FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org

TWO Sends Palin A Book To Help Change Her Backward, Unscientific Views

NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out criticized Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin today for repeatedly saying in an interview with Katie Couric on CBS News that homosexuality is a choice.

“While it is encouraging that Palin has a gay friend, we are still disturbed that a person on the cusp of enormous power could hold such backward and unscientific views,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “She seems to be in lockstep with her church, that promoted a ‘pray away the gay’ conference in Anchorage. We hope Palin will choose to educate herself so she will learn that being gay is not a casual choice, like eating moose stew for dinner. We want her to understand that you can’t pray away the gay.”

Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen sent Palin his book today, “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.” He hopes it will bring her up to speed on the latest science on homosexuality, as well as introduce her to the damage done to gay people who “choose” to go straight. Every respected medical and mental health association in America – including the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association – warn that so-called “ex-gay” sexual engineering programs can be harmful.

On the topic of sexual orientation, Palin told Couric the following:

“And you know, I don’t know what prayers are worthy of being prayed and I don’t know what prayers are going to be answered or not answered. But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay, and I love her dearly, and she is not my ‘gay friend, she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn’t a choice that I have made. But I’m not going to judge people.”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin’s church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

“You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality,” according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed since she was a child.

Palin’s conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain’s candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.

Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, has scheduled the “Love Won Out” Conference for Sept. 13 in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called “pray away the gay” movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin’s church, was not available to discuss the matter Friday, said a church worker who declined to give her name.

Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against their interests, but early in her administration she supported a bill to overrule a court decision to block state benefits for gay partners of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.

Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant support didn’t win fans among Alaska’s gay population, said Scott Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.

“Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?” he said.

“I think gay Republicans are going to run away” if Palin supports efforts like the prayers to convert gays, said Wayne Besen, founder of the New York-based Truth Wins Out, a gay rights advocacy group. Besen called on Palin to publicly express her views now that she’s a vice presidential nominee.

“People are looking at Sarah Palin as someone who might feasibly be in the White House,” he said.

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

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