This was brought to our attention by an e-mail from Stephen Bennett, who, together with his wife, Irene, had taped a 45-minute interview for the program. Bennett said he told of having lived the "gay" lifestyle for over 11 years. He said he had been sexually active with more than a hundred males, many of whom have died from AIDS. He became a Christian and abandoned that dangerous and destructive lifestyle in 1992. He married Irene, and is now the father of two young children.
Bennett's e-mail said it was clear that CBS had interviewed him and his wife because he was a former homosexual. He said in his interview that there is no scientific proof that anyone is born "gay." He made it clear that he is one of thousands who are living proof that homosexuals can permanently change and that any legislation that is based on the premise that one is born "gay" and cannot change is flawed and simply wrong. He said the producer had assured them that the audience would be told that he was a recovered homosexual, but that promise was not kept. The TV audience was told only that he was opposed to homosexuality on religious grounds.
Bennett said the producer saw that what he was telling them would damage their "pro-gay" piece, not help it. He said CBS wanted to sell "gay" marriage to America and they were not going to let anyone stop them from doing so. He estimated that less than a minute of their interview was aired. The tape shows that it was only 35 seconds. Statements from three other opponents of same-sex marriage were aired. Altogether, they got 67 seconds on the air, bringing the total time given to the foes of same-sex marriage to a minute and forty-two seconds.
The executive producer of the show promised to return our call, but he changed his mind and turned it over to the CBS News spokeswoman who sent us a brief statement saying the program was "fair and accurate." It was as fair as a ball game in which batters for one team were allowed eight strikes and the other team was allowed only two. As for accuracy, CBS presented homosexual households as healthful and appropriate environments for rearing children. It wouldn't show a reformed homosexual telling what was wrong with that assumption.