PFOX explains need for balance of materials on ex-gays

Sent to Editor, WB News/Library Board:

As an ex-gay, I share my testimony to eliminate negative perceptions and discrimination against former homosexuals. I understand that some are asking for a balance of books on the controversial issue of homosexuality, as well as other hot-topic issues. I’d like to address that issue.

No scientific evidence has established a genetic cause for homosexuality or found a “gay gene.” There is no medical or DNA test to determine if a person is homosexual. “Gay” is a self-chosen identity to publicly demonstrate an individual’s conformity with homosexual behavior. According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies to support that people can be born “gay” or that homosexuality is innate.

Teens should not be encouraged to self-identify as “gay” before they have matured. Once a child self-identifies as “gay,” he is stuck with that label because gay activists and other heterophobic influences refuse to acknowledge that an individual can leave homosexuality. Additionally, “research shows that the risk of suicide decreases by 20% for each year that a person delays homosexual or bisexual self-labeling.”*

Libraries, including school libraries, that address the issue of sexual orientation, must present all of the facts in a fair and balanced manner. Exclusion of some views merely because of disagreement with them constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. Therefore, the ex-gay viewpoint in your library, as well as in your public schools, is protected by the First Amendment and should be heard.

Gay activists have created an environment where anyone who does not accept homosexuality as equivalent to heterosexuality in every way is labeled a “bigot” whose attitude equates to racism. Sexual orientation non-discrimination laws and hate crime policies are used to silence the ex-gay community and legitimize intolerance against former homosexuals.

Each year thousands of men and women with unwanted same-sex attractions make the personal decision to leave a gay identity via secular therapy, faith-based ministries, and other non-judgmental environments.

Ex-gays must be included in the formation of public policy that includes balance on controversial issues, especially homosexuality, because ex-gays have much to contribute to the understanding of sexual orientation. Without testimony from all sectors of society, public policy on this issue is seriously flawed.

Sincerely,

Greg Quinlan
PFOX Board member
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) is a national non-profit organization that supports families, advocates for the ex-gay community, and educates the public on sexual orientation.
*(Source: Risk Factors for Attempted Suicide in Gay and Bisexual Youth by Remafedi, Farrow, and Deisher, in Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics 87: 869-875 June 1991.)