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02/16/2012

NOM prez in '05: Gay 'change' can 'prevent your child from embracing this destructive way of life'

by Jeremy Hooper

Since Maggie Gallagher's MSNBC denials have brought her and the National Organization for Marriage's not infrequent pushes for "ex-gayness" into a new light, I thought I should remind folks of one more. This one comes from 2005 and finds NOM president Brian Brown -- who just this past year touted a (flawed, deeply faith-based) "ex-gay" study by saying, "Even those who disagree with us about gay marriage (or Christian sexual ethics) should feel good about this this scientific verification of the possibility of free will triumphing over desire. We are all more than our instincts, sexual or otherwise" -- advocating for Exodus International's so-called "Love Won Out" program of "gay" "change." In fact Brian, who was then serving as the head of the Family Insititute of Connecticut, called it a way for parents to "prevent your child from embracing this destructive way of life":

9/1/2005
(click to enlarge)
“LOVE WON OUT” CONFERENCE IN BOSTON ON OCT. 29TH [Brian Brown]  On October 29th, 2005, Focus on the Family will be holding a Love Won Out Conference at Tremont Temple Church, 88 Tremont Street in Boston, MA. A complimentary Pastor’s Breakfast will be held Sept. 8th from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Tremont Temple Church for clergy wishing to learn more about the conference.  With Connecticut’s same-sex civil union law going into effect one month from today, pastors, parents and other concerned citizens will be increasingly forced to face issues relating to homosexuality. The Family Institute of Connecticut, therefore, strongly recommends that our members attend Love Won Out in Boston.  At the conference, you will hear from nationally known experts who have firsthand experience with the seldom-told side of the homosexual issue. You’ll learn how to minister to a loved one who’s dealing with homosexuality, respond to misinformation in our culture, defend biblical beliefs and prevent your child from embracing this destructive way of life.  Ministers who attend the Sept. 8th Pastor’s Breakfast will be Focus on the Family’s guests for a complimentary breakfast and morning seminar that will equip them to more effectively convey the truth about homosexuality, compassionately without compromising. Three of Love Won Out’s keynote speakers will share their testimonies and address specific topics.
Family Institute of CT (archive)

It's possible that Brian has himself changed in the ensuing 6.5 years. Although considering his aforementioned "change" advocacy from 2011, that seems unlikely.

Plus it's just so foundational. I know lots of people who oppose same-sex marriage but who would never position homosexuality as something "destructive" from which someone can or should be "changed." So that Brian, while heading up Connecticut's largest "pro-family" group and therefore coming in contact with LGBT people/concerns on a daily basis, would even have the mind to go to there? Well it says so much about what is really underlying his beliefs. So much about what is fueling NOM.

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*EARLIER: A roundup of some other "change"/ celibacy/ gay-is-fundamentally-broken advocacy from the house of NOM

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