Free Republic

A federal court today upheld California’s law making it illegal for minors to receive counseling for unwanted same-sex attractions. Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 1172 into law last year. The legislation bans sexual-orientation change effort (SOCE) counseling for anyone under 18. “The minors we represent do not want to act on same-sex attractions,” said Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver. “They are greatly benefiting from this counseling. Their grades have gone up, their self-esteem has improved, and their relationships at home are much improved.” The legal group said it will ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the...

A conservative legal group has stated its intentions to file a lawsuit against New Jersey over a recently signed law banning sexual orientation conversion therapy for minors. Mat Staver, founder and chairman of The Liberty Counsel, confirmed to The Christian Post on Monday his organization's plan to file the suit. "We will be filing suit," said Staver, adding that the suit should be submitted "later this week." On Monday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law A-3371, a bill that would ban the controversial practice of reparative therapy (also called conversion therapy) for minors. A-3371 enjoyed bipartisan support in...

Despite his “concerns about [the] government limiting parental choice on the care and treatment of their own children,” Governor Chris Christie signed into law a ban on ex-gay therapy for minors, thereby committing an outrageous act against both the people of New Jersey and his own Catholic faith. Buying into the standard gay activist talking points, Christie explained that “on issues of medical treatment for children we must look to experts in the field to determine the relative risks and rewards,” because of which he felt this government intrusion into doctor-patient relationships was justified. As for Christie’s personal views, he...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday will announce that he plans to sign a bill that will ban the practice of trying to convert gay children to a heterosexual lifestyle, according to an aide. Christie’s office had previously made clear that the governor doesn’t believe in gay conversion therapy, but it had not said whether he would sign the bill passed by the legislature. Christie said months ago that, despite his personal opposition, he wasn’t sure whether the government should legislate the therapy. “I still have those concerns,” he plans to say Monday. “Government should tread carefully into...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign a bill Monday barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called conversion therapy, along with California.

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray admitted Monday that he made the final decision to remove gospel singer Donnie McClurkin from the lineup of performers at a city-sponsored concert held Saturday at the Martin Luther King memorial in respond to complaints by gay activists. McClurkin was to have been a headline performer at the event , called “Reflections on Peace: Ghandi to King,” which marked the beginning of a planned series of events to commemorate King’s life during the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s “I Have a Dream” speech. But...

Homosexual activists and advocates often state that they merely want recognition and certain legal rights, and that churches and other objectors to their life style remain free to have their opinions and state them in a free culture. And any expressed fears regarding compulsory recognition or punitive measures directed against objectors are dismissed as fear mongering.Never mind that these fears are based in real experiences in Canada and Europe where clergy have been arrested and fined for presenting the biblical case against homosexuality in the pulpits of their own churches or the pages of their bulletins.In the end we who...

Ex-gay gospel singer who says God delivered him from being gay was removed from a concert lineup at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial after a request from Washington's mayor. The Washington Post reports singer Donnie McClurkin was scheduled to perform at the concert Saturday evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Several gay rights activities objected to his participation ahead of the event. Doxie McCoy, a spokeswoman for Mayor Vincent Gray, says the Grammy-winning singer decided not perform because the purpose of the event was to bring people together.

Members of the ex-gay community will be on Capitol Hill Wednesday to lobby their congressional representatives for recognition of former homosexuals and federal protection from discrimination. Christopher Doyle, the president and co-founder of Voice of the Voiceless (VoV), the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals and people who have unwanted same-sex attraction, told The Christian Post on Tuesday that the organization is demanding that every state recognize former homosexuals as a protected class. Doyle and VoV will also hold a rally and press conference at the Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon. "We want federal protection just as gays are given," Doyle...

The first-ever "Ex-Gay Pride Month" reception, scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C. on July 31, has been postponed until September following multiple security threats directed toward members of the ex-gay community and the Family Research Council, where a reception celebrating ex-gay leaders and supporters was planned to be held. Christopher Doyle, the co-founder of Voice of the Voiceless (VoV), told The Christian Post on Tuesday that VoV and Equality and Justice for All have decided to continue to hold some Ex-Gay Pride events in the nation's capital at the end of the month, which will be posted on the...

Sam Andreades ministered at a church in New York’s Greenwich Village  for many years and founded G.A.M.E. (Gender Affirming Ministry Endeavor), which serves those with same-sex attraction who want to follow Christ. Andreades has just finished his Doctor of Ministry work at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, and his dissertation, which grew out of his pastoral experience, is titled “Does She Matter? Emotional Intimacy in Marriage in Light of Gender Distinction.” Andreades interviewed Christian husbands with a gay background who are now happily married to women, asking why they prefer “intergendered” to “monogendered” marriage. He learned that gender distinction contributes depth and intimacy to...

The headlines in the liberal media are gleefully trumpeting the demise of Exodus International, the leading icon of the ex-”gay” movement. “From ‘pray away the gay’ to acceptance,” chortles the L.A. Times. But this is not really a story about an organization, but only its leader, Alan Chambers, and his unfortunate capitulation to the world. I invite you to join me in prayer for him. Those of us “in the know” have over the past few years watched Alan slowly transform Exodus into his own private fiefdom, while at the same time he slowly gravitated inexorably away from recovery. By...

A Christian group that once promoted therapy to encourage gays and lesbians to overcome their sexual preferences has closed its doors and apologized to homosexuals, acknowledging its mission had been hurtful and ignorant. Exodus International billed itself as the oldest and largest Christian ministry dealing with faith and homosexuality, operating since 1976. It announced it would cease operations in a statement on its website on Wednesday. The Irvine, California-based group’s board unanimously voted to close Exodus International and begin a separate ministry, the statement said. …

UPDATE: Hours after apology, Exodus International announces plans to close and begin a separate ministry. Melissa Steffan Update (June 19): Exodus International announced Wednesday night it will shut down and start a separate ministry for a "new generation." “We’re not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change – and they want to be heard,” said board member Tony Moore. The announcement came hours after issuing an apology to the gay community. At the time, Exodus leaders had shared little about their next steps, and the...

The flamboyant YouTube star renounced his association to homosexuality and, once again, got in front of the media to discuss "praying the gay" away. Antoine Dodson -- of "hide your kids, hide your wife" fame -- says that he "renounces homosexuality" and now wants a wife to be in his life. Choosing to get back "to who he is," Dodson's many statements painted a confusing picture about his intentions behind his self-discovery. On Facebook, he wrote in full, "I have to renounce myself, I'm no longer into homosexuality. I want a wife and family, I want to multiply and raise...

A ban on gay therapy in New York has been proposed in a bill introduced on Friday, modeled after the 2012 California law that first banned the service. The bill seeks to ban licensed therapists from helping minors change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. "There are often challenges to any manner of legislation that is protecting of the LGBT community and you can't sit on your hands and wait until things get resolved somewhere else," said Sen. Deborah Glick, a New York Democrat who proposed the bill alongside fellow Democrat Sen. Michael Gianaris. Gay therapy remains a controversial...

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was...

A federal court is scheduled on Monday to sentence a Mennonite pastor who was convicted of helping a Lesbian-turned-Christian woman to flee the country with her daughter after her former partner was awarded custody of the girl. Kenneth L. Miller of Stuarts Draft, Va., will appear before Burlington, Vt., Judge William Sessions on Monday afternoon, and faces up to three years in prison, according to The Associated Press. Prosecutors want Miller to be sentenced to two-and-a-half or three years in prison – the maximum sentence for his conviction in abetting international parental kidnapping. "Because of his brazen intervention, a child...

Before Sheldon Bruck told his orthodox Jewish parents he was gay, the teenager looked for a way out of homosexuality. His search led him to JONAH -- Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing -- which claimed on its website to help people "struggling with unwanted same-sex sexual attractions." JONAH co-director Arthur Goldberg promised Bruck, then 17, that "JONAH could help him change his orientation from gay to straight," according to a consumer fraud lawsuit filed Tuesday against JONAH, Goldberg and a JONAH counselor.

A new bill that’s the first of its kind has opinion hotly divided in California, this time over whether parents can be banned from trying to “cure” their gay children. Senate Bill 1172, which would prohibit all “sexual orientation change efforts” for minors, is through the legislature and slated to land on the governor's desk in September.