Posted on 02/13/2007 9:13:35 AM PST by Froufrou
A national communications company refused to display a conservative Christian group's potentially controversial advertisements promoting a conference on sexuality over the weekend.
Focus on the Family expressed disappointment at Clear Channel Outdoor's decision to block ads for its international Love Won Out conference in Phoenix, Ariz.
The billboard ad was drafted to read, "I questioned homosexuality: Change is Possible, Discover How."
Gender issues director at Focus on the Family, Melissa Fryrear, said Monday the advertising company had turned down the business, but as of Monday, its lawyers had not received an explanation for the decision.
A Clear Channel Outdoors representative told Cybercast News Service,"Our local managers review each advertisement on a case-by-case basis to ensure that it meets the tastes and standards of the local community.
"Local managers reserve the right to reject advertising copy if it does not meet their community's standards for appropriateness or the copy is deemed offensive towards any business, group or individual," the representative added.
Fryrear argued that "there is nothing objectionable about [the ad]."
"It gives a hopeful message for those who are dissatisfied living homosexually and [shows] that there is an alternative they could consider," she said
Despite the advertising controversy, the conference was successful, Fryrear said. At the same time, Focus on the Family would never know how many more could have been impacted had the billboard ad not been refused.
"We wanted to try to get the message out in a variety of mediums," she said. "Our concern certainly is that it would have affected potential attendees because we weren't able to promote it as intentionally as we had planned."
Even a group protesting the conference, Arizona Human Rights Foundation (AHRF), questioned the decision to censor the advertisement.
AHRF representative Amy Kobeta said although she was glad the communication company had tried to avoid offense, the move was "a little odd because it seems to be somewhat of an infringement on free speech."
"I would be upset if someone didn't advertise one of our conferences and I think the reverse is also true," Kobeta said.
The ad was eventually picked up by another advertising company in the area.
Focus on the Family said the goal of its annual Love Won Out conference is to answer questions on the divisive issue of sexuality and raise awareness about the continuing need to show love to the homosexual and lesbian community.
"We are trying to help Christians respond in a Christian way to someone who is struggling with homosexuality," Fryrear said. "We are also trying to offer resources and hope to [unhappy homosexuals] that would assist them as they continue to pursue heterosexuality."
She said many of the people attending the conference are Christian family members or friends of homosexuals.
"They don't want to forfeit what they believe about sexuality, and of course they love their loved one," Fryrear said. So Focus on the Family is "helping them continue to stand by what they believe biblically and [show them] how to respond to a gay identified loved one in a compassionate and understanding loving way."
The ARHD and other homosexual advocacy groups, however, expressed concern about the motives of the group.
"I don't understand how it can be compassionate if you are telling someone that they are inherently flawed and they are required to change," Kobeta said.
"The conference is based on two very flawed principles," she said. "One is that homosexuality is a choice and the other is that homosexuality can and should be cured.
"Both of those, we feel, perpetuates stereotypes, bias, and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual people," Kobeta added.
Kobeta argued "this kind of [movement] should not be perpetuated and there is an alternative in loving and accepting yourself for who you are."
Fryrear said she would have preferred that the critics participated in the event.
"The conference has oftentimes been misrepresented and I would much rather them hear the grace that we are exhorting to Christians to extend to them.
"Someone protesting on the sidewalk doesn't have an opportunity to hear that," she said.
"Gay" was once, and will be again, a fine and decent word, a pleasant word, a meaningful word. We all want to be gay and happy at times. That's what the word "gay" did mean, and still does. A perfectly good word, the root of "gaity". A lighthearted frivolity, a delight in life.
The urge to be sexual is unbeatably strong. That's a good thing -- that urge when properly used. Homosexual acts are a mis-use of that urge. If a man senses more arousal from other men than from women, it doesn't mean that he should act out those urges, any more than someone born with a urge to control other's behavior so strong it becomes a murderous inclination should act to murder.
Being an adult, being a whole man or a whole woman means we have the ability to channel and control these natural urges. That's why I tell folks pushing the homosexuality-that's-okay-too idea to "Grow up!"
Be a man and not an animal. Control your base urges and make them work for good.
Society exists to help individuals become whole. Society: laws, regulation, language, mores, customs -- all of it. To become a whole and good person.
And that's why society is right and proper to have laws banning some behaviors, even when they take place between consenting adults. Say for example -- assisted suicide. Or selling organs. Or homosexuality.
Banning homosexuality does not mean that all those naturally inclined to be homosexuals get thrown in jail. Banning murder does not mean that all those naturally inclined to murder get thrown in jail either. It means we stop it and punish those who engaged in the act when we the people, we the society of men, find out about the criminal act.
There are laws against murder, and there are laws against homosexuality.
No it isn't. There's always a few individuals born with homosexual tendencies, just as there are a few born with great natural carpentry skills, or musical ability, or inclination to murder.
It's all a matter of what we do with, of how we use, of how we control and master those blessings and burdens we are born with. That mastery thereof is what makes us adults -- men and women.
You are truly swimming against a modern day tide.The key indicator is the tendency of more and more young people to accept being gay-OK,HOMOSEXUAL.Back in my era anyone suspected of being a "faggot"was in real physical dnager.Now most teens just say,"oh,well,Bob is gay.Thats cool.Whatever"
You can point this out as another way the Empire is crumbling and,if truth be told,I don't particularly think its very healthy myself.Yet homos are probably no more immoral than the average lust driven young American today.
I think what repels us is WHAT they do,not that they like same sex people.If all gays did was insist on going to baseball games and playing chess together and then going home alone,no one would probably have a problem with that scenario.
I wouldn't have sold FotF billboard space either. Clear Channel makes plenty of money selling billboard space to movies and car companies, why get involved in politics?
You mean like a shotgun wedding? Surely you can't mean someone else's marriage is being "forced" on you? I'm sure my father-in-law didn't approve of my marrying his daughter, but we didn't force our marriage upon him against his will. The whole concept of that would just be silly.
So, allowing people to live their own lives as they want is now likened to Sharia Law?
Mr. Orwell had nothing on you.
A complete red herring. Every half-brain who's paying attention knows that legal contractual agreements are already available to homosexuals. It should be crystal clear that the goal is enforced recognition by society of every aspect of homosexual relationships. MA is a microcosm of what the country would be if this were the case - with enforced homosexualization of young children (no opt-out provisions) and criminalization of opposing opinions.
Criminalization of opposing opinions? I don't think so.
Yes I do. I have to accept it (at least in Massachusetts) whether I like it or not.
You were trying to suggest that those wanting homosexual behavior to remain in the closet are trying to force something new on society. However, until recently, most states had laws which required just that. The force is coming from the homosexual crowd, not from those who are against it.
So, allowing people to live their own lives as they want is now likened to Sharia Law?
Nice spin. They were allowed to live their own lives. That was simply not enough. Now they want to force me to accept that their lifestyle is normal. They want to force homosexual acceptance curricula in schools. And, contrary to your position above, you did force your wife on your family (assuming they disapproved of the marriage) and if you had "married" a man you would have forced him on your family as well. Marriage forces benefits on employers (have you noticed the laws mandating (read forcing) homosexual benefits?) And do I remember a student being told he could not wear a "Straight Pride" T-shirt to school?
We had a society that worked one way and it worked well. In fact, it's been the standard for all of recorded history. The force is all coming from the homosexuals.
I firmly agree that homosexuals should not live in fear of beatings or lynchings. As for the rest, what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home is of no concern to me. But they don't want to keep it in the privacy of their own homes, do they?
Like it affects you in any way whatsoever. You find it offensive, but so what? Get over it. What those two guys are doing, whether you know about it or not, is really none of your business, is it? Unless you are one of those anti-freedom nanny-staters that are becoming more and more common on these threads.
It's a learned thing only,why have so many gay people returned to normal.
Man,I don't know ONE gay who has ever gone back to being straight.And I live right across from good old San Francisco.
I do know "gays"who dabble once in a while with a female.But they are truly bi-sexual,not gay.
Once again, the only anti-freedom people on this subject are the ones who want to take away the freedom to disagree with the homosexual agenda.
It is not anti-freedom to think that gays can't marry or should not adopt children.
But I do appreciate your attempt to shut down the debate.
Shalom.
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