Focus on the Family will be conducting an ex-gay political rally in Oklahoma City on Oct. 25.
Focus has heard that gay-tolerant counterprotesters will be stationed outside the rally.
Exodus chairman and Focus antigay issues manager Mike Haley doesn’t know who exactly those protesters will be, or what they’ll say… in fact, searches of Google and the Daily Oklahoman metro newspaper find no formal counterprotests. (Yes, I searched the fee-based archives.)
But Mr. Haley blasts the unidentified gay activists anyway.
“The opposition being displayed by gay activists in Oklahoma City is really quite indicative of the myopic application of tolerance being displayed by liberal activist groups nationwide,” said Mike Haley, a former homosexual and Love Won Out conference host.
Instead of substantiating his fears about Oklahoma City, Mr. Haley changes the subject and criticizes an unrelated gay group, GLAAD, which recently protested antigay bias on the often-tasteless and irrelevant CNN show Larry King Live.
“Thousands of men and women know firsthand that there is a way out of unwanted homosexuality,” Haley continued. “Attempting to silence and discredit us displays a cruel disregard for individual, civil and human rights and attempts to deny us our right to choose not to be gay.
“It’s quite hypocritical for organizations like GLAAD to continue to call for the silencing of opposing viewpoints while demanding acceptance of their own.”
Small problem: GLAAD is calling for equal time, not censorship of ex-gays.
“Gay activists continue to force-feed their message to our culture while attempting to silence any opposing viewpoint,” Haley concluded. “But people continue to hunger for the truth, and our hope is that October 25 will be a day of hope and healing for them.”
So long as they lack any substantiation, Mr. Haley’s accusations carry a tone of desperation and insecurity, not hope and healing.
Oklahoma has a large gay community. One of the largest gay hotels in the US is there. There is also a very activist HIV group which spent most of the mid 90’s fighting right wing inspired pornography charges. Try checking under the heading ‘Habana Inn’, and then track down their links. That may lead you to the plans.
Hmm, I tracked down the Inn and looked through the links and came up empty-handed so far. I don’t have time at the moment to look further.
In any event, if Mr. Haley had specific information, he should have shared it, for his own sake. It’s not my job to do his research or defend his ill temper.
Haley’s comments are nothing more than the standard mantra of movement conservatives–both religious and non-religious–that they are being oppressed by those they perceive to be their enemies. And they make it up even if they are not being oppressed. For some reason, it keeps the sheeple in line.
There is a significant similarity between them and militant Islam in that regard.
I was amazed, actually, that GLAAD took a different (and IMO, much better) approach to the Larry King Show. You’d think Haley would recognize that, but then again, you’d also think that Haley would be used to protests, or at least acknowledge that their right to speak means everyone gets to speak. Whine, whine, whine.