The Exodus of Exodus

[colinian]

Here's an excerpt from an email I received today from allout.org. It's a follow-up to the news articles that have been on the radio and TV here in the Bay Area since Thursday.

Wow. The head of the biggest “gay cures” organisation in the world has just announced they will shut themselves down. And they’ve apologised to gay people everywhere.

Exodus International offered these “gay cures” for nearly 40 years - but has now admitted they were wrong to ever try to change people’s sexuality.

Here is part of Exodus International’s President Alen Chamber’s apology:

"Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine."

There’s no question that there’s more to do. Google still thinks it’s okay to make a “gay cures” app available from their store. In Brazil, some politicians are still pushing to make “gay cures” legal again. And there are still smaller “gay cure” organisations that haven’t yet woken up like Exodus International.

But this is a big win, and a massive blow for people who still peddle “gay cures”. We’ll keep at them together. All 1.7 million of us, from every country in the world, working to build a world where no one has to sacrifice their family, freedom, safety, or dignity because of who they are or who they love.

With love and hope,

Andre Banks, and the rest of the team at All Out.

PS: Have you signed the petition asking Google to remove the dangerous "gay cure" app from its store? It's at 150,000 names and growing fast! Click here to sign or if you've already signed, click here to share it on Facebook.

That the leading "Ex-Gay" organization would quit and apologize to those that they've "treated" and announce that it's not possible to "cure" someone who is gay is just amazing.

Colin

[Cy-kun]

Awesome. I'd never even heard about them until today, but it's great that they realized how pointless and harmful they were. Hopefully this is the start of a trend.

[Camy]

That really is a WIN!

[JamesSavik]

I've been following this for the last few days wondering if it's real or not.

[The Pecman]

I'm waiting for a new organization called "Anti-Exodus," which converts straights to gays.

[JamesSavik]

I'm waiting for a new organization called "Anti-Exodus," which converts straights to gays.

I think it's called tequila.