A Really Bad Day for "Ex-Gay" Frauds

One of the most insidious lies utilized by the gay haters of the Christian Right and their puppets within the Republican Party is the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and/or that it can be "changed" through witch doctor like reparative therapy.  Today that deliberate line of lying and disinformation took two significant hits.  The first was the release by Truth Wins Out of an interview with Dr. Robert Spitzer's whose dubious and thoroughly attacked 2001 study has been used by utterly dishonest elements of the so-called Christian Right - not that all of them aren't extremely dishonest to varying degrees - such as PFOX, NARTH and Family Research Council, etc., to lend credibility to their fraudulent "ex-gay" ministries and intimidation of politicians.  The second blow to these snake oil merchants was the vote today by the California Senate approving SB1172 which ban forms of so-called reparative therapy on anyone under the age of 18.  First these highlights from Truth Wins Out's interview with Dr. Spitzer followed by a video clip of the interview:

What do you have to say about the conclusions of your 2001 study?
“I was quite wrong in the conclusions that I made from this study. The study does not provide evidence, really, that gays can change. And that’s quite an admission on my part.”

What made you go public with your change of heart?
“If I really have all these doubts about the study, I had to face up to whether I had a responsibility to acknowledge that.”

Is there a message you would like to impart to the LGBT community?
“I’ve been thinking about the study for many years. I felt that I needed to say that, the study is not valid, but I thought I should also say to the gay community, I apologize for any harm I have done to them because of the study and my initial interpretation. And I certainly apologize to any gay person who because of this study entered into reparative therapy and wasted their time and energy doing that.”

It took you two years to find a mere 200 study subjects, even though NARTH’s Dr. Joseph Nicolosi was trying to influence the study by begging clients to participate. Why do you think it was so difficult for NARTH to provide you with “ex-gays”?
“He [Nicolosi] just didn’t have many patients who could really claim that they had changed.”

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) is still misusing your study and a video featuring you remains prominently placed on the group’s website. Would you like to address PFOX?
“I ask that PFOX stop showing this video. This is quite misleading. I had no way, really, of knowing when I examined any particular subject whether they really had changed or whether they were deceiving themselves or even outright lying when they claimed that they had changed. So, please don’t show this [video] to anyone.”

The retraction of your study must be very upsetting to anti-gay organizations.
“I’m curious as to whether they have said anything or how they live with the fact that the one study that they have always been citing has now been taken away from them. I would think that’s a pretty rough place to be in.”
Is the “Ex-Gay” Industry capable of unbiased research on homosexuality?
“The people who are pushing the ‘ex-gay’ idea are so full of hatred for homosexuality, really, that I don’t think they can respond in an ethical way.”

What are your thoughts on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)?
“If people can recognize that being a homosexual is something that cannot be changed and that efforts to change are going to be disappointing and can be harmful, if that can be more widely known that would be very good. If somebody is troubled that they are homosexual, what they ought to do is face up to that and so something so they are more comfortable living with the way they are, because any attempt to change is misguided.”

Then there is this from The Advocate:

California moved one step closer today to outlawing any effort to change a minor's sexual orientation through therapy.

The state Senate approved a bill from Sen. Ted Lieu that would ban forms of so-called reparative therapy on anyone under the age of 18, according to San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. It still must be approved by the state Assembly and then by Gov. Jerry Brown, and if it is, then California would become the first state to crack down on therapy that the American Psychological Association has warned is damaging to patients.

The ban would be in effect regardless of whether a parent wanted to allow the therapy for their son or daughter.

Hopefully, the day will come when all of the fraudulent "ministries" are outlawed and those who try to defraud the ignorant and gullible will be subject to civil suits and/or criminal prosecution for peddling these lies and fraudulent "cures."