July 2, 2013

The following excerpts are the beginning of the article “First-Ever Ex-Gay Pride Month to Be Held in DC This Month” by Melissa Barnhart on the Christian Post website: “Members of the ex-gay community are celebrating the first-ever ‘Ex-Gay Pride Month’ and have asked President Obama to issue a proclamation to recognize the rights of the ex-gay community and to commemorate their month, just as he’s done for the LGBT community with ‘Gay Pride Month’ in June.”

“In a letter sent to Obama on June 18 to request his action and acknowledgement of the tens of thousands of Americans who are seeking equality, Christopher Doyle, the co-founder of Voice of the Voiceless (VoV), requested a meeting with the president or a senior member of his civil rights staff to ‘discuss tolerance for the ex-gay community and how the White House can ensure equal access for ex-gays in the nation’s capital, which is the only jurisdiction that recognizes ex-gays as a legally protected class.’”

“Doyle told The Christian Post that the VoV has contacted the White House Office of Public Engagement several times to request a meeting, but said they’ve been ‘given the run-around.’”

“‘They’re very interested in protecting the LGBT rights organizations and the LGBT community because they’re getting a lot of money from them,’ he said. ‘We’re not going to wait for any president or any Congress to give us our rights. We’re declaring July as the first Ex-Gay Pride month. If they want to support us, and get in this century and understand that people leave homosexuality and change every day, then they can do that. If they want to continue to live in the Stone Age and claim that people were born gay and they can’t change, well, that’s their choice, too, we’re not going to wait for them.’” …