Monthly Archives: May 2013

“I was traumatized by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate campaign against ex-gays”

Hello, my name is Chuck Peters. I was born into a very toxic and dysfunctional environment. My parents never had any time for me. When I was seven years old, they got a divorce. The time preceding and after their divorce until I went off to the United States Air Force Academy was filled with endless conflicts, arguments, and emotional chaos. My dad was a neglectful rage-aholic and my mother was cold and lacked empathy. All of this emotional strain led me to hate myself as a male to the point that I couldn’t stand being inside my own body, which caused me think and feel I was a girl, leading to gender identity disorder at a young age, followed by strong sexual attractions to the same gender when I hit puberty. As a teenager, I felt strong homosexual desires but I didn’t want to be gay.

 

Over the past twenty years I have been in therapy to overcome unwanted same-gender attractions. During this time, ineffective counseling yielded small, but insufficient results. However, after receiving therapy from the International Healing Foundation (IHF) in the past couple of years, I finally began to make real progress. Feeling and processing the pain from my early family life in safe group settings has allowed me to let down my guard and genuinely believe that others love and want to help me heal from past wounds. These therapeutic groups have helped me to realize that my compulsive desire for sex with men was just a cover for unmet emotional needs, and when I started being more authentic with my real needs, my desire for sex with men nearly vanished. With the help of IHF’s seminars, I began to recognize my true heterosexual potential.

 

But recently I stumbled upon an article published on Advocate.com, a gay-activist news media outlet, written by one of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s attorneys, Mr. Sam Wolfe. This article detailed, almost exactly, the IHF healing seminar I experienced about two years ago. On the first day of the seminar, I sat next to Mr. Wolfe. I revealed very personal, private, and painful information to him when we shared in pairs. Reading about the processes he described in his article, which were supposed to be confidential, caused a great deal of psychological distress for me. Here is an excerpt from the article:

 

I’m a civil rights lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s LGBT Rights Project. Our work includes a national campaign to help end conversion therapy . . . as part of our investigation, I recently attended a conversion program where participants used “touch therapy,” which involves being held like a baby by another man, with lights dimmed and soft music playing. The idea is to receive the nurturing missed as a child, thereby becoming more “whole” and automatically shedding “unwanted same-sex attraction.” Tragically, some of the participants were teens, prodded by their parents and communities that reject them as they are.

 

It took a great deal of courage for me, a sexual abuse survivor, to gather up the strength to trust a stranger to hold me in a non-sexual way, when I’ve only experienced abuse and unhealthy sexual touch for so many years. For Mr. Wolfe and the SPLC to exploit my healing experience to further their political agenda is unconscionable! Mr. Wolfe signed a confidentiality agreement and swore not to reveal any information about me or the details of that event, and he broke that agreement. Who knows how many people he has told about me and the therapy I did that weekend! I feel completely betrayed and harmed by the actions of Sam Wolfe and the SPLC!

 

I later found out that IHF questioned Mr. Wolfe after the first day of the seminar when they discovered who he might be representing. Mr. Wolfe told IHF that he was attending the seminar on his own, not on behalf of the SPLC, and that his intentions were to see if IHF’s program caused harm to participants. But his destructive actions had the reverse effect and have caused me harm! In order to protect all of the participants, IHF wisely asked Mr. Wolfe to leave the seminar and refunded his money, telling him that only participants, not observers, were allowed to attend. After reading his article on Advocate.com I realized he was not there to participate for himself, but rather, to deceitfully vilify organizations like IHF who assist persons like me who do not wish to live a gay life. It’s clear that this was not just for himself, but also on behalf of SPLC’s smear campaign against ex-gays.

 

Shockingly, the SPLC is engaging in a hate campaign against the ex-gay community and has recently filed a frivolous lawsuit against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH). JONAH is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the world-wide Jewish community about the social, cultural, and emotional factors that lead to same-sex attractions. JONAH works directly with those struggling with unwanted same-sex sexual attractions (SSA) and with families who’s loved ones experience homosexual feelings. JONAH has helped many individuals leave the gay life, but the SPLC has recruited a few of their disgruntled clients who didn’t reach their goals, one of whom attended less than five therapy sessions and now claims he was “harmed” for not turning straight.

 

SPLC

A photo from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s interrogation of the gun man who attempted to murder employees at the Family Research Council in August 2012. The gun man (Corkins) admitted that his motivations stemmed from the SPLC’s online hate list.

In order to promote their anti-ex-gay agenda, the SPLC has teamed up with gay-activist attorneys and anti-ex-gay organizations in a national campaign to smear organizations that disagree with their political agenda, and they do it by bullying small organizations like IHF and JONAH and intimidate other counselors who have little power to fight against their massive $200-300 million in assets. They are targeting these counselors by listing them on an interactive hate map for anyone to look them up and thereby, putting them in danger. In fact, just last month it was revealed that the gunman who intruded into Family Research Council’s (FRC) Washington, DC office with a bag full of Chick-fil-A sandwiches, intending to smear them in faces of FRC employees and shoot them dead, was motivated by a similar hate map from the SPLC’s website. The gunman nearly killed the FRC guard.

 

The SPLC has made it their mission to convince the American public that people who experience same-sex attraction are born that way and have no choice but to live a gay life. This is in direct contradiction to all the evidence in the scientific literature. Because the facts are not on their side, the mission of the SPLC is to defame individual counselors and persecute organizations like IHF and JONAH, who have little power to defend themselves. But in the process, they are discriminating against former homosexuals, who are now recognized as a legally protected class against discrimination, and traumatizing persons like myself, who seek therapy on their own free will.

 

Because of the harm, trauma, and psychological distress I (and potentially others) have been caused by Sam Wolfe and the SPLC, IHF and myself are currently assembling legal teams to launch separate lawsuits for the damage they have caused. Please sign my petition by clicking here and join with me to stand against Sam Wolfe and the SPLC’s hate campaign against the ex-gay and faith-based community, demand they apologize, make recompense for the harm they are causing persons like myself, and stop defaming organizations like IHF and JONAH.

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Chuck Peters is a Research Assistant and Christopher Doyle is the Co-Founder and Acting Director of Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

 

What Does Scouting Have To Do With Homosexuality?

New Boy Scout Policy May Lead To Increased Pedophilia

Today the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay-identified boy scouts to participate the same as heterosexual boy scouts. According to Fox News, of the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council who cast ballots, 61 percent supported the proposal drafted by the governing Executive Committee. The policy change takes effect January 1, 2014. While this may be a great victory for some gay-identified boy scouts, and an even greater victory for gay activists who support lifting the ban on openly gay adults serving as scout masters, it’s a sad and painful day for me.

As both an ex-gay andEagle Scout, it brings me back to when I was 11 years-old. Yes, I was molested by my Boy Scout master at this vulnerable age and it has been one of the most painful, damaging, life-confusing, and sexual-disorienting incidents in my life. While I understand that some gay-identified boy scouts may see this as a step towards recognition of their sexual orientation, it scares me to think that the boy scouts are now one step closer to having openly gay scout masters. I believe this would result in more pedophilia from scout masters who are sexuallyoriented towards young boysthat are gay, confused, and/or questioning their sexuality…just as I was.

To me, this is not just a “gay” issue, it’s an issue of older men who are sexually-oriented towards and preying on young boys. Does anyone really believe that once gay scout masters are allowed to openly serve, the rate of pedophilia won’t increase? It’s also likely that gay scouts serving openly will also increase pedophilia. Indeed, what happened today is concerning on more than one level.

First, boys are just that…BOYS. They aren’t supposed to be concerned about who they will be having sex with! While the boy scout leadership has stated that sexual relations, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are not appropriate activities within scouting, it’s unrealistic to think that same-sex attracted boy scouts will not experiment with each other. Further, if a boy scout openly identifies himself as gay, and his scout master is privately gay, this may leave that boy scout vulnerable for sexual abuse without the scout even knowing it!

When all is said and done, Boy Scouts are about boys camping, learning about nature, and exploring the planet. It’s not about boys exploring their sexual orientation with other boys! In their efforts to be inclusive, the national scout leadership is putting a great deal of boys in harm’s way by instituting a policy based on sexuality.

Do not be fooled! This is NOT about scouting, it’s about activism. This policy change was not spurred by gay-identified scouts, it was instigated by gay activists who want to normalize homosexual behavior in every part of society. Young gay-identified, questioning, and/or sexually confused boy scouts are just a tool that activists are using to advance their mission. How very sad that more boys will now suffer the same type of sexual abuse I once did. The goal of the national scout leadership should be focused on learning, bonding, and fun. Unfortunately, it looks like the goal is now political correctness at the expense of the boy scout’s safety and security. 

Chuck Peters is a Research Assistant with Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

 

 

 

“Christian” Professor Joins Anti-Ex-Gay Whiners in New Jersey, Supports Gay Activist Lies

Voice of the Voiceless Concerned Over Warren Throckmorton’s Selective Outrage

When Brielle Goldani lied to the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee about the nature of Sexual Orientation Change Effort (SOCE) therapy, claiming the Assemblies of God church tortured her in the effort to zap her from “gay to straight,” where was “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton to cry foul?

When members of Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s largest gay activist organization, lied about an additional six “conversion therapy camps” in Ohio that do “similar work” as Drag Queen Ru Paul’s fictitious “True Directions,” where was “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton to dispute it?

But now that gay activists are on the defense in New Jersey and their lies are catching up to them, “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton has come out of the woodwork to defend these liars. In a May 22 post on his blog, “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton wrote the following:

Christopher Doyle is misleading his evangelical peers about a New Jersey bill which would prohibit sexual orientation change efforts for minors . . . either Doyle has not read Senate Bill 2278 or he is deliberately withholding information from his readers . . . the New Jersey bill specifically addresses the concern about abuse . . . the bill correctly separates sexual abuse recovery from sexual reorientation. If a person is confused in their attractions after a trauma, then recovery from the trauma may bring some clarity to sexual attractions. This facilitation of coping and identity exploration is allowed by the law. Furthermore, the law allows therapists to discuss issues surrounding abuse (“unlawful conduct”) . . . in his Christian Post article, Doyle takes his opponents to task for presenting false witness. However, it seems clear that he has misrepresented the bill in his comments. Oppose the bill if you believe you should but don’t do it for false reasons.

Where “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton is incorrect is that if SOCE is outlawed for minors in New Jersey, those young persons who develop unwanted same-sex attractions as a result of sexual abuse will not be allowed to pursue their full heterosexual potential. Sure, counselors can help them heal the trauma caused by pedophiles such as Sandusky, but what if the minor’s goal is to specifically heal the SSA that results from multiple factors, including the trauma? For example, a minor’s goal might be to resolve the SSA brought on by sexual abuse AS WELL as resolve unwanted homosexual desires that may not occur from the sex abuse, such as familial and environmental factors.

Should a counselor then say: “I’m really sorry Johnny, but the state of New Jersey forbids me from helping you reach your full heterosexual potential, so while I’m really happy that you’ve recovered from the sex abuse, this is as far as I can take you . . . I can’t provide you any more counsel on how to overcome additional same-sex attractions you may still have. Good luck!”

The ludicrous nature of the proposed legislation in New Jersey is matched only by “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton’s ludicrous timing. But it’s better late than never for him. He may as well join his other anti-ex-gay haters who are now backpedaling and whining about the re-branding of New Jersey’s anti-SOCE bill as the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act. Sorry “Christian” Professor Warren Throckmorton, YOU are the one misleading the public, not me.

Christopher Doyle, M.A. is the Co-Founder and Acting Director of Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

Is the Federal Department of Justice Discriminating Against the Ex-Gay Community?

DOJ Pride’s Silence Towards Former Homosexuals Indicates Ex-Gay-Phobia is Alive and Well

On May 21, 2013 a whistleblower at the Federal Department of Justice released a copy of a gay-affirming training manual, forcing all DOJ employees to embrace, support, and “be positive” towards all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) employees at the DOJ. The official statement put out by the DOJ is that the LGBT training manual will aid in the “effective management” of the department and that it will “ensure that advancement, development, and mentoring opportunities are fair and effective” to all LGBT employees at the DOJ.

Employees of the DOJ are encouraged to, among other things: “acknowledge important events in an LGBT employee’s life – e.g., same-sex marriage, birth of a child, illness of a spouse, or death of a partner’s parent – in the same way you would for a heterosexual employee” and “display a symbol in your office (DOJ Pride sticker, copy of this brochure, etc.) Indicating that it is a ‘safe space’.”

According to a press release from this week, the whistle-blower contacted Liberty Counsel (LC) to complain of the DOJ’s policies’ infringing upon their rights.

In a phone interview with Voice of the Voiceless, LC’s Matt Barber commented: “Whistle blowers within the Department of Justice provided LC a document – a brochure – that was developed by ‘DOJ Pride’, which is a division within the DOJ that ‘works within the Department of Justice to identify and address key areas affecting its LGBT employees.’ This document was sent to all managers throughout the DOJ and it lists a series of do’s and don’t’s for managers in dealing with employees” that are LGBT. Barber describes the brochure as “chilling” when it comes to an employee’s free speech to disagree with homosexual behavior.

One has to wonder, with all of this love for diversity, is advancement, development, and mentoring opportunities being effectively administered to DOJ’s ex-gay employees as well, or are former homosexuals being forced to stay in the closet due to fear of discrimination? When Voice of the Voiceless contacted John Elias, the Secretary for the Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees of the U.S. Department of Justice and Their Allies and asked him this question, he said “no comment” and hung up on our staff.

Interestingly, the DOJ manual states that silence towards the LGBT community will be interpreted as disapproval. Does being hung up on and/or refusing to comment constitute silence? In the past three days, our office has left dozens of messages for every single person listed on the DOJ Pride staff, and we have yet to receive a comment from them on their policies for ex-gays. We have to assume then, based on their own diversity manual, that the DOJ is now discriminating against members of the ex-gay community.

This is especially troubling considering that ex-gays are now considered a protected class in Washington, D.C., where the DOJ is located. In the case of PFOX v. Government of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, No. 08–003662, slip. op. at *5-6 (D.C. Super. Ct. June 26, 2009), the District of Columbia Superior Court ordered the Washington D.C. Office of Human Rights to recognize former homosexuals as a protected class for sexual orientation nondiscrimination purposes.

While the DOJ has refused to comment about their policies for former homosexuals, it appears that ex-gay-phobia is alive and well in the federal government! As far as the hypocrites at “The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees” at the DOJ, they proclaim: “welcome and include all employees,” but their conduct toward ex-gays has thus far been anything but welcoming and inclusive.

Chuck Peters is a research assistant with Voice of the Voiceless, the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families. For more information, visit: www.VoiceoftheVoiceless.info

 

Anti-Ex-Gay Activists Soooooooo Angry About Sandusky-Branded New Jersey Bill

Wayne Besen, David Roberts, and Other Ex-Gay Haters Throw Tantrums on Blogosphere

It was bound to happen. Now that the New Jersey bill to ban therapy for minors with unwanted same-sex attractions has been successfully branded the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act, anti-ex-gay/gay activists are throwing tantrums on the blogosphere.

In a May 7 post, Toby Grace whines that “Brielle Goldani is now living a nightmare because of her courage and willingness to testify to the New Jersey Senate committee holding hearings on bill S2278, also known as “The Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act . . . Ms. Goldani says she has been essentially driven into seclusion by harassing phone calls at both home and work and stalking on social media sites. Troy Stevenson, director of Garden State Equality, characterized it as a “re-victimization,” and points out that, while there may be no camp with such a name in Ohio today, that in no way means there was none 15 years ago.”

To be clear, Brielle Goldani’s fraudulent testimony on March 18 has been thoroughly discredited in articles published byWorldNetDaily.com and Townhall.com. To sum it up, no one can corroborate Goldani’s story of being tortured in a camp called “True Directions,” which only exists in a 1999 movie starring Drag Queen Ru Paul. The Ohio Secretary of State and Attorney General’s office confirmed that no such camp has ever existed, as well as several licensed mental health practitioners in Ohio who have been working in the sexual orientation field for decades. Additionally, the top official in the Assemblies of God church network in Ohio denied such a camp has ever existed, as well as Goldani’s church in New Jersey, who she said paid for her (him at the time) to attend the so-called “conversion therapy torture camp.” Re-victimized? Sorry, one would have to be victimized in the first place to be re-victimized, and Goldani clearly has not.

But that hasn’t stopped the gay activists in New Jersey from doubling-down on their discredited conspiracy theories of “gay conversion therapy” camps. Troy Stevenson, Executive Director of Garden State Equality, claims there are an additional six camps in Ohio doing similar work as True Directions. Really Troy, six camps that use aversion therapy such as forced IV injections and electroshock therapy intended to zap the gay out of youngsters? The scene in New Jersey is quickly turning into a full-fledged circus with these unsubstantiated allegations, and the activists are getting nervous. So much so, that they cancelled the May 15 Assembly hearing where they intended to bring in “prominent” gay psychiatrist Dr. Jack Drescher to put a nail in the coffin for sexual orientation change effort (SOCE) therapy and send the Jerry Sandusky Victimization Act on its way to Governor Chris Christie’s desk.

Clearly on the defense, anti-ex-gay activists are sooooo angry that their lies are being called out. David Roberts of Ex-Gay Watch complained last night on Facebook that therapists like me who are against children being victimized by pedophiles like Jerry Sandusky, and then lied to by gay activists that their same-sex attraction isn’t caused by sex abuse, are using this bill for political purposes and to “further our profits.”

Even better, Wayne Besen at the hilariously-named Truth Wins Out claims that ex-gay advocates are desperate and relying on “junk science” to make the connection with Jerry Sandusky and the New Jersey bill. If we were so desperate Wayne, why did your fellow anti-ex-gay activists in New Jersey cancel the May 15 hearing? Why not go forward and push this bill through the Assembly committee just like they did with the Senate hearing? Could it be that all their lies are coming back to haunt them? Could it be that THEY are desperate to create distance from these lies and the Sandusky-branded bill?