Truth Wins Out (TWO) today called on Parents and Friends of ‘Ex-Gays’ (PFOX) to clarify whether it actually filed a frivolous lawsuit against the Washington, DC Office of Human Rights. PFOX claimed it launched its alleged suit because so-called “ex-gays” are not protected under its sexual orientation anti-discrimination law.

At the request of a reporter, D.C. Superior Court looked through all the court’s case records and could find no “lawsuit” filed by PFOX against the D.C. Office of Human Rights. What they found was a filing called a “Petition for Review of Agency Decision.” The court does not consider this a lawsuit.

PFOX responded to the Washington Blade by calling their cockamamie legal maneuver a “lawsuit of sorts.” I guess this is similar to their absurd sexual engineering program that produces heterosexuals of sorts.

PFOX is a political organization that sells the idea that people can “pray away the gay.” It was founded by lawyer Roy Cohn’s ex-boyfriend, Anthony Falzarono, and bankrolled by the Family Research Council. It was later run by therapist Richard Cohen, who was banned for life by the American Counseling Association. The current leader is Regina Griggs, who has an openly gay son.

‘We Will Stop Focus on the Family’s Destructive Lies Wherever They Are Spread,’ Says TWO

Truth Wins Out (TWO) announced today that its founder, Wayne Besen, would appear in Anchorage to oppose Focus on the Family’s notorious “ex-gay” Love Won Out road show on Sept. 13. Besen is the author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the ‘Ex-Gay’ Myth.” TWO shadows this anti-gay seminar across the nation to ensure that the public is armed with the facts and aware that Focus on the Family is deliberately disseminating misinformation about gay and lesbian people.

“We appear wherever Focus on the Family spreads lies and fear,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “Love Won Out distorts gay life and conflates stereotypes with science, while selling false hope to vulnerable people. We are looking forward to working with Alaskan advocacy groups to counter Focus on the Family’s false and destructive messages.”

More details about Besen’s trip will be forthcoming. The Love Won Out conference will take place on Sept. 13 at the Abbott Loop Community Church.

We need your help to make this happen. Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help us fight the right in Alaska. To Donate online CLICK HERE.

Or - send a check to: Truth Wins Out; P.O. Box 25491; Brooklyn, NY 11202

David Benkof likes to portray himself as a courageous man who tells difficult truths about gay life. Originally, he agreed to defend his many outrageous anti-gay positions on an August 22, National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association (NLGJA) panel. I was also scheduled to appear and was prepared to challenge his irrational and inflammatory arguments.

Unfortunately, Mr. Benkof announced today that he is withdrawing from the event unless I “switch to a different panel.” In an e-mail exchange, he told me that I should also pay for his plane ticket, even though I am paying my own way. (This was odd, as he boasted he was making a lot of money publishing in mainstream news publications)

To pull out at this late date and demand “travel welfare” highlights a deep character deficit and shows Benkof’s fear of a direct challenge to his lightweight arguments.

In my view, Benkof is only capable of fooling the uninformed and gullible with sophistic arguments that show his utter lack of knowledge and cluelessness to historical precedent. Benkof understands in his heart that he is deficient in intellectual heft and academic discipline and thus must avoid face-to-face exchanges of ideas. His cowardice is understandable, considering the flimsy arguments that he would be forced to defend - but still disappointing. It seems Benkof would rather hide behind the Internet and lob rhetorical bombs, than sit in the hot seat and answer questions about how he misrepresents himself, misquotes people and distorts the truth.

If I had to lie and mislead people as much as Benkof, I’d be shy about debating in public too.

Exodus International Offers False Hope, Divorces and Ruined Lives, Says TWO

NEW YORK – TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) will join a coalition of state and local North Carolina organizations to counter a conference in Asheville (July 15-20) that plans to teach people to ‘pray away the gay.’ The controversial Exodus International symposium will sell books that promote exorcisms and encourage gay men to play touch football and lesbians to wear lipstick to become heterosexual.

“Ex-gay groups would be a farce if its failures weren’t so destructive to individuals and families,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of TruthWinsOut.org. “We plan a robust week of activities to highlight the harm caused by this nefarious right wing organization and to show the truth about the lives of GLBT people. I want to thank the Coalition for Equality for their commitment to educating North Carolinians about the dangers of the ‘ex-gay’ myth and the positive contributions GLBT people make to the community.”

Schedule of Events, July 15-20

Tuesday, July 15, 7:00–8:30 PM, Kick off Event
“Can You Pray Away the Gay?”
Firestorm Café & Books (48 Commerce St., Asheville)
Speakers: Wayne Besen, Director, TruthWinsOut.org and author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-gay Myth,” and Ian Palmist, Director, Equality NC

(Read More)

Attack on Barack Obama Hypocritical, Says TWO

NEW YORK – TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) responded today to Focus on the Family leader James Dobson’s attack on Barack Obama. On Dobson’s daily radio show, the right wing leader accused the democratic nominee of ‘distorting’ the Bible. This charge was odd, considering Dobson has been blamed by at least seven top researchers for “ distorting” their scientific findings.

“James Dobson is a serial distorter and has consistently twisted the work of respected scientists to support his political agenda,” said TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen. “It his the height of hypocrisy for him to point fingers and accuse others of distortions. It is clear that Dobson has little credibility and has tremendous difficulty with the truth.”
In the past two years, at least seven researchers have accused Dobson of manipulating or cherry picking their results to back his anti-gay teachings. Letters and videos documenting the concerns of these respected professors can be viewed at TruthWinsOut.org.

The first researcher to step forward was New York University educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, PhD. On Sept. 14, 2006 Gilligan wrote a letter to Dobson that stated: “I was mortified to learn that you had distorted my work this week in a guest column you wrote in Time Magazine…What you wrote was not truthful and I ask that you refrain from ever quoting me again and that you apologize for twisting my work.”

The most recent scientist to claim Dobson distorted his work was University of Minnesota’s Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H. In a letter to Dobson dated April 28, 2008 he wrote, “I want to draw your attention to a gross misrepresentation of our research at the website of ‘Focus on the Family.’”

Other leading researchers who have taken issue with Dobson’s use of their work include: Dr. Kyle Pruett, Professor of child psychiatry, the Yale University School of Medicine; Dr. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University; Angela Phillips, Professor, Goldsmiths College in London; Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, Associate professor, school of nursing, University of British Columbia; and Dr. Judith Stacy, Professor of sociology, New York University

“We urge the media to report the facts and allow America to see the real James Dobson,” said Besen. “He portrays himself as a beacon of morality, but he is really just a tower of half truths.”

Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the “ex-gay” myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.
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(Ensley, left, Doesn’t Read Exodus’ Website)

Poor Mike Ensley. Next time he debates in a mainstream venue he needs to read the Exodus website. He was totally unprepared for the Alan Colmes Show and spent much of the debate denying undeniable facts, squirming or disavowing quotes made by his loose cannon boss, Alan Chambers. He claimed that the host, Alan Colmes, and I were taking words out of context or making things up - but the problem is, the proof is on the Exodus website or part of the historical record.

Sorry Mike, but if you are going to speak to people who have not been brainwashed, at least do your homework. I know it must be difficult to defend the scientifically bankrupt “What to Do When Your Child is Gay” or argue that Exodus does not believe gays are evil or demon possessed, when your organization promotes spiritual warfare.

The cold facts can be stubborn and unforgiving.

Here is my message to Mike: If you are too preoccupied to know your topic and what the organization you work for actually represents - just tell the truth. It is amazing how easy interviews are when you believe in what you are saying and can speak with a clear conscience. When you ultimately leave Exodus, Mike, you will finally understand this simple truth.

Finally, Mike, the GLBT community will be here for you if and when you are ready to come out. We will show you the unconditional love and support that you will never find at Exodus. And, the best part is - when you do interviews with the media, you won’t have to remember the lies you told before the commercial break.

(Bob Davies, right)

Exodus claims to love homosexuals, but their message to those infected with HIV: “You are getting what you deserve and God is punishing you for being gay.” On Exodus’ website, there is a commentary by former Executive Director Bob Davies, “A Biblical Response to the Pro-Gay Movement.” In this screed he says:

Those who practice these sins “receive in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (v. 27). In today’s society, homosexuality is reaping a bitter harvest. Homosexual men are six times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexual men. Between 25 and 33 percent of homosexual men and women are alcoholics (the national average is 7 percent). Currently, 70 percent of Americans with AIDS are male homosexuals or bisexuals. Homosexual involvement reaps deep devastation in the lives of many who practice it.

It was certainly convenient for Davies to ignore that heterosexuals make up more than 80 percent of cases worldwide - so this is hardly a product of homosexual behavior. Many of the new infections are caused by right wing squeamishness to teaching comprehensive sex education - including condom use.

For political convenience, Exodus also skirts the obvious. In Washington, DC, black residents are hardest hit, accounting for 81% of new reports of HIV infection and 86% of people with AIDS, though the city’s population is only 57% African-American. Based on Exodus “logic” this would mean that the “black lifestyle” is dangerous and should be condemned. Interesting, how they only focus on homosexuality and ignore other demographics and the International AIDS epidemic because they don’t mesh well with the group’s bigotry.

The fact is, Exodus is a bona fide hate group that will say anything to smear homosexuals. Gay sex, when practiced safely, is no more dangerous than any other form of sexuality. Gay people have been around for thousands of years before AIDS and will be on this planet long after the disease subsides or is eradicated. In the grand scheme of the universe, it does not define homosexuality any more than syphilis outbreaks in Europe defined heterosexuality. It is time for Exodus to stop the blame game and act responsibly.