Former leader of ‘gay cure’ group marries male partner

[tay]

John Smid was executive director of Love in Action for 18 years






The former head of a group that claimed it could stop people being attracted to those of the same sex has married his male partner.


John Smid, executive director of the ‘Love in Action’ group from 1990 to 2008, said he had tried to deny his own sexuality but had finally come to realise that it would not change.


And in a spectacular departure from his ‘Pray the Gay Away’ sermons, the man who once called homosexuality ‘a sin’ has married partner Larry McQueen.


‘I’ve believed in faith that something was going to happen, and it never did, and so at my age, right now in my life, I don’t have that many good years left in me, and I can’t live like this for the rest of my life, so I said no I’m not willing to keep pushing after something that’s not going to happen,’ he told US news outlet The Lone Star Q.


In a marriage announcement on Facebook, Mr Smid wrote:


‘I gradually got to know [McQueen] over time until we reached a place in our lives that we saw we wanted to get to know one another through a dating relationship.


‘As we dated we shared our vision for life, our personal philosophies, and our faith values. We found a compatibility that was comfortable and exciting.’




‘Ex-gay’ Christian ministry Love in Action courted controversy in 2005 when it promoted a programme that claimed it could change the sexuality of children.




Former leader of 'gay cure' group marries male partner Larry McQueen | Metro News




and




Confessions of an ex-ex-gay leader | Lone Star Q — Texas Statewide LGBT News Source

 

[Sal]

ya just can't get any better than that sweet irony

no more sexual confusion and hate for him

seems he's found his way

 

[Colpy]

Good Lord!

You can't "cure" gay.

People's sexuality falls on a spectrum that includes a full range from absolutely heterosexual to absolutely homosexual. The vast majority of people fall somewhere in that spectrum short of the absolutes.

That means yes, for a lot of people sexual preference is a choice, but a hard one to break after years of positive pleasure conditioning.

And for some there is absolutely no choice.

But you can't "cure" sexual preference in any case, because it is NOT a disease.

 

[gopher]

‘Pray the Gay Away’ sermons

Not sure I heard of that before.

Did a little research and found this:


Pray the Gay Away: The Extraordinary Lives of Bible Belt Gays: Bernadette C. Barton: 9780814786376: Amazon.com: Books

Evidently, it helps sell books and make money for preachers but it doesn't come with a warranty.



.

 

[Twila]

Self loathing is the mental condition.

Acceptance is the cure.

Those who are not personally affected by another persons lifestyle but still feel they need to control or feel they have the right to create legal issues around it, have a mental condition and should seek help.

 

[SLM]

Self loathing is the mental condition.

Acceptance is the cure.

Those who are not personally affected by another persons lifestyle but still feel they need to control or feel they have the right to create legal issues around it, have a mental condition and should seek help.

Well said.