Last month, the Associated Press reported that a church which Vice Presidential hopeful Gov. Sarah Palin currently attends was promoting the recent Love Won Out conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Truth Wins Out called on her to speak out about this, but she never did. TWO’s Wayne Besen was present along with many supportive organizations and individuals to counter LWO with peaceful demonstrations that encouraged the truth to be told about the LGBTQ community.Gov. Palin did not at first address homosexuality by calling it a “choice.” She gave one of her first interviews to Charlie Gibson and said the following:

In her first interview with Charlie Gibson last month, Gov. Palin indicated that she is aware of the nature vs. nurture debate on the cause of homosexuality, and that she seems to consider the answer based on belief, rather than science.

Oh, I don’t know, but I’m not one to judge and, you know, I’m from a family and from a community with many, many members of many diverse backgrounds and I’m not going to judge someone on whether they believe that homosexuality is a choice or genetic. I’m not going to judge them. [emphasis added]

Later, a clip of Gov. Palin speaking to journalist Katie Couric was posted to the Internet where Palin had this to say:

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. [emphasis added]

In response to the comments made in the second interview, former ex-gay Daniel Gonzales released a video telling Palin how he tried to go straight by praying and participating in years of therapy costing thousands of dollars but was still unsuccessful. Wayne Besen has also sent her a gratis copy of his ex-gay expose book, Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth.

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XGW does not officially endorse any particular party or ticket as doing so would be contrary to our mission.  This article involving Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is not a tacit endorsement of another politician - rather, the term “ex-gay” has come up numerous times in conjunction with her name.  Please limit the discussion to that scope and avoid political or ad-hominem attacks.  Thank you.

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Filed under: Media, Semantics, Television

Nancy Alcorn, founder and head of Mercy Ministries, a “Bible-based” rehabilitation home for girls facing ailments ranging from eating disorders to sexual abuse, is a closeted lesbian according to former member Jennifer Wynne. Nashville Scene provides an eye-opening article outing Alcorn and exposing terrifying realities behind Mercy Ministries, as described by the experiences of several former members.

Wynne, a lesbian herself, was entrusted with providing alibis for Alcorn’s secret liaisons with another “ex-lesbian” named Lisa who paid frequent visits to Mercy, where “looking lesbian was a major crime.” Wynne, in Alcorn’s inner circle, became part of the deception.

While Wynne was in Dallas, Alcorn told her about Lisa, a nutritionist at the Nashville home. Lisa had been gay for 17 years, said Alcorn, but now she was straight. Which made it all the more puzzling to Wynne when Alcorn would shut her door at night with Lisa in the bed behind her. Wynne wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. She just knew that every once in a while Alcorn could be counted on to rush into her room in the middle of the night, frantically begging Wynne to pray with her that Lisa wouldn’t leave.

Thus began a pattern. Lisa would threaten to go and Alcorn would buy her something. First it was a Range Rover. Then a newer Range Rover. And finally a house in Belle Meade. When Alcorn’s pastor caught wind of the relationship, he offered a remedy reminiscent of Alcorn’s own prescription for preventing lesbianism: a separation contract.

Suddenly Wynne’s job title changed. At 20 years old, she was already Mercy’s youngest intake director, the second-highest gig in the house. Now she was also Alcorn’s alibi. Wynne was dragged along to local coffee shops to witness Alcorn and Lisa’s “accidental” run-ins. They’d leave together afterward.

A blog was started by another former Mercy member, Jodi Ferris, to be a witness to the injustices experienced there. It’s entitled “Mercy Ministries of America: Truth Will Out.”

Hat Tip: Commenter John Weaver

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Filed under: Live-In Programs, Scandals, Weblogs

As our readers may have heard, Google recently announced it’s official position against California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in that state.  They did so in a blog by Co-founder and President, Sergey Brin.  Among other things, he said this:

While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 — we should not eliminate anyone’s fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.

Those two lines sum up the general attitude of a wide range of people who oppose this amendment — average individuals, public officials, Hollywood stars and owners of businesses large and small. To them all it’s a matter of equality.

In his recent post about this announcement, Exodus Vice President Randy Thomas illustrated a classic failing of so many ex-gay and anti-gay proponents.

First, I thought this was really odd considering that 22 states, to date, have passed Marriage amendments and there are two other states this go around who have similar measures on the ballot (Arizona and Florida.) That’s odd to me because out of 25 opportunities, they pick this one. So … I am guessing (TOTAL conjecture) that there are big time investors and prominent employees who identify as gay working for/investing in Google. I would further guess that most of those folks live in California.

Read more…

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Filed under: Discrimination, Exodus

From AP via Texarkana Gazette

Bishop Carlton Pearson preached his final sermon at New Dimensions Church on Sept. 7. The church has been folded into All Souls Unitarian Church, the world’s largest church in that denomination.

Carlton Pearson once presided over a large Charismatic church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  With a seat on the board of trustees at Oral Roberts University, and a working relationship with Trinity Broadcasting Network, Pearson was an influential voice.  This was further validated when then newly elected President George Bush consulted with Pearson in 2000.

As XGW reported last year, this changed drastically in 2003 when Pearson began to embrace what he called a “gospel of inclusion,” a fundamental tenant of which is that all people would end up in heaven equally no matter their beliefs or actions on earth.  Since a predominant central tenant of Christian faith is a belief that repentance and faith in the sacrifice of Christ is essential for one’s salvation, Pearson’s new direction clashed with most of his contemporaries, clergy and congregant alike.

Person’s own ministry’s “salvation” then seemed to come from gay and lesbian faithful, who appreciated his acceptance of them before God.  Pearson began to support gay rights in a tangible way, participating in rallies in support of bias crime legislation in Washington DC. Pearson seemed to find a new direction with his support of gay believers and GLBT causes in general.

In this brief recounting we are not yet sure what happened to bring things to a close for his church.  We have left a message to ask just that.  It appears that the remaining members of his New Dimensions church, which had been meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church, have been merged with a Unitarian congregation, but we are not sure which one.

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Filed under: Religion, Tolerance

As the writers at Box Turtle Bulletin have been discovering and reporting, California’s proposed anti-gay marriage amendment - Proposition 8 - is being pushed and backed immensely by the LDS Church. But to give the appearance of ecumenical effort, the claim is made that Mormon, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim voices are being heard. As “proof,” the organizations that are sponsoring the proposition are listed here.

But as BTB’s Timothy Kincaid has noted, the “Jewish” part of that collective voice is very quiet, because the only Jewish organization listed out of more than a hundred is the Orthodox Union. This is an organization run by Orthodox Jews, who tend to be more socially conservative than the other “flavors” of Judaism.  “Jewish New Testament Publications” is also listed, but they are Messianic Jews, a religious denomination that dresses up Christian doctrine and theology in Jewish clothes - most commonly Ashkenazic in fashion. (Ashkenazic Judaism is the most visually stereotypical-looking form of Judaism.) Every other Jewish denomination considers Messianic Judaism to be a form of Christianity, not Judaism.

On the flip side, a quite substantial collective Jewish voice has sounded their support for equality. The L.A. Times is reporting that the Board of Rabbis has come out in opposition to Prop. 8:

The board — a collection of leaders from the Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements — this week declared its opposition to the measure, which would amend the California Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Leaders of the board said they wanted protect the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples.

These Jewish religious leaders understand that their religion should not be imposed upon the American public. 93% of those who voted - 120 out of 290 members - rejected support of Prop. 8.

On a personal level, seeing such an eclectic group of Jews - Jews that cross all denominations, from the most socially liberal to the most socially conservative - vote in overwhelming harmony does my heart good. I see so much dissonance between my fellow Jews politically and religiously that this event is a beam of hope.

BTB reported further on pro-equality Jews in the news, although they might not have been aware of it. Robert Haas, the Jewish great-great nephew of Levi’s Jeans founder Levi Strauss (who was himself a Jewish immigrant from Bavaria), has contributed to the pro-equality effort.

Robert Haas, the great-great-grand-nephew of the founder has given $100,000 to defeat Proposition 8 and announced that he is putting the reputation and the strength of his company (and $25,000 of its cash) to the effort as well. (Forbes)

Levi’s Jeans helped shape the San Francisco area Jewish community for 150 years, and now they are helping to shape the San Francisco gay community. Their effort is a joint one with energy company Pacific Gas & Electric.

Hat Tip: BTB

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Filed under: Hate Crimes/Free Speech, Religion, Tolerance