The antigay parents organization PFOX issued a press release Jan. 30 praising Exodus chairman and Focus on the Family exgay activist Mike Haley.
Haley had testified before a congressional panel addressing taxpayer funding of faith-based organizations.
But just two paragraphs into the press release, PFOX forgets about Haley.
Instead of commenting on Haley’s presentation or faith-based funding, PFOX piggybacks with an all-purpose, boilerplate description of PFOX’s political mindset.
In a script that PFOX has used before, executive director Regina Griggs uncharitably describes her gay son as living “in the homosexual lifestyle.”
Griggs says the choice to be exgay “must be respected by everyone” — fair enough. She says later that the “dignity” of gay people should be respected — but she does not quite say whether the constitutional or religious rights of gay people, or the choice not to be exgay, should be respected. Griggs neglects to mention that, in recent years, PFOX has lobbied against laws to reduce discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Griggs asserts the existence of an “irrational phobia against those who have overcome unwanted same sex attractions.” Unfortunately, she provides no examples to explain or substantiate her belief.
Griggs cites support for the right of patients to explore “gender-affirming therapy,” which encourages men to act macho and play sports, and encourages women to act effeminate and boost self-esteem through looking pretty.
Griggs asserts that a study by Dr. Robert Spitzer found that same-sex attractions can be overcome, though in fact that is not quite what the study concluded. (Previous XGW coverage; in-depth analysis of studies by Spitzer and by Ariel Shidlo are forthcoming.)
Griggs concludes her press release by falsely describing PFLAG as an organization of parents that only loves their children if they are gay.