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

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.”

[,,,]
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

ADDENDUM::Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men" | GLAAD

Part 2,,,

,,,But once I became a Christian and was told that my sexuality was deviant and sinful, I felt ashamed about it. This may sound bizarre to some people—how I so quickly went from pride to shame—but when you’ve had a spiritual experience and seek to understand it by finding pastoral help, it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing them as the experts, and believing their interpretation of certain Biblical passages without taking the larger picture into consideration. And without knowing that their interpretation is not the only interpretation.

[,,,]
I think you’re seeing the result of how stifled I felt. According to the dogma of conservative Christian churches, we have to believe that homosexuality is sinful and wrong. Period. The problem for me was that I had to turn away from what I witnessed and experienced in my day-to-day life; I couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge what was glaringly obvious, which was that I saw an abundance of healthy homosexual relationships. My uncle has been with his partner for nearly 30 years. My ex-girlfriend from years ago recently married her partner in California after having been in a committed relationship with her for close to 20 years. They’re normal people, living normal lives. They have jobs, and hobbies, and families. There isn’t anything perverse or abhorrent about how they live.

A favorite tactic of certain sectors of the pro-family movement is to highlight the sexual behaviors of gay men. You never hear anyone talk about the sexual practices of lesbians. Women are rarely mentioned unless you’re talking about smoking or excessive alcohol consumption. The assumption is that the general public is disturbed by sexual situations in bathrooms, parks, or other public places, or by men acting flamboyantly during pride parades and celebrations. News of these types of situations could be used as fodder to demonstrate the supposed inherent depravity of homosexual men, implying that all gay men have it within their nature to lurk in bushes waiting to hook up with someone.

Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men" | GLAAD

ADDENDUM::Change is possible: Former 'ex-gay' activist Yvette Schneider 'celebrates the worthiness and equality of all people' | GLAAD

Part 1 of Scheider's GLAAD interview,,,

Yvette Cantu Schneider has one of the most robust pedigrees of anyone who has ever worked in the so-called "ex-gay" movement. From the late nineties right through to the second decade of the twenty-first century, Yvette managed to find herself laboring for and with just about every top anti-LGBT group and activist you've heard of. From her high-profile start at the Family Research Council to her work with California's Proposition 8 campaign—with many stops, at many different groups and campaigns along the way—Yvette became one of that movement's most visible faces and certainly one of the most known women in a line of "work" known mainly for its male spokespeople.

To this day, Yvette remains one of the key people who anti-gay voices like to cite in order to prove that "change" works. In a December 19, 2013, press release concerning the Duck Dynasty brouhaha, notorious anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who was a colleague of Yvette's during their shared time at the Family Research Council, cited Schnieder as an example of a person who has "ovecome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ." "Ex-gay" websites continue to list her as among their ranks and push her story as a source of inspiration. The American Family Association continues to sell a video, "It's Not Gay," in which Yvette appears as a talking head. They all still claim Yvette as being both an example and a worker bee for their side.

That all changes today. Yvette has reached out to GLAAD, exclusively, to share her story—one that will come as a shock to her former colleagues and allies.

In a nutshell: Yvette no longer wishes to identify with the "ex-gay" or anti-LGBT movement; is sorry for the pain she caused as part of that world; is highly questioning of the idea of "ex-gay" itself; and is now fully supportive of LGBT people, our truths, and our families. Yvette has made her sincerity clear to me, saying "as opposed to when I was doing things for the Christian Right out of duty and obligation, I'm doing it because I want to and feel it's the right thing to do." She hopes that by speaking out, she can start to undo any damage she might've helped to impart.

[,,,]
 "I had entered the Church and become a Christian for a sense of community, to belong to a family that would love and accept me unconditionally, the way Jesus did. I was told, along with everyone else, that I would be used by God to accomplish His purposes, that my life would have purpose and meaning. If I played by the rules. When I developed feelings for a female friend at church, a superior pulled me aside and said that my roommates sensed this attraction, and it would be better, according to the Bible, for a millstone to be hung around my neck and for me to be flung into the sea (Matthew 18:6 NIV). I quickly learned to toe the line."

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Although I never even remotely "tried" to change my sexuality beyond the use of  fervent prayer,/fasting and biblical studies (I was already part of "the church").  I can so relate to the, "I would be used by God to accomplish His purposes,,," bullshit.  I even had the millstone crap thrown at me as well, especially after years of study my conclusion(s) led me to the belief and understanding that there is no biblical justification for condemning our 20th/21st century understanding of homosexuality.

Change is possible: Former 'ex-gay' activist Yvette Schneider 'celebrates the worthiness and equality of all people' | GLAAD

Leading ‘ex-gay’ Yvette Schneider comes out to back bans on ‘ex-gay’ therapies | Gay Star News

The mighty continue to fall!!

I have said, and I will continue to say till my last breath on this earth, there is no such thing as an ex-gay or ex-lesbian. Next in line is Anne Paulk. Any takers?
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Yvette Schneider, one of the most prominent poster children for the American ‘ex-gay’ movement, has come out in favor of LGBTI rights and as bisexual and has joined the call for so-called 'reparative therapies' that aim to change people’s sexualities to be banned for minors.

Schneider made the revelation via a series of blog posts with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) – an organization she herself once volunteered for in the early 1990’s while identifying as a lesbian.

However a conversion to Christianity in the late 1990’s lead to her rejecting her same-sex attraction and joining the ex-gay movement, eventually working for the virulently anti-LGBTI Family Research Council and speaking on behalf of campaigns by the American Family Association.

[,,,]
‘Not only is the efficacy of change therapy dubious at best, but the type of therapy this legislation bans is specifically for minors. It’s damaging to take a child who is questioning his or her sexuality, or who may display qualities that are not in line with what our society considers normative for their gender, and communicate to the child - and parents - that there is something wrong with him, that in some way he or she is deficient.

Leading ‘ex-gay’ Yvette Schneider comes out to back bans on ‘ex-gay’ therapies | Gay Star News