Ex-gay activist Stephen Bennett has suffered from questionable finances for years — and 2007 was no exception.
The longtime professional ex-gay, who has yet to document his past gay life or alleged gay friends, says he needs $15,000 per month so that he may continue to parrot the American Family Association’s antigay paranoia in 2008.
If successful with his latest fund-raising pitch, Bennett and his wife, Irene, would collect $180,000 for the year — significantly more than Alan Chambers, president of the world’s largest ex-gay network Exodus International, who claims to earn less than half that amount.
In 2006, Bennett asked his rag-tag following of antigay parents for $100,000 up-front and $20,000 per month — apparently to pay off debts incurred from a trip to Jerusalem, a radio show, and a cyberchurch with no published street address.
Unlike some ex-gay activists, Bennett makes no effort to support would-be ex-gays. His activities include a 2004 antigay billboard campaign in downstate New York; agitation against Brokeback Mountain and Connecticut gay civil unions in 2005; and street-preaching gigs in Provincetown, Mass. Most recently, Bennett joined antigay activist Peter LaBarbera in Michigan to campaign against Mitt Romney.
Hat tip: Good As You
