“Curing” Gays Isn’t Charity

September 1st, 2010

A man asks for charity status for his organization which shoves gays head first into boxes of spiders.

New Zealand has tossed a purely anti-gay organization to the curb after it had applied for charitable status in the country.

Exodus Global Alliance, an U.S.-based religious organisation whose goal is to keep alive the myth that gay people can be cured through reparative therapy and prayer, was seeking tax benefits through charitable status before it was soundly rejected. The commission reviewing the application was thorough in their justification, noting that since homosexuality was not a recognized mental disorder, it did not need curing. While the commission cited the American Psychological Association in their decision, they could have just as easily added the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counselling Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and several other well-respected organisations who have all gone on record to say that sexual orientation not only isn’t a disorder, and not only can’t be changed, but that all attempts to treat homosexuality as a disorder can cause significant psychological harm.

Knowing this, Exodus has been very careful recently when advertising its claims. A careful observer will note that they don’t even define what they mean when they say homosexuals can “change” (normally this amounts to promoting lifelong chastity). Still, that doesn’t stop countless people from trying their methods, fed by the bizarre claim that there are tens of thousands of “ex-gays” out there.

In reality, Exodus is doing demonstrable, but incalculable, harm to people everywhere. The ministries’ success stories amount, essentially, to brainwashing. A large number of participants end up confused and depressed after being taught to hate their natural sexual orientation. It’s not a surprise therefore that the group’s failures are spectacular. Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, two of Exodus’ co-founders, quit the group shortly after they formed it and married each other in a commitment ceremony. In 2007, two other former Exodus leaders joined Bussee and issued an apology for their role in the organisation, saying that they are all openly gay. Just this year, Bussee confessed that he had never seen one Exodus member actually change their sexual orientation.

Given all this, it’s expected that New Zealand would have rejected the application for charitable status, but it’s not a surprise that Exodus was seeking it. Exodus is primarily a religious organisation with a strong political goal that relies on the worldwide spread of their myth. Anti-gay lobby groups use the existence of organisations like Exodus to promote the notion that there is no such thing as gay people—only straight people who are caught in sin. And with no such thing as a real gay person, there’s no need for equal rights such as marriage, employment and housing protections, and so forth.

Good for New Zealand for siding with the medical community and seeing through all of Exodus’ nonsense. It’s too bad Canada isn’t as wise in this respect. Exodus Global Alliance is, sadly, a registered charity in Canada.

Super hat tip goes to Arthur at AmeriNZ for the story!

Gay Couple Kicked Out Of Taxi After Kiss

August 30th, 2010

Taxi ceiling lights up, and the driver yells out 'Wrong answer' as gay couple in back kisses

A Haligonian couple says they won’t be dealing with the Casino taxi company in the future after they were kicked out onto the street for sharing a kiss.

Paul Laybolt says that he and his husband were well on their way home from a popular Halifax gay bar when he leaned over toward his husband, asked if he had a good night, and gave him a short peck on the lips. At this point, the cab driver pulled over to the side of the road, told the couple that he doesn’t go to their destination, and asked the two to get out of the cab. The couple walked the rest of the way home.

A manager for Casino, Brian Herman, apologised to the couple over the phone, but was unable to reprimand the driver because his cab number was unknown and the taxi was hailed from the street rather than being dispatched by telephone.

It’s crazy that this sort of thing still happens today—particularly in Halifax which, from my vacation experiences, is a wonderfully laid back city. Homophobia still lurks everywhere, though, and it’s great that Paul and his husband have reported it.

Thanks to Slap reader Kirk for the story!

Church Tries Minister For Performing Same-Sex Marriage

August 27th, 2010

A judge sits below Christian iconography, below the phrase 'Judge not lest ye be judged.'

A 67-year-old retired minister in San Francisco is facing a courtroom trial for having performed marriage ceremonies for 16 gay couples during the brief period that same-sex marriage was legal in California.

Rev. Jave Spahr has been accused by the Presbyterian church of “publicly, intentionally, and repeatedly violating church doctrine” in a regional church court.

Yes, church court. Not a real court, of course; Rev. Spahr didn’t do anything illegal.

Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know that church courts existed. I didn’t either until now. Actually, I’d find it kind of charming, if the charges weren’t so stupid. I mean, they’ve set up an entire pretend trial, complete with testimony, witnesses (including eleven of the couples married by Rev. Spahr), a judge—the whole shebang. Isn’t that precious?

This isn’t even the only time Rev. Spahr had been to church court; in 2007 she was tried for the same thing, but was later cleared by a church appeals court (adorable!) because the ceremonies “were not real marriages.”

Anyway, good luck to Rev. Spahr, who clearly has enough common sense to know that everyone—including same-sex couples—deserves love and respect. I can’t wait to read about the trial’s pretend sentence!

Toronto Church Prays Outside Gay Couple’s House

August 25th, 2010

Church group sings out of a book, We warn you of merry hellfire, we warn you of merry hellfire...

Residents of a neighbourhood on Toronto’s Leslieville Street found themselves defending the home of a local gay couple after members of a local Baptist church gathered outside it, shouting, praying, and waving bibles.

The incident, which was captured on camera and uploaded to YouTube, shows the parishioners from Toronto’s Highfield Road Gospel Hall quickly becoming defensive: “We have a right to be here,” said one woman. “We have the authority to preach the gospel.”

Anna MacKay, one of the neighbours, told the media that this was not an isolated incident. “They were talking about blood of the lamb flowing down the street, we’ll have to pay for our sins. Every time I’ve seen them, they’re standing outside that house right there.”

A spokesperson for the church, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the media that the whole incident was all a “major misunderstanding.” “Someone felt we were targeting a specific house, but we would never stoop—never stoop to target any group such as gay people.”

Personally, I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on this point, since it appears they’ve been preaching on neighbourhood streets for quite some time. That said, preaching outside private homes is crossing a line whether they’re targeting specific houses or not, and the church doesn’t seem to understand that. “In the word of God,” one of the preachers declared, “next year, we’ll be here.”

The gay couple, who weren’t home at the time, haven’t commented on the incident, but will likely invest in an underground sprinkler system—just in case.

Campus Freaks Out Over Gay Kiss Photo

August 23rd, 2010

Gay men kiss: The earth explodes.

Considering that South Africa is now part of the same-sex marriage club, you’d think simply publishing a photo of a gay kiss in a university campus newspaper wouldn’t be particularly controversial. Yet, alas, editors of a student-run newspaper at Stellenbosch University, just about 50 kilometers east of Cape Town, have found themselves dealing with what they’re calling an overwhelming controversy.

The controversy started with a story about a kiss-a-thon happening in town. Editors had originally planned to illustrate the story with a photo of a straight, interracial couple, but decided to publish a photo of a gay couple instead. After publishing the photo, large numbers of the newspaper were found slashed, torn up, and on campus dart boards.

Roberto Millan, chairman of the school’s gay and lesbian society, had a pretty insightful comment about the roots of this unexpectedly harsh reaction: “I was thrilled by the decision to publish [the photo] because we want to start a debate—we’re not going away. There is too much homophobia across the continent which has been swept under the blanket, fueled by Western churches.”

Well said. I mean, what’s more crazy here: A harmless kiss, or a violent and angry reaction to a harmless kiss?

WND Calls Ann Coulter Too Liberal

August 20th, 2010

Ann Coulter giving a speech with bags of money in the corner.

Ann Coulter, a professional controversialist and media darling of the extreme right-wing in the U.S., has been dropped as the keynote speaker for an ultra socially conservative  website’s conference because organizers found her too “unconservative.”

This conclusion was reached after WorldNetDaily, the conference organizers, discovered that Coulter was also a paid speaker at Homocon, a different conference held by gay Republicans.

So, there you go. To WND, simply speaking to gay people—even if it’s for money—is enough to undo a career of intolerance and queer-slandering and forever define yourself as a Liberal.

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