Monthly Archives: August 2013

Ex-Gay Awareness Events Planned for September 29-30, 2013

DCCapitolBuilding_SavetheDateSAVE THE DATE

SEPTEMBER 29-30, 2013

FIRST ANNUAL EX-GAY AWARENESS LOBBYING DAY AND DINNER

As a part of the First Annual Ex-Gay Awareness Month in our nation’s schools, Voice of the Voiceless and Equality and Justice for All are pleased to announce a lobbying day and evening dinner on September 30, 2013! More details to come in August.

Event Details

September 29, 2013 (7:00pm – 9:00pm) – Pre-Event Day Get Together and Lobbying Education Training (Location to be disclosed when you register)

September 30 (9:00am – 4:00pm) – Lobbying Congress and Senate on Capitol Hill (Appointments made on your own)

September 30 (6:00pm – 9:00pm) – Ex-Gay Awareness Dinner (Speakers TBA)

Travel Information

Out of town participants should fly into Reagan National Airport. The hotel provides complementary transportation to and from Reagan National Airport.

Lodging

A block of rooms has been reserved at the rate of $139 (plus tax) per night. The location of the hotel will be disclosed upon your registration.

To join Voice of the Voiceless and Equality and Justice for All on September 29-30, 2013 please e-mail [email protected] to register for the event.

South Africa’s Mambaonline Distorts the Truth About Former Homosexual Awareness Campaign

 

In response to the “FORMER HOMOSEXUAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN launched in South Africa, Mambaonline diverts the attention from the truth of the campaign to their politicized propaganda.

1005108_10152312769357524_1537315400_nOn Thursday, Mambaonline alerted the gay community via e-mail about the launch of the FORMER HOMOSEXUAL’S AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. In what started as a very factual summary, halfway through turned into a report diverting the attention of the readers away from the facts.

Very conveniently, the reporter mentions only the name of America’s National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) as a reference which was quoted in the article. He then goes on to discredit NARTH. However, he fails to point out that the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and even gay rights activist, Peter Thatchel, were also referenced. He also fails to mention that all who were quoted came to the same conclusion: “There is no compelling evidence that anyone is determined from birth to be born homosexual.”

The reporter continues by saying: “Bekker’s latest campaign comes despite warnings from South African and leading international psychiatric groups that efforts to change people’s sexuality can be harmful, especially among desperate people and vulnerable minors.”

He continues: “It is not illegal to offer members of the public a ‘gay cure’ or reparative therapy services, however, the South African Society of Psychiatrists says that it ‘opposes any psychiatric treatment such as ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion’ therapy designed to change a person’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. It has also warned that this kind of therapy ‘runs the risk of harming patients by causing depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior’.”

The South African Society of Psychiatrists’ warning is not based on the scientific evidence. All they do is echo what the rest of the world is saying. However, it is out of line with the American Psychiatric Associations’ findings in their 2009 Task Force report, entitled “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation,” which contains a prominent section on sexual-orientation change efforts (SOCE). On page 83 of this report they conclude: “There are no scientifically rigorous studies of recent SOCE that would enable us to make a definitive statement about whether recent SOCE is safe or harmful and for whom.”

On July 30, 2013, Dr. Nicholas Cummings, a former APA president, recently wrote an article  in USA Today and  submitted an affidavit on June 30, 2013 to the New Jersey Superior Court opposing the lawsuit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, who is running a hate campaign against ex-gays, confirmed that hundreds of his client’s were successful in changing their sexual orientation and that it is unethical to deprive a client of his freedom of choice.

In his article, Cummings wrote: “Accusing professionals who provide treatment for fully informed persons seeking to change their sexual orientation of perpetrating a fraud is not accurate. Such a tactic serves only to stigmatize the professional and shame the patient. A political agenda should not be permitted to prevent gays and lesbians who desire to undertake sexual reorientation efforts from exercising their right to self-determination.”

To further detract from the point, Mambaonline’s reporter then went on to close with Alan Chambers’ closing down of Exodus as another reason to oppose former homosexuals. For some years it was known that Exodus leadership was heading in the wrong direction. Seeing that Exodus was only an umbrella organization for a multitude of other ministries, these ministries one-by-one withdrew themselves from Exodus. Other Umbrella organization like Restored Hope Network and Hope For Wholeness came into existence to accommodate these ministries. The closing down of Exodus is not a major setback, but rather the ashes of a diminishing organization, with a leader that was not big enough to step down from his leadership, when his views were no longer in line with that of the organization he was leading.

Rather than report the campaign and science correctly, Mambaonline proved itself to be just another propaganda-spewing, pseudo-media outlet with an agenda.

André Bekker is an Advisory Board Member of Voice of the Voiceless and a Theological Counselor with New Living Way Ministry in South Africa, ministering to people with Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction, their families, and loved ones.

 

 

 

The Arguments Against Change

                                                By Rabbi Daniel Meir Horowitz

Note: This article was originally published at: http://www.jonahweb.org/article.php?secId=343

There has been much debate and heated discussion over the issue of changing one’s sexual orientation from that of homosexual to heterosexual. The “ex-gay” phenomenon has drawn incredulity, laughter, venom and vitriol. Emotions, however, contribute nothing to the debate except to draw attention away from the real issues. One does not need to be a scientist, doctor, theologian or protester. One merely needs to be a logical human being who attempts to analyze the pros and cons of attempting to change one’s Same-Sex Attractions (SSA) into something else.

Let us begin with the fundamental assumption that NO ONE will ever achieve real change if it is forced upon them. The person themselves must truly want it. This means that for whatever reason they feel that SSA does not fit in their lives, be it for religious, emotional, practical, or other motivations. This is a universal concept that applies to any form of behavior or personality modification. If a parent, peer, religious advisor, et al. convinces a person to attempt to change, when the person themselves does not really want to, not only will it not be effective, but can be detrimental and dangerous.

It is possible for a person be motivated by their religious beliefs to change themselves so they can live in a way that is in line with their religious dictates. But it must be an internal motivation to be in line with their values and mores, not an imposition from other human beings. G-d gave us free choice, and we must exercise it. If a person is being pressured to the point that they can’t say “No,” then their “Yes” isn’t worth too much. As soon as the pressure is released, the change will vanish. No competent therapist should be treating someone who is being forced into therapy. Only once a person truly wants to change, can any discussion of the possibility of change be entertained. It is then that they can they properly analyze the possible reasons to refrain from attempting it.

1) It’s Genetic – A hotly contested issue, of whether SSA is caused by nature, nurture, or both. I posit, however, that this is completely irrelevant! Even if it would be proven that SSA is completely genetic in origin, that fact should carry no weight in this discussion. The only thing that matters is whether it is possible to change once the SSA is there, not what caused it in the first place.

Society is full of people who attempt to override what their body naturally does. Baldness may or may not be genetic, yet most people don’t care; they merely want to deal with it. Being bald doesn’t fit the way they want to live their lives, and so they try alter their situation. One’s hair going gray as one gets older is caused by their genes, yet millions of people color their hair. If a child’s teeth grow in crooked, their parents pay thousands of dollars on braces. People’s genes gave them a certain nose, but they may choose surgery to give them a different one.

This applies to more internal things as well. Everyone has a different metabolism, and some people may be genetically predisposed to be heavier than others. That doesn’t stop people from dieting, having liposuction, or lap-band surgery. Stuttering is rarely considered a psychological problem, (although it can be exacerbated by stress), yet no one would criticize a person for seeking therapy to overcome it. Dyslexia is caused by problems with the brain’s ability to recognize and process symbols, yet we would all support someone who wanted to treat it. These people’s genes gave them certain symptoms that aren’t congruent with how they want to live their lives, or cause them discomfort or inconvenience. So they seek methods to remedy it. The only salient issue is whether those methods will be effective.

2. It Won’t Work – This is definitely a matter of extreme importance. If something definitely won’t work, then the time, effort, and expense involved are wasted. Worse, it sets one up for intense disappointment, leading to shame, depression, and perhaps even suicidal thoughts.

However, this only holds true when it is known that it won’t work. It would have to be proven to be ineffective in the vast majority of cases. Anecdotal evidence of some who have tried and failed is a poor substitute for scientific method. A true analysis must be made. It is sometimes not because the treatment doesn’t work, rather that the subject didn’t actually employ the treatment.

Imagine that a respected doctor created a new weight-loss system with strict nutritional rules and a hefty exercise regimen. If even most of the people who tried the diet fail to lose weight, it must first be examined how well they followed the rules. If they regularly cheated on the dietary requirements, or neglected their exercise, does that mean that the system is ineffective? It could mean that the system is difficult to follow, or lacking motivation mechanisms. It does not prove what would occur to someone who had followed the system properly.

I personally know of a man who recently gave up trying to overcome his SSA and moved in with a boyfriend. Yet, I recall two years ago visiting his apartment and seeing a pile of gay-porn DVD’s. When I questioned him about why he hadn’t thrown them out, he said, “I like them.” Is it any wonder that he ultimately didn’t succeed? It’s akin to an alcoholic keeping his favorite liquor in a cabinet, “just in case.” Of course, this is also anecdotal, and proves nothing. But without scientific evidence through a proper study, we can never know the whole story.

Furthermore, even if there is only a slight chance of change being effective, it is still that person’s right to try. Those who truly want to change feel that homosexual urges are incongruous with how they want to live their lives. For many, they are desperate for a way out. If so, is it wrong for them to try a therapy even if it would work only 10% of the time? It is common for people with various illnesses (G-d forbid) to seek therapies outside of the traditional mainstream approach. (Reparative therapists might bristle at this comparison, saying that their approach is mainstream. But let us assume otherwise, for the sake of argument.) This endeavor is only dangerous if that person neglects traditional medications that generally are effective. To attempt alternative therapies is their right. And they should be allowed to exercise it if they chose to do so.

Of course, this must be tempered with a dose of realism. No therapy is 100% effective. And those who seek alternative therapies need to remain grounded with the actual possibility of success. Entering the therapy with complete hope, while accepting the possibility of failure, is the dichotomy that must be employed. But, if those who wish to change understand that it is a long, hard, road and one that ultimately may not succeed, who are we to judge them for forging on?

3) It’s Discriminatory – There are those who say that if one pursues change from SSA that they are discriminating against those who live a gay lifestyle. This defies logic.

As mentioned above, people routinely have their hair dyed, their wrinkles touched up, and their receding hair lines proceeded. Are these people ageists, who discriminate against the elderly? Are those who diet considered insulting to the obese? Are those who learn methods to deal with their dyslexia prejudiced against other dyslexics?

The absurdity speaks for itself. How one chooses to live one’s life, with the choices they make for themselves, does not reflect on anyone else. I may choose a blue shirt, and you may choose green. Neither one is discriminatory. If someone feels that SSA does not belong in their life, it should not insult in any way those who live a gay lifestyle. While it may not feel right for this person, if it feels right to another, they should go right ahead. In America, everyone can choose to live their lives for themselves. Just as one may want the right to live as gay, one also has the right to choose not to.

4) It’s Expensive – Agreed. Any psychological therapy will be. This is something that one must evaluate and decide for themselves: Is it worth it to try? All of the pros and cons need to be carefully weighed together with all of the various investments of time, money, and effort. That calculation is something that each person must make for themselves.

In conclusion, it appears that there is no logical reason for recrimination against those who choose to change. No peer-reviewed study (or any study, for that matter) has proven reparative therapy to be totally ineffective. So long as someone goes into it with a clear motivation, an understanding of the probable outcomes and a commitment to do what is necessary, who are we to impugn them? There are no universal truths for what works best for every person. Let us allow those who choose to be gay to live in peace, and let us allow those who choose to attempt change to live in peace as well. And most importantly, let us allow all those who are undecided to know of BOTH options, so that they can make informed choices for themselves.

Same-Sex Attraction and the Developing Child: An Introduction

 

textbook reviewThe way a person views the development of same-sex attractions (SSA) greatly influences the way they understand and interpret those attractions, either in themselves or others. This naturally has a significant effect on public opinion as well. As a man coming from an SSA background, it is important to me that available evidence be examined in a truly objective and critical manner. It would be naive to think that the social, political, and cultural climate do not have an influence on what can be hypothesized, researched, or taught in public universities.

 

We’ve all had professors with particular social agendas that bleed into the course material and, even in my short time as a student of psychology, I have heard narrow-minded and partially-informed opinions about SSA presented in class as unarguable absolutes. These conclusions were in fact honestly drawn from evidence, though I would argue that not all available observations were taken into consideration, nor were the conclusions submitted to the same level of critical scrutiny that other studies typically are. However, I do believe that such professors are genuinely well-intentioned and motivated by a sense of compassion, which is much needed in regards to this topic.

 

As for having holes in our understanding, I think that if we are honest, we’ve all had moments where we have had to humbly adjust our views because of some pertinent pieces of information we had hitherto never been exposed to. That process is part and parcel for any student and really should be a part of the thinking of any adult living in our current Information Age, where it is estimated that all of human knowledge currently doubles every 1-2 years, and will double every 73 days by the year 2020. We must accept that psychology is a work in progress and, though the models we have now are good ones and the best that incredibly intelligent people have come up with, they may need adjustment as more is learned.

 

This being the case, I thought it would be of value to take a thoughtful look at what some current psychology textbooks have to say about SSA and sexual orientation. I believe this to be a good starting point to compare what different disciplines of psychology have to say on the topic and what research they reference to support their ideas. I will compare the evidence with the observations and theories regarding the development of SSA held by sexual orientation change effort (SOCE) therapists. In this series of articles I will take a close look at the following three textbooks.

 

Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart and Roy (2012). Psychology (9th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning

 

Bee, H., and Boyd, D. (2012). The Developing Child (13th Edition). Boston: Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-205-25602-0

 

Barlow and Durand (2012). Abnormal Psychology (6th Edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning

 Aaron Bitzer, MFA
Secretary, Voice of the Voiceless

Aaron Bitzer is the Secretary of Voice of the Voiceless. He has experience in teaching and curriculum design, including five years of working to integrate technology into elementary academics and six years working overseas as an English Conversation Instructor in Japan for children and adults of all ages. He holds a BA in Film and Television and an MFA in Animation, both from UCLA. His short films have won several awards as well as international recognition. He is currently furthering his education with courses in psychology with the goal of becoming a therapist.

Great Storms Announce Themselves with a Gentle Breeze: Pedophilia and Sexual Orientation

storm01It appears that a simple, small idea is just beginning to take root in the minds of a few professionals and a group of people that could usher in a new wave of rights for pedophiles. Take a look at the article below, and send it to your contacts, or to your state legislator, or the American Psychological Association, or our American president.

I will let the article speak for itself since the statements are alarming at best. However, in this post, I want to remind our readers that this path to pedophilia has begun in the exact same way the acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage took root in the world over the past several decades. It all starts with one single, simple idea; that pedophilia is in-born and cannot be changed. That’s it; only one idea is necessary to change the course of civilization.

What’s that you say? Pedophilia could NEVER be accepted by a modern society! Never? Tell that to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Tell that to modern-day homosexual men and women who are now able to be legally married in many states and countries. They started with exactly the same simple idea. No other idea has built the strongest foundation of the gay agenda. Without this one idea, gay marriage, acceptance of pedophilia, and certainly a host of other “philias” would never succeed.

As usual, it is always the children of a society that will be hurt first and be hurt the most. If the ideas presented in this article will come to pass, it will be your children and your grandchildren who will suffer. What are you going to do about it?

David H. Pickup, M.A., LMFT, is the Vice-President of Voice of the Voiceless and holds a masters degree in psychology. He is licensed in California and Texas as a Marriage and Family Therapist. He is pursuing his doctorate in psychology at California Southern University in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

http://patdollard.com/2013/07/it-begins-pedophiles-call-for-same-rights-as-homosexuals/

 

 

 

 US News  »  It Begins: Pedophiles Call for Same Rights as Homosexuals

 

Description: ubertVanGijseghem

 

IT BEGINS: PEDOPHILES CALL FOR SAME RIGHTS AS HOMOSEXUALS

 

Jul 25, 2013 218 Comments Toro520

 

Excerpted from the Northern Colorado Gazette:

 

Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals.

 

Critics of the homosexual lifestyle have long claimed that once it became acceptable to identify homosexuality as simply an “alternative lifestyle” or sexual orientation, logically nothing would be off limits. “Gay” advocates have taken offense at such a position insisting this would never happen. However, psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was redefined several years ago.

 

In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. A group of psychiatrists with B4U-Act recently held a symposium proposing a new definition of pedophilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders of the APA.

 

B4U-Act  calls pedophiles “minor-attracted people.” The organization’s website states its purpose is to, “help mental health professionals learn more about attraction to minors and to consider the effects of stereotyping, stigma and fear.”

 

In 1998 The APA issued a report claiming “that the ‘negative potential’ of adult sex with children was ‘overstated’ and that ‘the vast majority of both men and women reported no negative sexual effects from  childhood sexual abuse experiences.”

 

Pedophilia has already been granted protected status by the Federal Government. The Matthew Shephard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act lists “sexual orientation” as a protected class; however, it does not define the term.

 

Republicans attempted to add an amendment specifying that “pedophilia is not covered as an orientation;” however, the amendment was defeated by Democrats. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fl) stated that all alternative sexual lifestyles should be protected under the law. “This bill addresses our resolve to end violence based on prejudice and to guarantee that all Americans, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability or all of these ‘philias’ and fetishes and ‘isms’ that were put forward need not live in fear because of who they are. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this rule.”

 

The White House praised the bill saying, “At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another  – whether we embrace our differences rather than allowing them to become a source of animus.”

 

Earlier this year two psychologists in Canada declared that pedophilia is a sexual orientation just like homosexuality or heterosexuality.

 

Van Gijseghem, psychologist and retired professor of the University of Montreal, told members of Parliament, “Pedophiles are not simply people who commit a small offense from time to time but rather are grappling with what is equivalent to a sexual orientation just like another individual may be grappling with heterosexuality or even homosexuality.”

 

He went on to say, “True pedophiles have an exclusive preference for children, which is the same as having a sexual orientation. You cannot change this person’s sexual orientation. He may, however, remain abstinent.”

 

When asked if he should be comparing pedophiles to homosexuals, Van Gijseghem replied, “If, for instance, you were living in a society where heterosexuality is proscribed or prohibited and you were told that you had to get therapy to change your sexual orientation, you would probably say that that is slightly crazy. In other words, you would not accept that at all. I use this analogy to say that, yes indeed, pedophiles do not change their sexual orientation.”

 

Dr. Quinsey, professor emeritus of psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, agreed with Van Gijseghem. Quinsey said pedophiles’ sexual interests prefer children and, “There is no evidence that this sort of preference can be changed through treatment or through anything else.”

 

In July, 2010 Harvard health Publications said, “Pedophilia is a sexual orientation and unlikely to change. Treatment aims to enable someone to resist acting on his sexual urges.”

 

Linda Harvey, of Mission America, said the push for pedophiles to have equal rights will become more and more common as LGBT groups continue to assert themselves. “It’s all part of a plan to introduce sex to children at younger and younger ages; to convince them that normal friendship is actually a sexual attraction.”

 

Milton Diamond, a University of Hawaii professor and director of the Pacific Center for Sex and Society, stated that child pornography could be beneficial to society because, “Potential sex offenders use child pornography as a substitute for sex against children.”

 

Diamond is a distinguished lecturer for the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. The IASHS openly advocated for the repeal of the Revolutionary war ban on homosexuals serving in the military.

 

The IASHS lists, on its website, a list of “basic sexual rights” that includes “the right to engage in sexual acts or activities of any kind whatsoever, providing they do not involve nonconsensual acts, violence, constraint, coercion or fraud.” Another right is to, “be free of persecution, condemnation, discrimination, or societal intervention in private sexual behavior” and “the freedom of any sexual thought, fantasy or desire.” The organization also says that no one should be “disadvantaged because of  age.”

 

Sex offender laws protecting children have been challenged in several states including California, Georgia and Iowa. Sex offenders claim the laws prohibiting them from living near schools or parks are unfair because it penalizes them for life.