c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Former”ex-gays”gathered Friday (July 17) to rebut a series of ads that conservative groups placed in major newspapers arguing gays and lesbians could leave their homosexuality behind and become heterosexuals.

Tracey St. Pierre, a senior policy official at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy organization, which sponsored the session, told reporters her personal experience.”For almost 15 years I believed the false teaching that God could cure me from being gay,”she said.”I literally begged God to change me and to give me an attraction toward men.” She said she was prayed for by a Christian counselor who urged her to dress more femininely. Later, a mental health professional helped her accept her lesbianism.”I’ve never felt closer to God, and I also learned at that time that reparative therapy … is no more than a lie,”said St. Pierre, who currently is looking for a church to join in the Washington, D.C. area.

St. Pierre and a half dozen other speakers told similar stories at the news conference aimed at continuing the work of gay groups in countering full-page ads by conservative political and religious groups appearing over the last week in The Washington Post, USA Today and the New York Times.”These ads have claimed that homosexuality can be cured,”said David M. Smith, a senior strategist with the campaign.”We wanted to make sure that there is another point of view presented.” The ads included photos of”ex-gays”and a wife and mother who was formerly a lesbian along with toll-free numbers to contact ministries that help people who want to follow their example and”walk out of homosexuality.””We have no intention whatsoever of disparaging the stories of these individuals in the anti-gay ads,”Smith said.”Truly if these people are happy we are happy for them. But we want to be very clear that they do not represent the vast majority of experiences of lesbian and gay people in this country.” The Human Rights Campaign has also begun placing counter ads.

Bob Davies, North American director of Exodus International, a leader in the”ex-gay”Christian movement, said he disagrees with those who believe they’ve grown closer to God as they become more self-confident about their homosexuality.”I think that’s a deception,”he said in a phone interview from his Seattle office.”I don’t think they are closer to God. I think they are compromising in terms of their behavior in response to cultural ideology.” Several of the speakers at the press conference _ which included a distant cousin of Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich named Darell Gingrich _ said they knew no one from the ex-gay movement who had stuck with it.

Scott Melendez, 32, of Parker, Ariz., said his personal follow-up with other people who had been involved in ex-gay groups for up to eight years found a”zero percent success rate.””They were as gay as the day they walked in the door,”he said.”They certainly had a weaker relationship with God because they thought God hated them.” Davies disagreed.”They don’t know the same people I know,”he said.”I know people who have been out of homosexuality for 20 or 30 years.” But Melendez pointed out _ and Davies confirmed _ that two men who were in the early leadership of Exodus eventually left their heterosexual spouses and began a gay relationship. One eventually died of AIDS.”We don’t claim to have 100 percent success,”said Davies.”We know that there are many people that come to Exodus who after a period of time realize that because of the difficulty in the change process they lose heart and give up … That does not negate the fact that there are many people who stick with it and experience significant change.” (OPTIONAL TRIM _ STORY MAY END HERE)

Meanwhile, the larger debate on homosexuality continued with conservative and liberal organizations lining up to support or condemn plans to amend an executive order by President Clinton that would prohibit discrimination against homosexuals in federal government jobs. Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., has proposed such an amendment.

Christian Coalition executive director Randy Tate said many Americans view Clinton’s action as a”royal decree”that would give gays special rights.”They’re saddened … that the president they elected is, in kingly fashion, mocking and rejecting their values, their morals and their religious beliefs by creating a protected class based on sexual preference,”said Tate.

People for the American Way’s president Carole Shields, on the other hand, wrote a letter to House members urging them to oppose the Hefley’s proposal.”The Religious Right has declared open season on gay and lesbian Americans, and now they want the Congress to fire the first shot,”she said.”It’s time for Congress to take a stand against this divisive, destructive message and affirm that the Constitution applies to every American without exception.”

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