Posted on 05/22/2003 1:47:07 PM PDT by Remedy
Many in Congress never heard of people overcoming homosexuality
About two dozen representatives of ex-homosexual groups under the auspices of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) visited about 60 Congressional offices last Thursday and Friday for "Ex-Gay Lobby Days."
Parents, families and friends joined eight former homosexuals to take the message of change and hope to sometimes surprised congressional staffers. The group included PFOX Executive Director Regina Griggs; Rev. D.L. Foster, a black pastor from Atlanta who directs 11 ex-gay ministries and is himself an ex-gay; former homosexual Greg Quinlan, president of Dayton, Ohio-based Pro-Family Network; ex-gay Richard Cohen, a therapist and head of the International Healing Foundation; Arthur and Jane Goldberg of JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality), a Jewish group that ministers to families with homosexual loved ones, and others.
"The shock of Ex-Gay Lobby Day was that out of 50 appointments on the Hill, nobody had ever heard of anyone changing from homosexuality," said Linda Wall, who most recently ran for state Senate in Virginia’s Tidewater area.
"As a former lesbian schoolteacher, I realized more than ever the importance of sharing my past life as a lesbian so others know that there is a choice. I also see how vital it is that we ex-gays be permitted a seat at the table of public policy making to assure the full disclosure of information pertaining to sexual orientation," Wall said.
PFOX’s Griggs said the groups fanned out all over the Hill, with JONAH targeting Jewish Democratic senators such as Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut), whose claim to be both an observant Jew and a support of "gay" political activism has irked many in the Orthodox community. Of those lawmakers, "almost half of the legislative assistants who met with us were gay, with wedding bands on their fingers," said a PFOX representative.
Griggs said that the groups met only with staff members, not senators or congressmen, but that she was encouraged by the response.
"About a third were supportive, another third were neutral but heard us out, and another third were pretty hostile," she said.
Virtually all of the staff members they talked with "didn’t know that homosexuals can change, that they aren’t born that way," Griggs told Culture & Family Report.
Jane Goldberg of JONAH, who has a homosexual son, found herself in an elevator with outspoken homosexual Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts). After he spied her Jonah button, she told him that she believed people could change, Griggs said. Rep. Frank reportedly disagreed, and told Mrs. Goldberg that the idea of change is "nonsense."
Greg Quinlan, a former homosexual who heads the Pro-Family Network based in Dayton, Ohio, along with his fiancée, met with staff members of Ohio’s Republican Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich.
Most offices were receptive to requests for meeting, Griggs said. Exceptions included Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland). Several Maryland residents, including ex-gay therapist Richard Cohen, tried to meet with Mikulski but could not get an appointment, even with staff members.
Griggs herself met with staff members of Virginia’s two Republican senators, John Warner and George Allen, and staffers with Republican Virginia Rep. Tom Davis. The latter’s overtures to "gay" Republican activists have led to criticism from pro-family conservatives.
Homosexuality and the Scriptures: A Survey of the Central Texts (a four part series)
Judaism's Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) Rejected HomosexualityWhen Judaism demanded that all sexual activity be channeled into marriage, it changed the world. The Torah's prohibition of non-marital sex quite simply made the creation of Western civilization possible. Societies that did not place boundaries around sexuality were stymied in their development. The subsequent dominance of the Western world can largely be attributed to the sexual revolution initiated by Judaism and later carried forward by Christianity. The acceptance of homosexuality as the equal of heterosexual marital love signifies the decline of Western civilization as surely as the rejection of homosexuality and other nonmarital sex made the creation of this civilization possible.
Homosexuality: A Political Mask For Promiscuity: A Psychiatrist Reviews The Data Indeed, the Torah reserves its most intense condemnation for homosexuality: "to'eva" - abomination...
St. Paul's Argument From Nature Against Homosexuality (Romans 1).
Responding to Pro-Gay Theology
CCCU : Resource Center | Article: An Evangelical Looks at ... :
Don't go there.
I didn't know Susan Collins was a lesbian.
The ERA Amendment states: Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.
Section 2: Congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of the aritcle. Section 3: This Amendment shall take affect two years after the date of ratification.
Proponents of the ERA believe that constitionally they can begin again where they left off with the ratification process. 30 plus states have already ratified the ERA...The word must get out about this before the Illinois Senate passes ERA. This Amendment would jeopardize the true equal protection of the existing 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
What were they lobbying for or against?
The APA/members are subject to testifying on various matters before Congress and in Court. Some of their opinion resembles that of a confused child.
I'm speculating that they are lobbying about something related to:
Medical Science
No Scientific Logic
Free the APA
APA Journal
Law Review Articles
Right To Medical Treatment
Discrimination Against Therapists.
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