Tuesday, August 15, 2006

American Psychological Association criticizes “ex-gay” proponents

It was a sad little affair. The political leaders of Exodus International, along with their faux-scientific group, NARTH, decided to hold a little protest at the national meeting of the American Psychological Association to get them to change their policies about gay people. Unfortunately, as indicated in this press release, the APA doesn't base their opinions on religion. They require sound science, something the exgay movement has never bothered supplying (because they can't -- there IS no science to support their religious beliefs).

Here is a press release:

The American Psychological Association (APA) released a statement Thursday criticizing groups such as Focus on the Family for creating an “environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish” by erroneously labeling homosexuality an illness and advocating for so-called “conversion therapy.” The statement was issued during the APA’s annual convention, which drew an anti-gay protest led by the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Truth Wins Out held its own event to counter NARTH; the APA issued this statement:

“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.”

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