Former homosexuals are the last invisible minority group in America. The ex-gay movement ensures the safety and inclusion of former homosexuals in all realms of society, and supports the ex-gay community's equal access to all public venues. Ex-gays and their supporters should not have to be closeted for fear of other's negative reactions or disapproval. They do not think something is wrong with them because they decided to fulfill their heterosexual potential. Nor do they believe others should condemn them for the personal decision they have made for their lives. What are some of the discriminatory actions against ex-gays?
Due to media indifference, many Americans are unaware of the widespread intolerance practiced against those who leave homosexuality:
* Unlike gay groups, ex-gay groups like PFOX are routinely denied equal access to participate in public school events, donate books to public school libraries, and present speakers on diversity day.
* Transgenders and cross-dressers are affirmed for changing their gender but former homosexuals are ridiculed for making the decision to change their sexual orientation.
* Ex-gay conferences and seminars across the country are frequently picketed by anti-ex-gay protestors like PFLAG, a parents organization run by a gay activist, and Soulforce, a gay religious organization.
* Presidential candidate Barack Obama was criticized by gay activists for allowing ex-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin to sing at a fundraiser. They insisted that Obama drop the African-American singer from the program. Gay singers did not receive this treatment.
* Harvard University conducted two separate investigations against employee Larry Houston because he discussed his former homosexuality on campus.
* Equality Virginia demanded that Washington DC Metro remove PFOX's subway billboards advocating tolerance for ex-gays.
* An ex-gay volunteer staffing PFOX's exhibit booth at the Arlington County, Virginia Fair was physically assaulted because he refused to recant his ex-gay testimony. Wayne Besen, a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, falsely reported that the assault had never occurred.
* After speaking at an ex-gay conference, Michelle McKinney-Hammond lost her programming on a broadcast station because gay activist Wayne Besen had complained to the station.
* After writing a letter her local newspaper as a concerned citizen, Crystal Dixon was terminated from her job as an Associate Vice President of Human Resources for Toledo University.
An African-American, Dixon challenged the civil rights comparison of race with homosexual behavior. Dixon's letter also revealed that some gay people have overcome unwanted homosexual feelings, as evidenced by the growing popularity of PFOX and other ex-gay organizations.
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