APA responds to the Narth/Exodus protest

Gay365 is reporting a statement from the APA in response to the Exodus/NARTH protest this morning. I have a call in to the APA press office to verify it since I can’t find it online as yet.

Update: Pam Willenz from the APA confirmed the statement which will be released to the press today:

“For over three decades the consensus of the mental health community has been that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure. The APA’s concern about the positions espoused by NARTH and so-called conversion therapy is that they are not supported by the science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Our further concern is that the positions espoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.”

Here is the AP’s story about the protest.

Changing the tone

I like dialogue and I like spirited discussion but gradually the rhetoric has heated up here on the old blog. I have gotten a few emails from people who would like to comment but feel the heat is pretty hot here. They feel they would have to be snarky and nasty just to survive. I intend to change the tone.

So, if you comment here observe the following:

Posts may be rejected if they include defamation, threats, namecalling, profanity, ad hominem attacks, disruptive comments, or anything else that I think creates a hostile environment for people to engage in civil dialogue. Disagreement is fine as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

Some comments are mixed. I may contact a commenter with the remedy if I have time. If you don’t see your comment up within 24 hours, you can assume it was rejected. If that is the case, and you want to complain, send an email.

I have the comment moderation on and I know how to use it.

Ex-Ex-gay?

There may be a new meaning to the term ex-ex-gay soon. In the comments section of the post just prior to this one, Michael Bussee quoted Alan Chambers, Ex. Dir. of Exodus speaking about the term ex-gay as follows: “We need to do away with the term entirely and make sure it’s never used again.” Mr. Chambers confirmed this quote in an email.

And then later in the comments section, Mr. Bussee says: “I am pleased to announce that Alan Chambers has asked me to join him for a joint press conference to officially RETIRE the misleading term “Ex-gay.”‘ No word as yet if or when this might occur but from my vantage point, this would be a fine development. I have used the term “post-gay” before in discussing what change means, but I am not sure that it is an improvement. Probably some people who like the term ex-gay as a designation of identity might be bothered by this. I suspect Mr. Bussee and Mr. Chambers dislike the term ex-gay for different reasons. How ironic. My understanding is that Mr. Bussee originally favored the term ex-gay. Now 30 years later, he may be aided by the current Exodus leader in order to discourage its use.

I wonder if exgaywatch will also retire?