National Public Radio aired interviewsof Journey into Manhood’s Rich Wyler and ex-ex-gay Peterson Toscano this morning on the subject of sexual orientation change.
The segment omitted some key details of Rich Wyler’s involvement in gay change therapy. I posted my quick thoughts on the subject over at Religion Dispatches.
Most troubling to me about the portrayal of what Rich advocates is the omission of the touch therapy and highly provocative, ball bat wielding elements of JiM. The NPR reporter Alix Spiegel made Rich’s work sound like calm cognitive therapy. Hardly.
Here is a Nightline segment about JiM:
As I pointed out at RD, JiM is fringe even in ex-gay circles.
Category: sexual orientation
Office of Ugandan LGB advocacy group vandalized
Ghanaian prof says homosexuality not a US import
Two Saturdays ago, I interviewed Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr by phone about the recent upsurge of anti-gay rhetoric in Ghana. Dr. Okoampa-Ahoofe is a Ghanaian who now lives in the US and is a college professor at Nassau Community College. I intend to incorporate his input in future articles on Ghana. For now, I am just going to refer to a column he wrote for Myjoyonline about our interview. He included just about everything we discussed so it is a pretty efficient way to get across his views.
In short, he is concerned about the level of anti-gay sentiment in Ghana and hopes the country does not move toward a Ugandan approach. Please note, this is a Ghanaian observing Ghana and making this comparison.
Bachmann avoids ex-gay therapy questions again
Today, at the National Press Club, Michele Bachmann was asked about her husband’s clinic. She avoided the question again.
This time there was no shoving or tossing mics, but she again dodged the issue.
Of course, these are fair questions for people to ask. She will get these questions until she can come up with some narrative about the clinic that will satisfy the media. Obama had to deal with his church, his business dealings (Bachmann is co-owner of the clinic), his family, his birthplace, etc., etc., and so will she. When he didn’t answer questions, his opponents insinuated he had something to hide. None of this is strange or new. What is remarkable to me is that after three weeks she still has no coherent reply.
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill on a fast track
I spoke yesterday with Ugandan MP Hon. Otto Odonga who told me that the Parliament will bring back the Anti-Homosexuality Bill soon, perhaps “by the end of August.” Although the re-introduction of the antigay bill had been expected, Odonga said the bill is “back from the perspective of the new parliament starting from where the last parliament ended.”
Since the end of the Eighth Parliament, observers have speculated that the Ninth Parliament might not require re-introduction of bills deliberated upon but not passed. Two weeks ago, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, held a meeting with the chairpersons of all Parliament’s committees to orient them to their new positions. Also, in order to save time and expense, the group decided to bring forward at least three bills to the new session: the Government Assurances Bill, the Marriage and Divorce Bill and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
In a prior post, I outlined a pretty close approximation of what the Parliament will be debating.