“For what it may be worth to you – I am a Journal listed CS practitioner, When my son, my only child, came out as gay a number of years ago, I did not ask God to change him; I asked God to change me-to open my eyes and heart wide enough to not lose sight of all that really matters and to all that is real and true about my son as His whole and holy ideal. So I have always been free to happily love my son with all my heart, And he loves me, too.”
-Barbara, AZ
christianscience.com
(Church Alive Blog)
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“It is not enough to have a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) in every high school (that’s a good start). We must also do the dirty work, the heartbreaking work: we must listen to what youth are telling us. We can no longer pretend we cannot hear the tears of the youth who have lost their friends, families and homes because of whom they love or how they define their gender.”
– Sassafras Lowrey
(Editor – Kicked Out)
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Our community has a responsibility to take action – immediately. I call on all of us to act today. We must support our LGBTQ youth. We must talk to our friends and family about the reality facing young people. We must support these organizations and direct service providers with our volunteer time and financial resources. But most importantly, as mothers and fathers, we need to hug our kids and tell them that they are accepted and loved for who they are – every single day.
– Judy Shepard
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One Mother’s Tragic Lesson –
By Bethany Lye –
Mary Lou Wallner Rejected Her Lesbian Daughter—and Paid a Terrible Price. Today She Has a Simple Message for Christian Parents: Embrace Your Gay Children
www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20163481,00.html
A devout Christian, Mary Lou Wallner grew up believing homosexuality was a sin. So she was devastated when, in 1988, her older daughter Anna, 21, told her she was a lesbian. Wallner’s reaction—and Anna’s subsequent suicide—haunt her to this day. Now, as head of TEACH Ministries (www.teach-ministries.org), which Wallner founded in 2001, she and husband Bob speak to Christian groups around the country, urging parents to accept their gay children. At her home in Little Rock, Wallner, 62, whose story is featured in the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So (www.forthebibletellsmeso.org), spoke with PEOPLE’s Bethany Lye.
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Help ban conversion therapy for gay kids
Dear Friend,
The damaging and dangerous practice called “conversion therapy” might soon be at an end in California — the most populous state in the U.S. — if Governor Jerry Brown signs a bill that the state Legislature has already passed.
On Saturday, Brown signed dozens of bills into law1 — but he hasn’t yet signed the ban on conversion therapy for minors. We only have until September 30 to ensure this bill becomes law.
So-called conversion therapy is based upon the disproven theory that homosexuality is a form of mental illness and that through therapy, sexual orientation can be changed. Thousands of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth have been subjected to the humiliating measures of this practice over the past 100 years, including electric shocks and nausea-inducing medication paired with homosexual imagery.2 In many other cases, youth have been forced to undergo shame-filled therapy sessions with counselors and groups of their peers.
California has been a leader in legislation protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. Now the state has the opportunity to put an end to a draconian and homophobic practice that has no place in modern medicine, and set a precedent that should be followed nationwide.
All three of the major mental health organizations in the United States — the American Counseling Association,3 American Psychological Association,4 American Psychiatric Association5 — have denounced this practice. Hundreds of other medical organizations in the United States and abroad have done the same. It doesn’t work, and more often than not it causes serious psychological distress.
Passing the bill costs California nothing, and will set a national precedent that will open the door to other state government bans of the practice. But more important, it will protect children and teens from the harmful and guilt-filled process that tears apart families and causes long-lasting damage that sometimes ends in suicide.6
Tell California’s Gov. Jerry Brown to be a national leader in the fight to protect gay and lesbian youth and sign the ban on conversion therapy for minors. Click below to automatically sign the petition.
http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=6966705&p=conversion_therapy&id=47531-5721422-qNs8Nux&t=9
Thank you for standing up to protect young gays and lesbians from abuse.
Jordan Krueger, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. “Archives for September 2012.” Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr, accessed 09-23-2012.
2. Dr. Gregory Herek, “Attempts To Change Sexual Orientation.” Sexual Orientation: Science, Education, and Policy, accessed 09-20-2012.
3. Joy S. Whitman, Harriet L. Glosoff, Michael M. Kocet and Vilia Tarvydas, “Ethical issues related to conversion or reparative therapy.” American Counseling Association, 05-22-06.
4. “Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts.” American Psychological Association.
5. “Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation (Reparative or Conversion Therapies).” American Psychiatric Association, 05-00.
6. Kelvin Lynch, “APA: Gay conversion therapy can cause depression and suicide attempts.” Examiner, 08-05-09.
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