Ex-Gay Watch

Ex-Gay Watch reported on Matthew C. Manning’s troubling criminal record in June, 2009.  Manning claims to have been “delivered from homosexuality in 1989 and miraculously healed from HIV/AIDS in 1994.”  He has claimed that this enabled him to help people wishing to be “delivered from homosexuality.”  Readers unfamiliar with Manning are invited to read our previous post for background. What’s happened since last June The day after last year’s post, Manning filed to expunge the conviction from 2005 per California penal code 1203.4.  It appears to have been granted on August 10, 2009.  This ...

It seems that Exodus VP Randy Thomas is no fan of the recent resolution brought to a vote at Disney by Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). The language PFOX uses is confusing. It appears they are doing a “find and replace” word processing function on their organizational messaging.  They are copying gay activist talking points and replacing every instance of “gay” with “ex-gay.” Confounding rational minds everywhere, PFOX increasingly refers to ex-gay as a separate and unique sexual orientation.  If that seems like loopy logic, there appears to be a method to their madness as XGW ...

PFOX’s attempt to make the Walt Disney Company include ex-gays in its anti-discrimination policy is not about sexual orientation – it is about ideology. If it were about sexual orientation, PFOX would have to concede that ex-gays are already protected. Are ex-gays same-sex attracted? Then they are homosexual, and are therefore protected. Have they overcome same-sex attractions to become opposite-sex attracted? Then they are heterosexual, and are therefore protected. Do they now have heterosexual relationships? Marriages? Then they have the same rights as every other person in a ...

-Actor Sean Hayes comes the rest of the way out of the closet. -Fred Karger writes an open letter to Maggie Gallagher. -California State Senator Roy Ashburn admits to being gay. -The city of Kissimmee, FL extends partner benefits to LGBT city employees. -Servicemembers United scrutinizes Elaine Donnelly’s list of 1,100 officers who allegedly oppose repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. -A Saudi Arabian man is severely punished for appearing in an amateur gay video. -Rev. Mary Glasspool moves one step closer to becoming the Episcopal Church’s second openly gay bishop. -The Oklahoma state senate ...

-John Shore ponders what Jesus might do if invited to a gay wedding. -The mayor of Turin, Italy performs a wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple. -Andrews Air Force Base disinvites Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council from a speaking engagement. -Catholic Charities ends spousal benefits for its employees in Washington DC so that it won’t have to offer them to same-sex couples. -The LGBT Center at UC Davis resolves to leave recent anti-gay graffiti in place as a reminder that intolerance still exists. -Washington, DC begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. -Free ...

The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has officially responded to Ex-Gay Watch on the matter of Arthur Abba Goldberg, the former NARTH Executive Secretary. Goldberg, who is co-founder and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), was revealed last month to have been jailed and fined in 1989 for his part in a multimillion-dollar business fraud. Goldberg responded to the reports by shifting the blame, and was duly followed by NARTH President Julie Harren-Hamilton, who attacked the gay media and bloggers for exposing Goldberg’s ...

John Smid was the director of Exodus member ministry Love in Action (LIA), a residential ex-gay program in Memphis, Tennessee, for 22 years.  This included the Refuge youth program which gained notoriety in 2005 when a teen, Zach Stark, created what became a plea for help on his MySpace page. This event and the protests that followed were a significant turning point in the effort to shine a light on the actions of such ministries.  But we should not forget that most of those who would later recognize harm from their time at LIA had already been through the program by the time the events of ...

Arthur Abba Goldberg is no longer listed as a NARTH officer on the organization’s website. There is no indication whether Goldberg resigned or was forced to leave. Either seems likely after last month’s revelation that the champion of reparative therapy and co-director of Jewish ex-gay ministry JONAH was a convicted felon. In 1989, Arthur Abba Goldberg was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and fined $100,000 for his part in a mail fraud scam. He appears to have deliberately concealed his identity since becoming a leader in the ex-gay movement, and when his past finally caught up with ...

-The Alliance Defense Fund goes even further off the deep end. -Sen. Joseph Lieberman becomes chief sponsor of the effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. -A West Virginia couple is denied an apartment on the basis of their sexual orientation. -The Minnesota House holds hearings on a trio of marriage equality bills. -Bruce Carroll of GOProud argues that the recent CPAC conference was a watershed event for modern conservatism. -College wrestling star Hudson Taylor speaks out for LGBT rights. -The West Virginia House shoots down a Republican effort to force a vote on a same-sex marriage ...

Click here to view the embedded video. An interesting report featured last night on ABC Australia’s Hungry Beast.  The ex-gay featured could be a spokesperson for Exodus International, he is that spot on.   It’s also interesting that one of the gay men describes having been introduced to gay clubs through an affair with this team leader in an ex-gay program.  This tracks with a statement by Peterson Toscano (if anyone remembers that, please post in the comments). Hat Tip: Anthony-Venn Brown