Truth Wins Out Commends Former ‘Ex-Gay’ Leader Randy Thomas For Coming Out As Gay | TWO Care

Truth Wins Out today commended former Exodus International official and “ex-gay” activist Randy Thomas for stepping forward in a blog post to admit that he is, and always has been, a gay man. Thomas’s post, entitled “A Peaceful Disclosure,” explains that the years since the downfall of Exodus International, as well as the tragic suicide of a beloved friend who “struggled with his faith and sexuality,” have forced him to authentically come to terms with who he is. Thomas was one of the public faces of Exodus International, once the largest network of “ex-gay” groups in the world, for many years. Exodus was formally dissolved in 2003. [Note: I believe they meant to say 2013, not 2003.]_

As TWO points out, here is the crux of he matter behind the "ex-gay" movement and why it is still hanging on,,,money.

Indeed, the only public “ex-gays” left seem to be those who are currently making money promulgating the “ex-gay” lifestyle, people like Christopher Doyle and the “ex-gay” Mormon leaders featured in TLC’s recently aired “My Husband’s Not Gay.”

Truth Wins Out Commends Former ‘Ex-Gay’ Leader Randy Thomas For Coming Out As Gay | TWO Care

Former reparative therapy leader John Smid marries same-sex partner – LGBTQ Nation

John Smid, the former Executive Director of Love in Action — an ex-gay Christian ministry that purported to “restore those trapped” in homosexuality — has married his same-sex partner in Oklahoma.

Smid married Larry McQueen on Sunday, Nov. 16.

The Memphis Flyer reports that Smid has been living as an out gay man for several years, and he’s been in a relationship with McQueen for one year. The couple live in Paris, Texas, where Smid moved from his Memphis home in the summer of 2013.

In 2011, Smid publicly admitted that he is gay, and disavowed the message he preached for years that promised gays they could change: “One cannot repent of something that is unchangeable.”

Former reparative therapy leader John Smid marries same-sex partner – LGBTQ Nation

Exclusive: 9 Former Ex-Gay Leaders Join Movement To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy

Many will not understand the importance of some of the names associated with this letter, but it is a big deal. And yes there are a few names "missing" but that does not take away from the impact I hope this will have.

As advocates mount a national campaign against the practice, several former leaders of the ex-gay conversion therapy movement are now coming out in opposition to conversion therapy, or efforts to turn gay people straight, BuzzFeed has learned.

Nine former ex-gay leaders, from organizations like Exodus International and ministries like Love in Action, have signed onto a letter in partnership with the National Center for Lesbian Rights calling for a ban on gay conversion therapy and saying that LGBT people should be celebrated and embraced for who they are.

“At one time, we were not only deeply involved in these ‘ex-gay’ programs, we were the founders, the leaders, and the promoters,” they said in the letter. “Together we represent more than half a century of experience, so few people are more knowledgeable about the ineffectiveness and harm of conversion therapy. We know first-hand the terrible emotional and spiritual damage it can cause, especially for LGBT youth.”

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The former ex-gay leaders coming forward to unite in opposition the practice comes as LGBT advocates such as those at NCLR and other organizations are pushing for a movement against gay conversion therapy, including in state legislatures. Just this month, Michigan state Rep. Adam Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) introduced a bill that would ban conversion therapy for minors.

“This is about the civil rights of children,” Zemke told BuzzFeed. “A lot of children look up to adults and follow their advice blindly and innocently. They’re kids — they don’t know any better in some cases. As lawmakers, we have the responsibility to protect those kids from things proven to be harmful and this is no different. This is protecting the right for kids to be kids, whoever they are.”

Zemke said he is seeking support from lawmakers in the chamber, particularly among members of the Republican majority, to whom he points out that GOP New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed similar legislation into law just last year. Action or progress on the bill, though, likely won’t happen until later this fall, Zemke said.

Exclusive: 9 Former Ex-Gay Leaders Join Movement To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy