To: Montgomery County Public Schools
Attn: Superintendent Joshua Starr Re: PFOX flier distribution
Dear Sir:
We write with great concern today about a grossly misleading flier that was disseminated to Montgomery County students by the organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX).
While non-profit literature must not be blocked based on viewpoint, it can and should be prohibited if it contains blatant misinformation that jeopardizes the health and well being of students. The PFOX flier easily fits this description and the group has a dubious history that includes bizarre and bigoted practices that have no place in your public school system.
The flier in question is highly deceptive because it falsely states that PFOX “promotes diversity” and “supports tolerance.” Indeed, PFOX board member and spokesperson, Peter Sprigg, played an instrumental role in the Southern Poverty Law Center declaring the Family Research Council, where he works, a certified hate group in 2011. Sprigg has called homosexuality “unnatural and unhealthy,” and an attack on the “natural family.”
In March 2008, Sprigg responded to a question on Hardball with Chris Matthews about uniting gay partners during the immigration process by saying: “I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them.” He later apologized, but then went on to tell MSNBC host Chris Matthews, “I think there would be a place for criminal sanctions on homosexual behavior.” “So we should outlaw gay behavior?” Matthews asked. “Yes,” Sprigg replied.
In August 2010, PFOX president Greg Quinlan spoke at a conference organized by another SPLC- certified hate group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. In his speech, Quinlan made an outrageous and offensive anti-LGBT slur:
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know,” Quinlan said. “I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them.”
(8:00-8:13)
At the same-conference, PFOX public speaker and convicted felon, Arthur Abba Goldberg, smeared LGBT people with ugly stereotypes disguised as scientific observation:
“By the way, did you notice that a lot of gays who remain in the gay lifestyle also do a lot of body building,” said Goldberg. “They will be in the gym a lot trying to build up their pecs…Because they have these body image issues and don’t feel they are masculine enough.”
Clearly, PFOX mischaracterized itself when it claimed that it “promotes diversity” and “supports tolerance.” Do you want LGBT students under your jurisdiction to contact a group that browbeats them with guilt and shame and believes they should be “exported” or criminalized? Are you inadvertently encouraging pupils to reach out to a group that undermines their mental health by hurling demeaning, homophobic slurs and hurtful stereotypes? More important, are you prepared to face legal action if a student is harmed or commits suicide as a result of being subjected to the destructive “therapy” pushed by this viciously anti-gay outfit?
Let’s not beat around the bush: If an unsavory organization insulted other minorities with despicable epithets and demanded that they be “exported” or jailed – no school in Montgomery County would be distributing their leaflets. The fact that you would allow this politically motivated organization to spread its noxious message about LGBT people shows an unreasonable and unfathomable double standard.
Furthermore, the former president of PFOX, Richard Cohen, was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethics violations. Cohen is the individual most associated with the discredited mental health techniques trumpeted by PFOX.
We have provided video so you can see Cohen in action. Mr. Starr, I seriously doubt that you can watch these surreal “therapeutic” antics and not wince at the thought of the students under your charge – or your own children — coming under Cohen’s “care.”
Certainly, you are aware that so-called “ex-gay” therapy is rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization in the nation, including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to change sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression, and self-destructive behavior.”
Why would Montgomery County want to place LGBT youth, already at an elevated risk for bullying, depression, and suicide in dangerous situations that can lead to tragedy? To continue allowing this specific organization into your school system is to court disaster. It is grossly irresponsible, reckless, and a dereliction of the primary duty of administrators to protect students from harm.
This is absolutely not about free speech, but about the distribution of blatantly false speech by an organization that brazenly misrepresented itself as a benign group promoting tolerance and diversity. In reality, it is advocating for outright discrimination and even criminalization, pushing junk science, and referring youth to unqualified therapists.
Judging by news reports, it appears that you disagree with PFOX’s flier – yet it was still handed out. We are assuming that at the time of distribution you were simply unaware of the full scope of PFOX’s anti-LGBT activities and its direct ties to hate groups that demonize and dehumanize LGBT people.
Well, now you know the facts. The question is what are you going to do about it?
Truth Wins Out looks forward to your response and is available to answer any questions you might have about PFOX and the trauma caused by “ex-gay” therapy.
Sincerely,
Wayne Besen
Executive DirectorTruth Wins Out
917-691-5118
Weird quote from “ex-gay” PFOX leader Greg Quinlan:
“I want to talk first of all about something I heard from the very beginning by people of this Legislature that we are bigots as people of faith, because we do not hold that homosexual marriage should be codified. That somehow we are bigots and we are ideologues because we are people of faith. I want to address that hate. Everyone in this room who is a person of faith deserves an apology from one of the sponsors of this bill for calling us bigots.
“To date there is zero evidence that anyone is born a homosexual, zero. In fact it’s homosexual researchers and scientists that are proving that homosexuality is not innate and had no biological ideology. Homosexuality is not immutable. There are many ex-gays; Anne Heche, to name one, Sinead O’Connor and myself. I left the homosexual lifestyle almost 20 years ago. Lived as a homosexual activist for 10 years of my life.”
Wait, I’m confused. Did Anne Heche and Sinead O’Connor go through brutal, discredited “ex-gay” ministries, the patients of which often end up driven to deeper levels of depression and sometimes suicide, in order to pray themselves straight. Or did their lives just change? I don’t know about Anne, but I highly doubt Sinead O’Connor would appreciate her name being used in that way by such an ignorant, hateful bigot.
Anyway, the rest of it is just the usual whining. “Tolerate our unhinged hatred!” Whatever.
Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
PFOX’s Greg Quinlan Compounds Original Defamation With Second Act of Defamation
Burlington, Vt. – Truth Wins Out announced today that it intends to launch a defamation lawsuit against Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) as soon as possible. The lawsuit is a result of PFOX President Greg Quinlan’s comments on a Washington, DC television show claiming that TWO Executive Director, Wayne Besen, tried to have him murdered.
“We are preparing a lawsuit and PFOX will soon realize that this is no bluff,” said TWO’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “PFOX will not be able to pray away this lawsuit any more than they can pray away the gay. The outcome of this disturbing matter will be settled in a court of law.”
On October 7, 2011 Quinlan was interviewed on NewsPlus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). At the 10:38 mark of the show, Quinlan (pictured) fabricates an alleged hit on his life. According to Quinlan:
“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”
TWO sent PFOX a letter last week giving them an opportunity to apologize for their smear campaign. Unfortunately, instead of taking the high road and expressing regret for making false and misleading statements, Quinlan angrily lashed out in today’s statement:
“Once I was able to stop laughing and realized that the letter wasn’t intended to be parody, I thought: Okay; Wayno wants a response to his list of comical demands? Here’s my formal response: Grow up…So, Wayne, if you really feel you must waste money you could be using to bash ex-gays, bully Christian churchgoers and spread the lie that people who are trapped in unwanted homosexuality can never escape it, I say knock yourself out. We’re happy to countersue and expose the hundreds of smears you and TWO have lodged against me and other pro-family advocates. Smears that actually amount todefamation. Little man, I’m calling your bluff.”
In Quinlan’s bizarre response, he defended his original character assassination with a second calumny that will be included in the defamation lawsuit. PFOX’s President falsely claimed that Besen was fired from the Human Rights Campaign, where he served as Deputy Director of Communications from 1998-2003.
“In reality, I left HRC after five years on my own volition to take a new job,” said TWO’s Besen. “The year I left I received a raise, and on my final day at HRC they threw me a party. That Quinlan would publicly lie about something so easily provable is incredibly reckless and irresponsible.”
Quinlan also lied when he claimed: “First of all, Besen blatantly mischaracterized what I actually said on the program, claiming that I suggested he solicited my assassination. This is a bald-faced lie and Besen knows it. The truth is that Besen once said to me in a private conversation that someone should run me over with a bus or inject me with AIDS. Did I think he was serious? No. I knew it was just Wayne being Wayne; one part bluster, two parts hyperbole and three parts hot air.”
“This alleged conversation never occurred and these words were never spoken,” said Besen. “As for Quinlan’s clear statements being ‘mischaracterized,’ people can watch the show and see with their own eyes that Quinlan is being less than honest. I challenge Quinlan to a lie detector test to see who is telling the truth. I seriously doubt he is willing to take one, while I am.”
“Basically, everything Quinlan said in his response was untrue and TWO will see PFOX in court,” added Besen.
Obviously, such a lawsuit is out of budget — so please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help us fight PFOX’s lies.
Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
TWO Demands ‘Ex-Gay’ Group Apologize For Defamatory Remarks Within Five Days Or Face Legal Action
PFOX President Greg Quinlan’s Fabricated Tale Claiming TWO Tried to Have Him Murdered is Unconscionable and Unacceptable, Says TWO
Burlington, Vt. – Truth Wins Out sent a letter to Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays today sternly warning PFOX that it would face legal consequences if it did not publicly apologize within five days for defaming TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen. The letter from Virginia attorney Michael Hamar outlined four concrete demands that PFOX would have to satisfy to avoid having the matter settled in a court of law.
On October 7, 2011 Quinlan was interviewed on News-Plus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). At the 10:38 mark of the show, Quinlan (pictured) fabricates an alleged hit on his life. According to Quinlan:
“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”
“Greg Quinlan deliberately and maliciously fabricated a story with the sole purpose of smearing Truth Wins Out and damaging my reputation,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “These defamatory actions are unconscionable, unacceptable, and I refuse to let these vicious lies go unanswered.”
Hamar sent his letter to PFOX outlining the necessary steps to ameliorate the situation:
1. A written retraction be issued by Gregory Quinlan on PFOX letterhead admitting he fabricated the incident(s) and made untrue statements during the television interview. The retraction must be signed by PFOX’s Executive Director Regina Griggs and Mr. Quinlan.
2. A YouTube video of Mr. Quinlan apologizing for the false and defamatory statements.
3. Mr. Quinlan will offer to immediately make an apology on the very television show in which the defamatory statements about Mr. Besen were made.
4. PFOX will send out a press release, first approved by Mr. Besen, announcing the apology.
“These terms must be accepted within five business days of receipt of this letter,” wrote TWO attorney Michael Hamar. “Should Mr. Quinlan and PFOX refuse to accept these terms, Mr. Besen will have no alternative other than to seek relief in court and in the process of the litigation subject Mr. Quinlan and/or PFOX to depositions, interrogatories and other discovery processes.”
The veracity of PFOX has long been questioned. Its former president, Richard Cohen, was expelled for life from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethics violations. A key member of the organization’s Speaker’s Bureau, Arthur Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon sent to prison for financial fraud. In 2010, Quinlan attended a conference organized by Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a group that is listed as a certified Southern Poverty Law Center hate group. During his speech at the meeting, Quinlan disparaged LGBT people and said that when he used to live as an openly gay man he wasn’t a “flaming faggot.”
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know,” Quinlan told the chuckling crowd. “I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them.”
Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to Truth Wins Out today to help us fight this critical legal battle with PFOX. If we don’t stand up to such blatant lies, we are giving our opponents a green light to smear the entire LGBT community.
It is critical that we finally push back and say “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” If we won’t fight back when they accuse us of attempted murder — when will we? The time to take a stand against these dishonest bullies is NOW!
On October 7, 2011 PFOX President Greg Quinlan was interviewed on News-Plus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). The comments, first noticed by Ex-Gay Watch, came to TWO’s attention on Tuesday. Throughout the show, Quinlan distorts reality and flat out dissembles on several subjects. Aside from fabricating stories about Truth Wins Out, Quinlan also slanders scientist Dean Hamer. I informed Hamer about the interview and this is what he had to say:
“As a scientist at the National institutes of Health, the largest and best known biomedical research institution in the world, my research has been extensively peer-reviewed, replicated, and published in respected journals. It’s ironic to be labelled a “liar” by an ideologue who consistently distorts and misreports scientific findings. While I am sympathetic with Mr. Quinlan’s discomfort and struggle with his own sexuality, that is no excuse for misleading people about how science has informed our understanding of sexual orientation as a natural and fundamental aspect of human development.”
Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Greg Quinlan’s Defamatory Claims Are a Complete Fabrication and a Brazen Attempt to Smear LGBT Organization, Says TWO
Burlington, Vt. – Truth Wins Out reacted with outrage and disgust today to a television interview with Greg Quinlan, President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX), who falsely claimed that TWO Executive Director, Wayne Besen, put a hit out on his life. Quinlan is also a lobbyist for the New Jersey Family Policy Council.
On October 7, 2011 Quinlan was interviewed on News-Plus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). The comments, first noticed by Ex-Gay Watch, came to TWO’s attention on Tuesday.
Throughout the show, Quinlan distorts reality and flat out dissembles on several subjects. However, at the 10:38 mark he fabricates an alleged hit on his life. According to Quinlan:
“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”
“The bizarre and defamatory scenario portrayed by Quinlan exists only in his own mind,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “What he said is entirely fabricated and a dishonest and brazen attempt to smear me personally, destroy my reputation, and discredit the good work of Truth Wins Out.”
The integrity of PFOX has long been questioned. Its former president, Richard Cohen, was expelled for life from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethics violations. A key member of the organization’s Speaker’s Bureau, Arthur Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon sent to prison for financial fraud. In 2010, Quinlan attended a conference organized by Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a group that is listed as a certified Southern Poverty Law Center hate group. During his speech at the meeting, Quinlan disparaged LGBT people and said that when he used to live as an openly gay man he wasn’t a “flaming faggot.”
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know,” Quinlan told the chuckling crowd. “I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them.”
“It speaks to Quinlan’s character that he lies so easily and simply makes things up,” said TWO’s Besen. “I’d be willing to take a lie detector test to prove my innocence and to show that I’ve never said such vile words. Will Quinlan also take these tests to prove the ‘veracity’ of his calumny? Truth Wins Out is also exploring legal options at this time.”
Truth Wins Out is a nonprofit organization that fights anti-LGBT extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
On October 7, 2011 Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) President Greg Quinlan was interviewed on News-Plus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). Throughout the show, Quinlan distorts reality and flat out lies on many subjects. However, at the 10:38 mark he commits slander. According to Quinlan:
“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth WIns Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”
Unfortunately for Quinlan nothing he said about me or Truth Wins Out is true or accurate. What he said was outright libel and a complete fabrication that he invented out of thin air. It speaks to Quinlan’s character that he lies so easily and simply makes things up. As for me, I’d be more than happy to take a lie detector test or a NoLie MRI to prove that I’ve never said such vile words. Will Quinlan also take these tests to prove the “veracity” of his calumny?
Truth Wins Out is exploring its legal options. Do our readers think that we should sue PFOX and Quinlan for libel and defamation?
An article in the Christian Post today is doing that thing that fundamentalists all do, all the time, annoying non-Christian writers like me and deeply offending the great majority of Christendom who aren’t unreconstructed bigots. They’re asking “Can Christians avoid being called haters for being against gay marriage?” Uh…well first of all, not all Christians are against marriage equality. Indeed, lots of them are all for it! Straight Christians, too! ”Are we haters for simply being pro-family?” Uh…well, if you only support families that fit your widdle daffynition of what constitutes a family, then yeah, you sort of are acting from a place of hate. It may be cloaked in nice Christian words, but…
Let’s just look at the article.
Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies with the Family Research Council, believes that Christians need to make it clear that they are motivated by love.
Thanks for your input, hate group leader who has called for gays to be exported from the United States. The idea that any human alive would be taking direction on “love” from a person such as Peter Sprigg would be offensive if it weren’t so ludicrous.
“I think that’s kind of the major challenge that we face,” he commented to The Christian Post. “We in the pro-family movement … those of us who are Christians, we know in our hearts that we are motivated by love, not hate. The definition of love is not that you let people do whatever they want.”
Ah, so this kind of illuminates one of the silly things that fundamentalist Christians believe about themselves. These people who haven’t contributed a major scientific or artistic breakthrough in Western society in quite awhile nonetheless feel that they are The Arbiters [the loving, disciplinary parents, if you will], for the entire rest of society, even though their own record on the principles they espouse is no better than the rest of the population, and is often worse. They simply believe they are better. The word for this is “supremacist,” and “love” is nowhere in the definition.
“The essence of love,” he added, “is to desire the best for someone, and to act to bring that about. And I would argue that’s what we think we’re doing.”
Here is another silly thing that fundamentalist Christians believe about themselves. Starting from a place where they actually believe they have the right answers [they who believe that the earth is 6,000 years old and under whose tutelage we never would have had antibiotics], they feel they have the right to act to control other people’s lives in order to “bring about the best” in the rest of society. The problem is that Peter Sprigg is not an expert on any damn thing! The actual experts — scientists, the medical profession, the mental health community — uniformly state that homosexuality is a natural part of the human condition, is not a disorder, and should be treated just as heterosexuality is. Therefore, taking the statements of actual experts, repealing DOMA and bringing about full equality for gays and lesbians is simply doing what is verifiably the best thing for our community. Peter’s opinion on the subject is irrelevant, as the fact that he has some thoughts about what’s written in an old book have absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand. I have some thoughts about that book, too, but I certainly wouldn’t use them to deny anyone their constitutional rights.
They talked to another bigot for the article, an “ex-gay” one:
But what worries Greg Quinlan, president of the Pro-Family Network, is that many Christians aren’t standing in opposition to gay marriage for the sake of getting along with those on the other side of the debate.
“I am intolerant,” he said, “but I don’t hate. Yes, there is a difference … We have to turn the definitions around.”
Good luck.
“Christians have to understand how to tell the truth in love, but it isn’t love until you tell the truth. Now, we have to not be concerned about what other people think of us. We have to stop trying to be nicer than Jesus.”
You aren’t nicer than Jesus, Greg. You and your kind lie about, malign and spread hate against an entire minority population in this country in service of your conception of a deity. At least when Jesus was in a mood he acted with a shred of integrity.
“When somebody calls us a hater … we need to be all the louder, all the more persistent and consistent with our message,” he said.
When you’re correctly called a hateful bigot, hate louder, he seems to be saying!
Well then, that was fun. Until next time one of these fools says something stupid…
Igor Volsky at Think Progress has put together a handy little list of responses from conservative groups and news sources, reacting to the revelations that Marcus Bachmann’s clinic treats patients with discredited, disproven harmful reparative therapy techniques. They’re all painting the Bachmanns as victims, of course, because conservative groups tend to traffic in professional victimhood, as it helps them raise ca$h. Tony Perkins’ reaction is adorably delusional:
– FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: “Apart from Washington, D.C., and homosexual interest groups, the majority of the country will view Marcus’s work for what it is, a ministry of hope. Pointing men and women who struggle with same-sex attractions to God isn’t ‘a discredited form of therapy,’ it’s the path to sexual healing.” [Tony Perkins, 7/13/2011]
Oh, the poor thing. He actually believes that the “majority” of the country’s reaction to Pray Away the Gay therapy is positive, rather than somewhere between shock and guffawing derision. That’s sad and pathetic, but it’s also evil, as Tony’s “path to sexual healing” ruins lives and destroys families.
NOM’s reaction is predictably whiny:
– NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE: “We’ve been following with concern the organized efforts by gay activists to demonize Michele Bachmann’s husband. Greg Quinlan, President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays and Executive Director of Equality and Justice For All comes to Mr. Bachmann’s defense — and to the defense of others who are not given a voice.” [NOM Blog, 7/13/2011]
Greg Quinlan is a knownliar. While this does not, obviously, disqualify him from being quoted adoringly by groups like NOM, as Religious Right spokespeople often are more than willing to lie, as they believe they are serving their deity by doing so, out here in the real world it’s sort of a stain on his character. He also trips himself up regularly by suggesting that “ex-gay” is a hated sexual minority, deserving of special protected status under nondiscrimination statutes, which seems to fly in the face of the Pray Away The Gay world’s contention that people like Greg are now, ahem, heterosexual.
If any grown-ups decide to complain about the Bachmann story, I’ll let you know, but for now, go read the rest of Igor’s round-up.
To: Montgomery County Public Schools
Burlington, Vt. – Truth Wins Out announced today that it intends to launch a defamation lawsuit against Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) as soon as possible. The lawsuit is a result of PFOX President Greg Quinlan’s comments on a Washington, DC 
Burlington, Vt. – Truth Wins Out 
The veracity of PFOX has long been questioned. Its former president, Richard Cohen, was expelled for life from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethics violations. A key member of the organization’s Speaker’s Bureau, Arthur Abba Goldberg, is a convicted felon sent to prison for financial fraud. In 2010, Quinlan attended a conference organized by Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a group that is listed as a certified Southern Poverty Law Center hate group. During his speech at the meeting, Quinlan disparaged LGBT people and said that when he used to live as an openly gay man he wasn’t a “flaming faggot.”
Greg Quinlan’s Defamatory Claims Are a Complete Fabrication and a Brazen Attempt to Smear LGBT Organization, Says TWO
