On Saturday, July 10 in Bakersfield, CA, Exodus affiliate, His Way Out Ministries, will host a conference, “Reaching Gay Youth”. The event will be run by Pastor Phillip Lee (pictured) who will ask  creepy questions such as:

So, what does a friendship with a “gay youth” look like?

How do I begin a dialog with a gay youth?

Want to connect with a youth? Be authentic.

Given Exodus shady behavior, disgraceful record and tardy response to allegations of sexual abuse, I think the group should clarify what it means when it says, “connect” with gay youth.

To be honest, when I read this item, my skin crawled and I felt nauseous. I would strongly urge all parents who love their children to think twice and do their research before placing their children in the clutches of Exodus.

Fearing a renewed uproar over tonight’s ABC News investigation of Exodus International’s role in Uganda’s kill-the-gays legislation, Exodus President Alan Chambers has informally told conservative Christian pundit Warren Throckmorton:

I am disappointed that Exodus won’t be heard in this piece. Sadly, Don Schmierer declined the interview and our request to go on record with ABC was denied. I would have loved nothing better than to share our disdain for this bill and apologize for going anywhere near such a horrible conference.

It is neither sad nor surprising that Schmierer and the rest of the Exodus board declined to talk: Schmierer had already discredited himself, on Exodus’ own blog.

In December 2009, in an Exodus blog guest article, Schmierer admitted that, since 2002, he had been working closely with antigay evangelicals in Uganda to mobilize antigay political activity.

And yet, Schmierer claims that, over the course of seven years, he was somehow oblivious to evangelical colleagues’ internationally publicized lynch mobs which were killing gay Ugandans and destroying the reputations of rival pastors with false character attacks.

Such a ridiculous claim of ignorance would be torn to shreds by ABC and exposed as a lie — which it is. Hence, Schmierer’s refusal to talk, and Chambers’ failure to follow through with his offer to express disdain or apologize, regardless of whether ABC is listening. (Read More)

Confusing verbal taunts and insults with Orwellian “truth,” Exodus International is preparing to re-launch, in April, a Christian Rightist effort to disrupt efforts by K-12 and college students and faculty to stop antigay bullying. And gay news media such as The Advocate are beginning to take notice.

Bullies have long been explicitly coached in intolerant behavior by antigay churches, Christian Right political networks such as Exodus International, and SPLC-certified hate groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition and Peter LaBarbera’s former employer, the Illinois Family Institute.

Since antigay violence and prejudice have long enjoyed calculated support from elements of local communities, it only seemed fair that someone should help communities form antiviolence efforts to counteract the hatred and violence.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s annual Day of Silence was one such effort. Launched in 1996, it employs silent vigils at schools to commemorate the youths who have been physically assaulted, killed, or driven to suicide by relentless harassment, humiliation, and ostracism.

GLSEN’s vigils — now in 8,000 schools — have, along with research into the chronic epidemic of antigay violence — inspired the formation of antiharassment programs and Gay-Straight Alliances against violence in thousands of schools nationwide.

The Christian Right, unfortunately, has evolved since the early 1980s to view ignorance, violence and intimidation as integral and indispensable core values of its less-than-Christlike “religion.” And so, in retaliation, the Alliance Defense Fund — a Christian Right legal-attack organization which sues schools and employers that oppose antigay violence and discrimination — formed the Day of Truth in 2004 with the purpose of empowering antigay students to disrupt the silent vigils.

Marketed with pious godtalk and liberal-sounding words such as “conversation” and “dialogue,” the ADF’s Day of “Truth” rallied antigay youths and parents — ranging from skinheads to fundamentalists — to disrupt vigils with vocal proclamations damning LGBT students, their parents, teachers, and friends to hell. The event urged the passage of school rules to silence any talk of tolerance and to mandate the promotion of fundamentalist ex-gay brainwashing in public schools. In recent years, Exodus conference speaker and antigay preacher Ken Hutcherson joined the ADF’s right-wing parade by organizing loud and disruptive protests and boycotts at Seattle-area schools in order to shut down classes rather than permit students to conduct their solemn vigils in memory of bullied and murdered peers.

In 2009, Exodus assumed control of the Day of [Orwellian] ”Truth.” Its marketing objective remains the same: Damn students to hell with a smile, engage tolerant students in one-way conversation, insult LGBT sexuality with unchallenged falsehoods derived from antigay propaganda, and flatly exclude LGBT students from protection under any antiharassment programs.

Exodus tellingly offers no restraints on what antigay students may say or do, provided that the bullies don’t subjectively feel that their misconduct constitutes name-calling or bullying.

Nor does Exodus offer any help to antigay students who discover that their own enthusiasm has motivated peers to resort to verbal, physical, and spiritual abuse; as it has always done, Exodus absolves itself of responsibility for the violence that it inspires.

Exodus’s FAQ reassures the public:

Exodus and Day of Truth strongly opposes bullying, name-calling and acts of aggression against any individual or group of individuals for any reason.

This is a shameless lie, unfortunately: Exodus expressly opposes — in press releases, blog posts and advertising — the explicit protection of LGBT students from violence and verbal abuse. Exodus also opposes newly expanded federal law which explicitly protects Americans from felony violence committed on the basis of sexual orientation.

The Exodus FAQ for the event also tells antigay bullies to contact the ADF for legal assistance if school officials seek to curtail their efforts to disrupt classes and taunt classmates.

Exodus’ dependence upon violence and harassment, as tools of coercion, seems to be its primary reason for re-launching the Day of [Orwellian] “Truth.”

In the past decade, the ex-gay movement has utterly failed in its one-time objective of sexual recruitment through voluntary persuasion: Despite television, newspaper, and billboard ad campaigns, Exodus’ referral network of local amateur counseling groups has shriveled. Exodus’ bold move into the politicization of churches since 2002 has occurred precisely because Exodus has discovered — through the failure of its voluntary ministries — that people will seek out ex-gay organizations and their discredited amateur counselors only if they are pressured to do so through overt government-, school-, church-, and business-based discrimination, intimidation and ostracism.

Cases in point: Lance Carroll, Zach Stark, and Bryce Thompson. These three young men are just a few of the hundreds of teen-agers and young adults who have been forced involuntarily into ex-gay detention facilities such as Love In Action in Tennessee and a variety of secretive Exodus facilities in the Deep South.

Exodus’ secondary purpose for the D.O.T. is to assert that conservative Christians are the intended sole benefactors of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom.

When Exodus states that the D.O.T. seeks an “honest conversation about relationships, sexuality, and faith,” it may be helpful to remember that Exodus believes the Christian Right is the sole arbiter of what constitutes true faith and politically correct sexuality. Expression of any other faith perspective and any other view of sexuality is presumed by Exodus and its antigay church network to be demonic, immoral and exempt from any Constitutional protection.

Exodus has made its redefinition of “conversation” apparent in countless locations here and abroad:

• in Ohio, where veteran board member Phil Burress has raged against the presence of LGBT people in workplaces and against LGBT groups’ and individuals’ access to public facilities and the media;
• in Tennessee, where Exodus refused to cooperate with the state regarding suspicions of sexual abuse and intimidation at its flagship Love In Action residential program, and instead relabeled the detention facility as a religious “retreat” that is now exempt from public scrutiny;
• in Florida, where for years Alan Chambers vocally opposed antidiscrimination and pro-adoption legislation, as a means of silencing “conversation” by making people homeless, jobless — and parent-less;
• in Barbados, where Exodus Global Alliance published ads defending vigilantism and criminalization of homosexuality as a means of coercion into fraudulent ex-gay therapy;
• in Uganda, where Exodus board member Don Schmierer — with encouragement from president Alan Chambers — has spent seven years working with Scott Lively, Martin Ssempa, Rick Warren, David Bahati, Stephen Langa and others to foster the belief that homosexuals pose a dire threat which must be silenced and eradicated through abusive parenting, strict imprisonment, and involuntary ex-gay “treatment.”

Day of Silence supporters have coped with melees at Day of Truth events in previous years, but GLSEN puts a brave and diplomatic face on the situation this year. According to The Advocate:

GLSEN representatives see the competing event differently. “We find it unfortunate that the ADF and now Exodus International tries to spin a message counter to ours, that anti-LGBT bullying is wrong,” GLSEN spokesman Daryl Presgraves said. “Students today feel more welcome and accepted, and have a sense of belonging that didn’t exist 20 years ago. Part of the Day of Truth is to take away from that, to spread the mistruths about ‘conversion therapy.’” 

Presgraves added that “it doesn’t look like [Exodus] is saying that bullying is OK. However, the fact that they have this counterevent a day before the Day of Silence on April 16 is telling.”

Perhaps more than just “telling.”

TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen to Appear at Just Love Counter-Conference on Saturday, March 6

Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director, Wayne Besen, will join nationally recognized gay and lesbian advocates to oppose Exodus International’s “ex-gay” road show, Love Won Out, which travels to La Mesa’s Skyline Church on Saturday. On the same day as the Exodus event, a counter-conference will be held, Just Love, which will expose the ex-gay industry and educate people about the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“Sexual orientation is not a choice, but thanks to conferences like Love Won Out, some people do choose to embrace prejudice and discrimination,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. “You cannot pray away the gay and the sooner people learn to accept themselves, the better off they are.”

On September 19, 2000, Besen photographed the ex-gay founder of Love Won Out, John Paulk, in a gay bar in Washington, DC. He also has shadowed Love Won Out, organizing or participating in protests or counter-conferences wherever Love Won Out’s road show appears. The last one was in Birmingham, Alabama in November 2009.

Just Love will take-place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral (2728 6th Ave) from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sessions will be conducted by experts including the former co-founder of Exodus International, Michael Bussee, who is now an outspoken critic of the group he helped start. Other notable speakers include, ex-gay survivor Daniel Gonzales, Jim Burroway, Editor of Box Turtle Bulletin and Amity Buxton, founder of the Straight Spouse Network (SSN), which supports straight spouses whose partners came out as gay.  There will also be a session for leaders of the faith community led by Louise Brooks of California Faith for Equality and the Human Rights Campaign.

“We refuse to be defined by misinformation, junk science and religious bigotry,” said TWO’s Besen.  “Just Love will set the record straight on the ex-gay industry and provide factual information on our lives. We will dispel stereotypes, shine a bright light on the lies and send the message that gay people are fine just the way they are.”

GLSEN’s Day of Silence is still a month-and-a-half away, but Exodus International is already mobilizing antigay teens in schools across North America with Exodus’ misnamed “Day of Truth” campaign.

The DOT mobilizes antigay churches and students to harass LGBT students and their friends, and — under the guise of so-called “conversation” — to lobby schools to exclude LGBT students from schools’ antibullying policies.

In a press release last week, Exodus applauded its past successes in convincing antigay youths to be ignorant, misinformed, and sanctimonious toward their lesbian and gay “friends.” (If you’re wondering why Exodus doesn’t mention transgender students, it’s because the organization effectively denies the existence of people who are not conventionally male or female, equating them with drag queens.)

Here are some of Exodus’ “success” stories:

“One girl in particular asked me if it was hard because I have a friend that is a lesbian. I told her that “yes” it is hard, but I’m not going to give up on her. I think that God has so many awesome plans for that girl and for the rest of us. The Day of Truth is something that is so awesome!” – A high school freshman in Arizona

“I was so glad to hear about the Day of Truth. My daughter is a freshman.. and we have both been in shock that the school counselor would promote a club to encourage gay lifestyles. We need to pray for these kids and people encouraging this sinful and deadly lifestyle and give our kids a voice to proclaim the truth.” – Pam, a parent

“I still disagree with your views, and I always will. However, you’ve expressed your views in a polite and forthright manner, without being confrontational, and I wanted to tell you that I very much appreciate that.” – An adult who does not support Exodus International’s views on homosexuality

Please note that Exodus lacked sufficient integrity to identify these people for purposes of confirmation; that none of these people indicate any knowledge of specific truths about their friends and children; none of them acknowledge the violence and harassment that is happening against their LGBT classmates; none of them admit the truth that Exodus ex-gay counseling programs are a dismal failure; and that the two antigay poster-persons view the task of having gay friends or relatives as a chore — or worse, a threat. That’s Exodus-style “love” for you.

Truth Wins Out urges schools and GSAs around the country to become alert to Exodus’ possible formation, in coming months, of affiliate student groups that intend to harass and ostracize religious and sexual minorities — and to sabotage nascent efforts by parents and friends of assaulted youths to make schools safer for LGBT students.

African violence against the LGBT community is partially the result of American anti-gay and “ex-gay” activists stirring the pot in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. We all know that Exodus International’s board member Don Schmierer was at a Spring 2009 conference in Kampala that helped lead to the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

However, Truth Wins Out’s research team revealed today that another American “ex-gay” organization, Homosexuals Anonymous, had a conference in Kenya in November 2009. It was led by Doug McIntyre, HA’s Director. According to the organization’s October 2009 newsletter:

On November 3, 2009 the Director of HAFS will begin a visit to the beautiful country of Kenya.  We have been invited to begin a new work for the HA program and educate the members of a two thousand member church so that they can begin to reclaim the lost youth of the area. An invitation has been extended to teach in  15 local schools and participate in a leadership training program for nearly 200 pastors and church leaders.

While it remains unclear what happened at this particular HA event, a disturbing patten has seemingly developed. Ex-gay activists appear in African countries right before spasms of violence and persecution erupt.

Is this a mere coincidence or is the groundwork being laid for attacks on LGBT people? Are American ex-gays being used as a means to justify terror tactics and horror against innocent people? Do American “ex-gay” activists allow dangerous regimes and frothing mobs to rationalize violence by claiming, “these people deserve what they get because they can change?”

Truth Wins Out left a message this morning for HA to obtain more information on the group’s role in Kenya. They have yet to return our call.

The BBC reports that Kenyan police have released five people arrested for planning a “gay wedding” north of Mombasa, saying there was no evidence to prosecute them. But police spokesman Martha Mutegi told the BBC the men had been advised to leave the area for their own safety and to avoid angering the local community.

There are, however, those who dispute the BBC report. They claim that a gay wedding never actually took place and that the event was a fabrication in order for anti-forces to incite mob violence.

Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya and punishable by up to 14 years in jail. A BBC reporter in Mombasa says police began a crackdown on the gay community last week following anti-gay protests.

Perhaps it is time that American ex-gay activists stay home and stop creating mischief overseas. (Here is a glimpse of the type of false and destructive message that was brought to Kenya)

By Patrick McAlvey

Prior to August 2009 I had probably told the story of my experience with ex-gay therapy to a total of 50 people.  When it came up with friends I would share some of the details of how Mike Jones, an ex-gay “therapist” in Lansing, MI had robbed me of years of self-esteem and confidence with his lies and predatory practices.  It wasn’t something I was overly eager to bring up – it’s not necessarily polite, feel-good conversation and I felt more than a bit embarrassed I had fallen for the ex-gay lies in the first place.

Since going public with my story last summer with the help of Truth Wins Out, things have changed.  Thousands of people have now seen the video in which I tell my story and the man who performed my “therapy” has seen his Board of Directors dissolve and Exodus International remove their affiliation.

In early February I had the opportunity to travel to Des Moines, Iowa and share my story with over 100 strangers – including a State Senator sitting front-and-center.  A group called First Friday Breakfast Club invited me to Des Moines to speak at their monthly meeting.  As part of the trip I also spoke with 25 students at Iowa State University at an event hosted by the LGBTA Alliance and the Office of LGBT Student Services.

I was overwhelmed with the support and kindness with which I was received at both events.  But I was also shocked at the number of people who were unaware the ex-gay industry is still alive and actively victimizing the most vulnerable members of the LGBT community.  Since sharing my story publicly it has become evident that many people, including many LGBT folks, aren’t aware of the activity and dangers of the ex-gay industry.

It is more important than ever the LGBT community at-large understands the real threat the ex-gay industry represents to all of us.  The US ex-gay industry’s connection to the Ugandan “Kill the Gays Bill” is a stark example of the danger these groups represent.  They use the “fact” that sexual orientation can and should be changed to deny basic rights and to actively discriminate against LGBT folks.

In addition the ex-gay industry spreads false and defamatory lies that all gay men are addicted to drugs, alcohol and random sex and that it is impossible to be gay and happy and/or gay and religious.  This is what I was led to believe and these false characterizations certainly perpetuate homophobia and discrimination experienced by gay men in particular.

And most obviously, the ex-gay industry continues to rob vulnerable and scared people of their dignity, self-esteem and identity.  While in Iowa I got to meet several other survivors of ex-gay therapy and was touched to hear their stories.  It was inspiring to meet other survivors who are also finding healing and strength by sharing their experiences and fighting to prevent others from similar abuses.  I’m glad to be healing and fighting beside them.

In a post yesterday, I wrote the following:

Personally, I don’t like the bogus term “SSA”, which stands for “same-sex attraction.” There is no such thing (or diagnosis) as SSA and it is a manipulative attempt to separate LGBT people from their natural, inborn sexuality.

The term SSA is skillfully employed to make it appear as if fundamentalist bigots are not attacking the person, just their sexual feelings. It is a diabolical method of creating a medical-sounding term to deliver Anita Bryant’s hateful “love the sinner, hate the sin” message. At least Bryant had the courage to say what she believes and not hide behind euphemisms and phony pop psychology.

If you think I am wrong, ask yourself: Why does disgraced “sexual reorientation coach” Richard Cohen (pictured) love the term SSA so much? It is all over his website and his books. He is basically turning you into a sick patient rather than a real person. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) also loves SSA.

We should not help our enemies by adopting their language, which is specifically designed and employed to portray us as freaks with a problem that needs to be fixed. SSA — much like STD — sounds like you have a disease that can be cured by running to the local doctor for a shot, the pharmacy for a prescription, or the shrink for a session.

If you don’t think language is important, consider yesterday’s CBS/New York Times News poll. It found a significantly higher level of support for “gays” in the military rather than “homosexuals” in the armed services.  Here is an excerpt:

A New York Times/CBS News poll finds that a majority of the public support allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military.

There’s less support, however, for allowing homosexuals to serve openly.

Confused?

The results highlight the importance of wording on the issue. In a test, half of the poll’s respondents were asked their opinion on permitting “gay men and lesbians” to serve, and the other half were asked about permitting “homosexuals” to serve.

The wording of the question proved to make a difference. Seven in 10 respondents said they favor allowing “gay men and lesbians” to serve in the military, including nearly 6 in 10 who said they should be allowed to serve openly. But support was somewhat lower among those who were asked about allowing “homosexuals” to serve, with 59 percent in favor, including 44 percent who support allowing them to serve openly.

At Truth Wins Out, we are not the word police. We allow a great divergence of opinion and if you love to use the phrase SSA, then keep doing so. It’s a free country. Please realize, however, that you are making Dr. Joseph Nicolosi and Richard Cohen quite happy by adhering to their slick public relations scheme.

More than 35 years after homosexuality was erased from the DSM (list of mental disorders) why voluntarily describe yourself in sterile, medical terms, as if you have a “problem” that quacks can “fix” for a hefty fee?

My new phrase of the week:

“It’s Gay, Not SSA”.

As if we had not suffered enough inclement weather, citizens of Lynchburg, Virginia and South Bend, Indiana will get “ex-gay” snow jobs this weekend.

In Lynchburg there will be a conference on Friday, “the Consequences of Same-Gender Attraction.” The hate-fest will feature Exodus International’s President Alan Chambers, (pictured) who is using this opportunity as a warm-up act for an April trip to Belfast, Ireland.

Hasn’t Chambers’ irresponsible outfit caused enough problems already in places like Uganda? How this man wakes up in the morning and can look in the mirror without feeling deep shame, (not counting the shame he internalizes over his sexuality) I’ll never know. It takes a special type of human being, one with out a conscience, to consistently lie to himself and others.

I’d like to remind the good folks of Lynchburg, that last time Liberty University tried the ex-gay thing, it didn’t go so well. Their “pray away the gay” poster boy was a man named Michael Johnston. He now lives in a sex addiction facility in Kentucky, following a slew of bareback orgies with men. Here’s the mini-movie:

On Saturday, the Liberty University Law Review will host a legal symposium entitled “Homosexual Rights and First Amendment Freedoms: Can They Truly Coexist?”

Of course they can co-exist, unless your religious beliefs and practice are defined exclusively by violent anti-gay animus. If you believe the First Amendment allows you to harass, intimidate, torment and physically abuse LGBT people then there is a conflict. Other than that, there’s no problem.

So, why all the fear-mongering?

It seems quite obvious that in states with laws that protect citizens based on sexual orientation, people are still free to pray any way they wish. But, reality has never been the Religious Right’s cup of tea.

If you are fortunate enough to be around at 1:30pm on Saturday, you will catch a panel featuring arch-homophobes Robert Knight (pictured) and Elaine Donnelly, “Hire Them and Don’t Fire Them: How Homosexual Rights and Privileges Have Eroded Employers’ Rights and Destroyed Religious Freedom.” (Read More)

On January 25, I accused the “ex-gay” organization Exodus International of endemic sloth.

With an alleged one-million dollar budget and 13 staff members, Exodus had essentially gone into hibernation. It had not updated its tired website since Nov. 16, 2009. The only peep from the organization comes from periodic posting on the group’s vanity blog by Vice President Randy Thomas.

I guess my criticism lit a fire under President Alan Chambers’ derriere. On January 26, one day after my charges were leveled, he cleared the cobwebs and took a break from praying away his gay to update Exodus’ site.

A new work ethic had been born!!

Well, not exactly.

Since January 26, Exodus has not bothered to update its site. That’s right, we are nine days into February and Exodus is peddling old news, just like it hawks outdated ideas. Likewise, the group’s Exodus Youth site has not been updated since Dec. 1, 2009. The Exodus Church Association site hasn’t changed since August 2009.

While the group’s slogan is “Freedom is Possible”, apparently hard work is another story.

Finally, why is Exodus still not promoting San Diego’s March 6, “Love Won Out” conference on its main site’s front page? They supposedly bought the “ex-gay” road show from Focus on the Family last year. San Diego is its first foray without Focus – yet there has barely been a word of promotion.

In one year’s time, Exodus’ online properties have gone from robust to just plain bust. It is worth considering that the worldwide economic meltdown has affected Exodus more than it’s activist leaders are letting on. It is implausible that the group is still fully staffed and functional, yet unable to carry out the basic online functions it succeeded at only one year ago.

What is really going on at Exodus, Mr. Chambers?