The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., reports today on an ex-gay rally at the state Capitol, sponsored by Concerned Women for America and Peter LaBarbera’s group, the Illinois Family Institute.

Stephen Bennett said:

“I’ve had both worlds, I’ve been in love with a man and with a woman,” Bennett said. “I was not born gay. I realized that my relationship with my partners was really a fraud; it was not the real thing.”

Mr. Bennett does not say that gay relationships in general are fraudulent — or rather, he is not quoted saying that. He says his relationships were a fraud. XGW appreciates efforts by ex-gay activists to speak only for themselves, however, Mr. Bennett also claims to speak for most homosexuals when he says most were molested as children. This blame-the-parents tactic is common among ex-gays, and XGW would like to see ex-gays make a good-faith effort to substantiate their allegation; they have not yet done so.

Another ex-gay, Linda Jernigan, compares homosexuality to slavery — only in this instance, she opposes equal rights as a means of deliverance, saying homosexuals don’t need their constitutional rights.

In attempting to provide editorial balance, the article appears to misquote gay activists, asserting that they say “homosexuals are born that way.”

Here’s what Wayne Besen did say:

“There is a growing body of evidence that sexual orientation is not a choice, that it is either genetic or biological,” Besen said.

“(The anti-gay groups) want to trick Americans and fool them into believing that people choose their sexual orientation like they choose what they’re going to wear or what they’re going to have for breakfast.”

XGW thanks Mr. Besen for pointing us to this story.

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