Warren Throckmorton reports that Fred Hutchison reports that Paul Cameron reports that Exodus President Alan Chambers has returned to “sodomy”.

At the root of this bizarre claim is last June’s LA Times article in which Chambers was said to “resent the term ‘ex-gay’,” because “by no means would [he] ever say change can be sudden or complete.”

Now conservative pundit Hutchison, of Renew America, quotes Paul Cameron approvingly in a recent mailshot:

Ex-gay leader returns to sodomy

According to Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute Alex Chambers, (sic) Director of Exodus International, the largest Evangelical organization for ex-gays declared that he is no longer ex-gay and is not sure he has ever met an ex-gay! He is now calling to Evangelicals to reconcile with practicing gays.

Of course, as happy as it would make XGW, Chambers was not announcing a change of mind on homosexuality, but simply expressing something about the inadequacy of the term “ex-gay”. He later appeared to play down the LA Times report in response to criticisms from fellow ex-gays:

A recent Times article characterizes Exodus president Alan Chambers as saying he has never met a successful “ex-gay.” Chambers cautions those words were not his, but those of the writer, Stephanie Simon. Chambers says in the interview, he merely stressed he has never met anyone who has loved the term “ex-gay” — which he contends is difficult to define.

“It’s something that comes across as confusing,” he says. “And while I understand why people have used it over the years — it’s easy to use in a soundbite — to say that someone is primarily described by the behavior that they used to be involved in I think is a disservice to the people who have found freedom from homosexuality.”

And that includes himself, says Chambers. “[R]eally, more accurate labels for me would be, ‘I’m a man. I’m a Christian. I’m a husband. I’m a father. I’m a son.’” Chambers says he is considering whether to ask the newspaper to issue a clarification of his remarks.

Update: Hutchison says he thought Paul Cameron and the LA Times were “adequate sources,” blames “trusted advisor” for publishing his words without permission, regrets using the word “sodomy,” and says he’ll give Alan Chambers “a fair hearing.”

2nd update: Hutchison offers a fuller “apology”, beginning with a condemnation of the “prying busybodies” who dared to publish his remarks. The entire statement is a great example of someone attempting to apologize while in fact doing everything they can to avoid taking real responsibility.

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