The Rapid City Journal reported Mar. 17 on Wayne Besen’s appearance Mar. 21 at the Midwest Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Resource Conference.
The article discusses how Besen’s work on the subject began: An ex-gay ad campaign in 1998 prompted mail to HRC from ex-ex-gays and their families. “These [ex-gay] groups did incredible amounts of damage,” Besen said. “I realized how many people had been affected by this, how many families had been destroyed in the name of ‘family values.”
Key quotes:
When reparative therapy doesn’t work, Besen said, supporters blame the person’s lack of faith.
and
Besen warns against people who claim to be ex-gays, saying, “The second you walk in the door to an ex-gay ministry, they say you’re an ex-gay.”
He finds that ironic, too. “I can’t think of another issue theologically where the church is asking people to bear false witness to please God,” he said. “It’s theologically incoherent.”