February 26, 2011

Greg Quinlan, president of Parents and Friends of Ex-gays and Gays (PFOX), spoke before the Maryland State Legislature in February of 2011 urging the legislators to stop the effort to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. His argument was both compelling and informative, backed by facts. Following are excerpts from his testimony.

“I am an ex-gay. That means a former homosexual for those of you who don’t understand the term ‘ex-gay.’ … “There is no replicated, scientific study supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality.” That’s a quote from the American Psychiatric Association May 2000. … Why does the government feel it necessary to accommodate a small sexual minority based on a sexual identity that has no basis in genetics or biology?”

“However, homosexuality does have a strong etiology in sociological and psychological behavioral formation. Actual change in sexual orientation is documented in professional literature since the ninetieth century … There have been thousands of people like me who have left the homosexual lifestyle as an act of their will, a right of self-determination, a right that I hope this body would support. …”

“I personally know many other men and women who have left the homosexual lifestyle, renounced their homosexual identity, and are now living productive heterosexual lives, many of them married with children.”

“Medical professionals support freedom of right to change. Some people experience change in sexual orientation without therapy. Many medical professionals agree that sexual intention is neither innate or inborn nor immutable. Sexual orientation is more fluid than fixed. There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation.”

“What is successful change in sexual orientation? Like other challenges success and change in sexual orientation is defined along a continuum ranging from a change of behavior to a reduction or even an elimination of unwanted homosexual attractions … Success in changing sexual orientation range from 30 to 70 percent, which is exactly similar to the treatment of depression or drug abuse or eating disorders.”

“We also have to note that in these jurisdictions across the world that have accepted homosexual marriage and have codified it, the rates of suicide among people who identify as homosexual does not change. Drug abuse does not change. The infidelity and promiscuity of the homosexual lifestyle does not change. Nothing changes about the behavior when you codify it, nothing.”

“I have been a health care professional for over thirty years. I have personally watched over a hundred of my friends and acquaintances die of AIDS before I quit counting. There have been more since I stopped counting, and I am personally an eyewitness and a victim of homosexuality and the damage it brings to families and society. Codifying homosexual relationships, whether it’s domestic partnerships, civil unions, or same sex marriages is a harm to the very people who elected you and that you swore an oath to protect.”

“In the strongest possible terms I urge you to slow down. I urge you to stop and truly ponder the actions that you’re taking. Changing the definition of the basic foundation of society, man/woman marriage, the core of a family, is an extreme action, unnecessary, and nothing more than an act of political will.”

“Something as important and vital as this should be decided by the people of Maryland in a referendum. This should not be decided by a small band of elitist legislators, and I urge you to put this to a vote of the people, because I honestly believe this is above your pay grade.”

Note: Greg Quinlan’s testimony before the Maryland State Legislature can be viewed on U-Tube.