Wayne Besen

"Ex-gay movement" poster boy John Paulk renounces conversion therapy, apologizes

PORTLAND, Ore. – John Paulk, the poster boy for the so-called “ex-gay movement” for a decade, has issued “A Formal Public Apology by John Paulk” and renounced conversion therapy.

Paulk founded the Love Won Out ministry through the anti-gay group Focus on Family, appeared on countless television shows and conducted numerous interviews touting that he was converted into a heterosexual man through prayer and “ex-gay therapy.”

He married an “ex-lesbian,” Anne, and they became parents of three children.

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COMMENTARY: Mean Mitt is a rotten apple in a bad barrel

In this election cycle, much of America has been riveted by the eye-popping extremism of several Republican candidates. Donald Trump, the rich builder turned ridiculous “birther” is the posterboy for the sickness that has seduced the modern GOP.

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Gay bashing in the pulpit: Is this why America is losing its religion?

A new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reveals that a record number of Americans (19.3%) have abandoned faith and now consider themselves unaffiliated with any particular religion.

According to USA Today:

Hate group member appointed to school's anti-bullying task force

COON RAPIDS, Minn.

In Sacramento, LGBT activists to counter newly formed “ex-gay” movement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Several well-known LGBT activists will appear this weekend in Sacramento to dispute the scientifically disproved myth that gays can be turned straight.

Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, will give a multimedia presentation on the subject as a new “gays can be cured” group launches in the Sacramento area.

Besen will speak at an event running from 6 to 8:30 pm Saturday, Sept. 22, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral’s International Hall in Sacramento.

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Tragedy in Texas: My trip to a vigil for lesbian couple shot by man on the loose

When I first heard that a gunman shot a teenage lesbian couple in Portland, Texas, I pictured a small, backward town reminiscent of the one in the movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The crime scene, however, did not match the picture I had conjured on the plane ride from Vermont to Texas.

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COMMENTARY: Why I'm going to Texas vigil to mourn lesbian couple

The more victories the LGBT movement racks up, the more vicious our opponents become. When I look at the anti-gay extremism in 2012, I'm reminded of 1998's "Summer of Hate," which began with a national "ex-gay" advertising campaign, escalated with a flurry of anti-gay legislation in Congress, and ended with the horrifying death of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.

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COMMENTARY: Flawed gay-parents study is dollarship disguised as scholarship

RegnerusThere are two things we know about the religious right: They have no faith in science, and they

"Ex-gay" group cancels conference due to lack of interest

One of the most prominent ex-gay organizations in the country, Exodus International, has been experiencing an exodus of a different sort, one it surely isn’t pleased to see. The group canceled its next Love Won Out (LWO) conference, which was scheduled for May 19 at Legacy Church in Albuquerque, N.M.

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COMMENTARY: "Ex-gay" activist John Smid makes stunning admission

For decades, John Smid had been the leader of Love in Action, the infamous "ex-gay" ministry that took away the underwear of clients if the undergarments appeared too gay. The strict Memphis-based ministry also used an egg timer in the bathroom to make sure its clients would not masturbate while showering.

Of all the "ex-gay" ministries this was the most cult-like - with Smid keeping tight control over the social lives of his clients, who paid a pretty penny to live in the residential program.

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