"Love Won Out" Conference Protested

A conference in Phoenix, Arizona sponsored by Focus On The Family, a conservative evangelist organization, has come under protest due to its message on how homosexual "don’t have to be gay and that a homosexual identity is something that can be overcome".  Focus on the Family, founded by evangelist and psychologist, James Dobson launched "Love Won Out" in 1998 and has sponsored numerous conferences designed to promote the message that homosexuality can be overcome through faith and determination.  The roster for the conference include several "ex-gay" speakers telling their message of overcoming same-sex leanings.  The conference's organizers expect approximately one thousand participants. 

Protesting the conference is a diverse group of pastors and laypeople who maintain that the conference engages in "spiritual abuse" of gays and lesbians.  They are countering the conference's message with a "Love One In" campaign in which gays and lesbians tell their own stories of coming to terms with their sexual orientation. Reverend Nancy Elsenheimer, one of organizers of the protest, has said that the conference caused gays and lesbians to experience “more shame and more alienation for themselves, their communities and their families.”

While the reparative therapy approaches  for changing homosexual tendencies are no longer supported by mainstream mental health organizations, they continue to be endorsed by endorsed by conservative organizations such as Focus on the Family and Exodus International.  Despite the absence of reliable, peer-reviewed research, reparative therapy continues to be endorsed by "ex-gay" Christian groups and is fueled by anecdotal evidence of success.  There remains considerable controversy over the potential harm that reparative therapy can pose due to unreasonable expectations of success and perpetuation of negative attitudes towards homosexuality.  Particular concern has been raised over the forced treatment of adolescents in "ex-gay camps" (usually with the collusion of parents fearing the same-sex leanings of their children) , and the growing tendency of reparative therapists to target younger patients.   

This is not a problem that will go away easily despite a growing acceptance of gays and lesbians, especially since anti-gay activists continue to feel that they are doing God's work by opposing homosexuality.  Ultimately, no living human can speak for God on this matter, not even James Dobson.