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'Ex-gay' group threatens Va. colleges
by Annber Galaviz :: GayRVA.com
RICHMOND, Va. — The "ex-gay" group,
Voice of the Voiceless, is urging the LGBT stu
dent resource centers at universities in Virginia
to provide ex-gay therapy and resources on
changing sexual orientation. The group sent
a letter to all Virginia state colleges late last
month threatening legal action saying current
resources are unsupportive and discriminating
against their faith.
Christopher Doyle, co-founder and director
of Voice of the Voiceless (VOV), went under
cover with another ex-gay activist to see what
services the LGBT departments at several
Virginia universities would tell them when they
asked about ex-gay treatment options.
"Myself and a colleague went into seven
state-funded universities in Virginia presenting
as a graduate student with unwanted same-sex
attractions, meaning that we didn't identify as
LGBT," said Doyle. "We were conflicted, un
sure about our homosexual feelings, and we're
looking for specific referrals or options for
individuals who did not wish to live a gay life or
identify as gay but would rather pursue sexual
orientation change-over therapy or a helpful
organization that would support us."
The resulting conversation with school
officials was not what Doyle and VOV wanted
to hear. One counselor at George Mason
University told him ex-gay therapy would cause
him to "become psychologically-damaged,
depressed, and even commit suicide."
"What we found out was the LGBT re
source centers and the multicultural centers,
which are supposed to be places where
students can go and get bias-free and neutral
counseling from counselors, were anything
but that," said Doyle. "They did not work with
us on our goals, they did not provide us any
resources."
According to VOV, information provided by
the schools was biased and their viewpoints
were discriminatory. This led the group to
seek legal aid from Liberty Counsel, a Florida-
based non-profit litigation firm that advances
"religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the
family" according to its mission statement.
Doyle said Liberty Counsel "sent a letter to
these universities saying that they're engaging
in viewpoint discrimination because as a public
forum they have an obligation to present all
views on sexuality and not just one view."
Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Dut
(TWO) and a former staffer of the Human Rights
Campaign, says Doyle and other ex-gay ad
vocates are pushing therapies that have been
discredited.
"Chris.Doyle is out of his mind," Besen
said. "What you actually have these people
doing is absurd."
Besen calls ex-gay therapy "child abuse"
saying there's no reason for reputable es
tablishments to offer it, and said he's got the
science behind him to prove it.
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A statute of Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia.
Photo Credit: Phil Roeder, via Ftickr. Licensed CC.
"The American Psychological Association
(APA) says point-blank that attempts to change
sexual orientation can cause anxiety, depres
sion and self-destructive behavior," Besen
said about a resolution adopted by APA in 2009
which condemned ex-gay therapy.
Virginia's public universities have not publicly
responded to Doyle's letters. The ex-gay leader
said the schools had until Oct. 25 to do so.::
—A longer version of this article was originally
published at GayRVA.com lbitly/H40LTP).
Republished here with permission.
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