, which included Washington insiders and new direct action groups. The legislation only made it through at the last possible moment – flaring tempers and fraying nerves.
President Bill Clinton’s painful experience with gays in the military led Obama to be overly cautious, almost killing repeal efforts. His go slow approach was frustrating and, at times, infuriating. But, in the end, he will be judged by what happens on his watch — and his efforts just earned him an upgrade from a Casio to a Rado.
To get the Rolex, he will have to sign a law prohibiting employment discrimination and abolish the odious Defense of Marriage Act. Still, the President did enough to temporarily quell bubbling anger in the LGBT community, while earning himself a degree of trust. He said he would end this heinous policy – and he did. Few people will remember the details and history will celebrate the signing ceremony, which signaled a major victory for the LGBT movement and the Obama administration.
However, expectations will be higher now that the ghost of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell has been slain. The integration of openly gay soldiers will prove to be a non-event, (like gay people marrying in 5 states) giving wavering Democrats and moderate Republicans few excuses not to vote for equality in the future.
As for our foes, they will be in disarray and have to live with the inconvenient fact that their gloom and doom scenarios never came to pass. And, they will soon have to watch their worst nightmare come to fruition, as heroic openly gay and lesbian soldiers stand on elevated platforms to receive medals for saving lives in the heat of battle.
It is telling that the week ended with former president Jimmy Carter, an observant evangelical Christian, saying he thought America would soon be ready for a gay president. With this week’s historic victory – suddenly anything looks possible.
Helping stop the World Bank from providing tax-payer funds to Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX)
Original Research and daily commentary on the “ex-gay” myth
Successful media advocacy: The New York Times, CNN Anderson Cooper 360, MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, The Washington Post, The Irish Times, The Daily Beast and The Globe.
While 2010 was a success story – Truth Wins Out does not plan to rest on its laurels. We don’t have the luxury of living in the past.
As 2011 quickly approaches, the “ex-gay” organization Exodus International is ramping up its new strategic plan targeting vulnerable LGBT youth. Believe it or not, some of the youngsters they are focusing on with their insidious lies are in Middle School — as young as 11-years old!!
To help counter Exodus, I am launching a 15-state, multi-media speaking tour in late January exposing the “ex-gay” myth in some of the most conservative and rural parts of America. The states I will be visiting include, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
Please consider sponsoring this important tour with a tax-deductible contribution. You can give a holiday gift of $10 or $35 to help cover expenses on the road. Or, you can sponsor a city for $500 or an entire state for $1,000!
It is crucial that Truth Wins Out delivers its vital message in the places where Exodus International spreads its dangerous misinformation. We can only articulate the harm of such groups – particularly the danger they pose to youth – with your help.
Thank you for your kindness, friendship and support. Nothing we have done or will accomplish in 2011 can happen without you. Please consider a generous tax-deductible gift to Truth Wins Out today.
Happy Holidays,
Wayne Besen
Truth Wins Out
Founder & Executive Director
The American fundamentalist group, The Family, has to make an important strategic choice. It can have its influential National Prayer Breakfast each February in Washington, or it can have its Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law in Uganda. It likely cannot have both.
It would be naïve for this secretive and powerful organization to believe that it can turn Uganda into a concentration camp for gay and lesbian people without transforming its signature affair into a symbol of such oppression. It would be madness for The Family to think it can sell the loving Higher Path Jesus at their breakfast, while unleashing its anti-gay Psychopath Jesus in Kampala.
If The Family does not kill the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before it becomes law, the cruel piece of legislation will end up killing The Family, by stripping it of its moral authority and tying its members to genocide. What respectable politician would want to attend an event marred by protests and hosted by human rights abusers?
Last year, a prominent member of The Family, David Bahati, wrote and introduced The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda’s Parliament. In Jeff Sharlet’s latest book, “C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy”, the bill’s author said he believes that homosexuality is worse than murder and calls it “a threat to our existence”.
Aside from persecuting LGBT people and snuffing out their right to exist, the bill punishes anyone who offers support or friendship. Some of its provisions:
Three years in prison for failure to report a gay person to authorities within 24-hours of disclosure
Seven years in prison for “promotion”, which includes activism or simply acknowledging that homosexuality exists
Life imprisonment for one homosexual act
The death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” (which includes sex while HIV-positive, sex with a disabled person, or sex more than once, marking the person as a “serial offender”)
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was put on the backburner last year after the National Prayer Breakfast was protested. The efforts to shine a light on The Family’s activities led to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the bill at the event.
Unfortunately, Bahati has revived the bill, claiming it will pass and “close the door to homosex”. Last week, he made a trip to The United States to furtively rally support for his efforts. The Ugandan legislator says that he has strong support in America, but his prominent evangelical friends are afraid to publicly back him because they fear reprisals.
Indeed, Bahati believes he is vindicating his American friends who have lost the culture war against LGBT equality. The grand plan is for Uganda to be used as a proxy in a global war against homosexuality. Once the bill passes in Uganda, the hope is to spread copycat bills throughout Africa. These conservative African nations can then be used as vivid examples to Western countries of how to re-stigmatize homosexuality. Of course, the larger utopian fantasy is to use homosexuality as a wedge issue to establish theocracies across the planet.
We should take this effort very seriously and make it clear to The Family that there will be consequences for such bloodlust. A few of the options include:
Working to have Congress cut off all foreign aid to Uganda
Large demonstrations at The National Prayer Breakfast
Denying Ugandan officials visas to America
Denying prominent members of The Family visas to Uganda
Stripping David Bahati of his degrees at the University of Cardiff and the University of Pennsylvania
Exploring efforts to prosecute Bahati, and others affiliated with this bill, for crimes against humanity.
A media campaign exposing The Family
Bahati justifies his planned purge by disguising it as a morality campaign to protect Ugandan children from predatory Western gay men. However, he has put forth no credible evidence to back his bizarre assertions, and all available information points to an eliminationist witch-hunt against innocent people.
Bahati also rationalizes his cruelty by saying that Ugandans support his bill. Of course, the bill’s popularity and the demonization of LGBT people are only maintained through artificial means. To tar homosexuals as despised villains, Bahati and his goons have to create a repressive culture where free speech is stifled, LGBT people can’t come out, pro-gay allies are punished for “promoting” homosexuality, the media is cowed, and a robust smear campaign is relentlessly waged with no opposition.
Incredibly, Bahati plays the imperialist card, arguing Americans should stay out of his nation’s business, even as he hypocritically does the bidding for American evangelicals that made his career.
In the name of God, these thugs and theocrats are playing God with the lives of LGBT people across the globe. The only Family these tyrants remind me of is The Sopranos – except they are more sadistic. It is time civilized people stand up to such Bible-based barbarism before it is too late. A good place to start is at The National Prayer Breakfast.
Truth Wins Out (TWO) announced today that it has moved the non-profit organization from New York City to Burlington. Vt. Founded in 2006, TWO fights anti-gay religious extremism and counters the so-called “ex-gay” industry, which claims to help people “pray away the gay”.
TWO’s founder, Wayne Besen, chose Burlington to cut operating costs, but also considered the location highly desirable, geographically convenient and believed that the well-educated population was ideal in assisting with the organization’s important work. Besen first began thinking about the move in 2009 after he spoke at the University of Vermont.
“Burlington is a charming college town situated on a magnificent lake with smart people who can help us monitor anti-gay religious extremism,” said TWO founder and Executive Director Wayne Besen. “By moving to Burlington, we will significantly cut costs in tough economic times. While Burlington is not a large city, it is in a great location because it is only a short flight from Boston, New York City, Chicago, or Washington.”
TWO’s new address is:
Post Office Box 96
Burlington, Vt. 05402
“TWO looks forward to prospering in its new home,” said Besen. “We are excited about meeting interesting people and enjoying this wonderful, energetic city.”
The “ex-gay” organization, The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) announced this week that its 2011 annual conference will take place in Phoenix. The organization’ event will take place Nov. 4-6 at the Marriott Phoenix Airport. This year’s conference in Philadelphia was protested by Truth Wins Out and a host of organizations including Equality Pennsylvania. (More on protest from Edge Philadelphia). SoulForce also held a symposium to set the record straight.
On February 19, 2011 the largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, will bring its Love Won Out roadshow to Phoenix. The anti-gay extravaganza will take place at the Church for the Nations.
I sure hope LGBT activists in Phoenix are up to the challenge of refuting the lies that are about to come their way. From my past experience, they will do a great job of exposing these groups as dangerous frauds.
Here are a few news clips about the Phoenix Love Won Out Conference in 2007. This was back when they were hosted by Focus on the Family. Last year, Exodus took over.
A cable news talk show host actually took responsibility for correcting a lie told on his show. Hardball’s Chris Matthews deserves much credit for having the class and integrity to set the record straight.
To backtrack, earlier this week the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins appeared on Hardball and claimed that gay men are more likely to molest children. He backed his false and defamatory statement by referencing the “research” of the American College of Pediatricians.
Sounds like a credible group, right? It’s not.
It is really a small, obscure political organization comprised of discredited quacks that do not produce peer review research on homosexuality. The primary reasons this virulently anti-gay group exists are to distort legitimate science and to purposefully confuse people into thinking it is the respected American Academy of Pediatrics — which is supportive of LGBT people.
Unfortunately, Matthews’ original show ended without him clarifying that The American College of Pediatricians was a sham group that was more interested in prejudice than pediatrics. Truth Wins Out wrote the producers of the show and urged them to clear up this confusion. GLAAD shared our concerns and contacted them too. To their credit — they actually did the right thing and, in this case, truth won out.
Such “corrections” are not perfect, because, as TWO’s Michael Airhart points out, “Few of the FRC and Focus fans who watched Monday’s program were watching today.” However, Matthews’ correction is certainly better than allowing lies to go completely uncontested.
In many cases, cable news and talk shows are harming our country. News outlets, such as MSNBC, CNN and especially FOX are consistently giving soapboxes to snake oil salesmen who gleefully exploit these networks as propaganda delivery devices.
Truth Wins Out isn’t naive or Utopian. We completely understand the need for ratings and putting on interesting guests. We are also sympathetic to hosts and producers who can’t possibly know every crackpot and quack out there. However, for the common good of this nation, there are some reasonable safeguards that cable networks should put in place:
1) Consider NOT BOOKING a spokesperson that has repeatedly lied or belongs to an organization that is a certified Southern Poverty Law Center hate group. The cable networks should have higher standards and strive to put on respectable and credible guests who don’t have dubious histories of disseminating falsehoods.
2) If cable shows do elect to have known reprobates, like Perkins, on the air, it is their duty to prepare for the inevitable lies. On-spot fact checkers should be hired to correct calumnies in real time. If the cable shows fail to take this step, they are willfully serving as conduits for defamation and abetting propagandists.
3) Each cable show should end with a short “corrections” segment to set the record straight if lies have been told on a previous show. This would immediately create a culture of accountability and shame mendacious guests into at least being more careful.
4) When booking guests, the cable networks should aim to include real experts. Having clueless airheads filling airtime sullies the national debate and detracts from voters understating crucial issues that determine the future of America.
5) When science is in the spotlight, it is in the public interest to book legitimate, independent scientists with peer review work who are not discredited by obvious conflicts of interest. The cable networks should avoid guests who bill themselves as “experts”, but are actually paid industry shills. For example, having a climate “expert” on who works for the pollution lobby is not helpful in discussing global warming. Booking a discredited quack affiliated with anti-gay SPLC hate groups simply clouds the discussion on homosexuality, instead of advancing it.
Cable networks should consider adopting these five steps for the good of this country. Whether they admit it or not, they have a social and civic responsibility to inform the American public with the best information available. When guests are booked who disseminate lies that go unchallenged, it debases the culture, harms entire groups of people, and damages our national interest.
When confronted with Tony Perkins’ tainted source of misinformation, Chris Matthews acted honorably by letting viewers know that Perkins’ “facts” were actually “fiction”. Why can’t this noble exception become the rule in cable news?
It is time cable networks make some desperately needed changes and begin taking their social responsibility as seriously as their ratings. If they do it right, they can be much more informative, while still being entertaining.
If you would like to thank Chris Matthews, please e-mail the show:
Exodus activist Tom Cole has long been fond of publicity and never shied away from a television camera. I most remember him for his cowardice.
In 1998, 15 religious right organizations embarked on a million dollar advertising campaign to say that people could “pray away the gay”. In several conversations, Cole claimed that he disagreed with the over-politicized message of these anti-gay groups. He said he wanted to speak out against their hatred, but in the end, he never found the moral courage to do so.
Sadly, Cole reached a new low this week. He exploited his teenage daughter, Elisabeth, and had her film a video promoting the “ex-gay” myth. She seems like a sweet kid — though thoroughly misinformed on the issue of homosexuality. Like any child, Elisabeth has limited experience in the real world and is trying to please her parents.
But what kind of father uses his teenage daughter to do his dirty work? Instead of protecting his child, Cole is using her to promote his anti-gay agenda. This kind of reminds me of the parents who force their children to hold up pictures of bloody fetuses in front of abortion clinics. (although not quite as bad)
Exodus talks a good game on family values, but seem to have no problem with such naked exploitation. I can almost hear Tom Cole saying:
“Hey, our ‘ex-gays’ aren’t convincing anyone, let’s trot out our cute kids and cynically use them as props to gain publicity.”
What next? An “ex-gay” Balloon Boy to garner media? This is absolutely pathetic and an example of poor parenting.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and I go way back. Here is a picture of us chilling in Fire Island.
Anti-gay activists have long considered 1993’s Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell compromise one of their most prized victories. In one fell swoop, they humiliated President Bill Clinton, flexed their political muscle, and put lesbian and gay people in their place.
Up until that moment, the public, the media, and religious institutions had decided to render gay people invisible or portrayed them as sinful circus acts. There was virtually no effort to show homosexuals as multi-dimensional people who led complete, fulfilling lives.
This time around, our gay spokespeople were seen as dignified and patriotic, while the opposition appeared freakish, paranoid, and melodramatic. America looked at our opponents and asked, “What are you so scared of? Your fears are misplaced and, quite frankly, weird.”
To get the Rolex, he will have to sign a law prohibiting employment discrimination and abolish the odious Defense of Marriage Act. Still, the President did enough to temporarily quell bubbling anger in the LGBT community, while earning himself a degree of trust. He said he would end this heinous policy – and he did. Few people will remember the details and history will celebrate the signing ceremony, which signaled a major victory for the LGBT movement and the Obama administration.
While 2010 was a success story – Truth Wins Out does not plan to rest on its laurels. We don’t have the luxury of living in the past.
(Weekly Column)
Truth Wins Out (TWO) announced today that it has moved the non-profit organization from New York City to Burlington. Vt. Founded in 2006, TWO fights anti-gay religious extremism and counters the so-called “ex-gay” industry, which claims to help people “pray away the gay”.
The “ex-gay” organization, The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) announced this week that its 2011 annual conference will take place in Phoenix. The organization’ event will take place Nov. 4-6 at the Marriott Phoenix Airport. This year’s conference in Philadelphia 
