(A very heavily made-up Greg Quinlan, left)
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays sent out, yet another, expensive media release across the wire service today. It was its latest attack on the Walt Disney Company for rejecting a nutty shareholders resolution to include so-called ex-gays in its non-discrimination policy.
Of course, PFOX’s real goal is:
1) A publicity stunt to make the organization look like it is actually doing something
2) A slippery attempt to water-down non-discrimination laws and policies.
Here is a quick guide to the nonsense spewed by PFOX on its weird media release and then a glimpse of reality:
PFOX Claim: Greg Quinlan, a PFOX spokesperson said, “Ex-gays remain closeted because they are not protected by diversity policies. Employees who support the ex-gay community are also not welcome to express their views.”
Reality: Ex-Gays are not closeted. They simply do not exist. Washington’s City Paper asked PFOX to identify real, live ex-gays in DC – one of this nation’s largest metro areas, and they were unable to do so. It is extremely difficult to find people to come forward who are not “ex-gay” for pay. That is why we keep hearing Quinlan’s name. He is one of the few examples they have and he has made a living off this gig. PFOX is so desperate for examples that they use Quinlan despite the fact he is an unrepentant sinner, due to his recent divorce. While the Bible is not very clear on homosexuality, it is very clear on divorce.
PFOX Claim: “How can HRC demand gay equality when it refuses to extend equality to others?” asked Quinlan.
Reality: PFOX has opposed every single law or policy that offers equality to LGBT people. So, to paraphrase Quinlan, how can PFOX ask for equality? (Although they already have legal protection since ex-gays are presumably heterosexual)
PFOX’s Claim: “Disney’s equality index score is -0- for ex-gays and their supporters.”
Reality: PFOX and other ex-gay groups do not have an equality score index.
PFOX’s Claim: Disney should treat former homosexuals with the same respect and benefits its gives to homosexuals.”
Reality: If PFOX can’t find “former homosexuals” who are not paid, political operatives, how do they expect Disney to do so? And, once again, if so-called ex-gays exist they are now heterosexual, thus protected by non-discrimination laws and policies. What PFOX is essentially saying is that ex-gays do not really exist and are not heterosexual. It is a very incongruous, convoluted message that makes no sense. PFOX has been pushing this insane strategy for several years and it has gone nowhere. Are these people insane?
PFOX Claim: “Last week HRC celebrated the first gay marriages in Washington DC, our nation’s capital. But there is one victory HRC did not celebrate. And that’s the DC Superior Court’s ruling that ex-gays are a legally protected class under the D.C. Human Rights Act.”
Reality: The court did not say that ex-gays constitute an explicitly protected class. The court reversed an earlier ruling that ex-gays are *not* a protected class, but it did not state that they *are* a protected class in D.C.
The court rationalized that, on the basis of the city’ unusually expansive Human Rights Act which defines sexual orientation by “preference or practice,” an ex-gay might hypothetically seek protection on the basis of a mutable decision not to “practice” homosexuality anymore. However, the court found that no such discrimination had occurred in the case of the National Education Association.
Has PFOX failed to notice it is spinning its wheels and not accomplishing anything? They can lie and spin the facts – but they will never get anywhere. Of course, what else can one expect from Greg Quinlan. He began his “ex-gay” career by claiming he had once been a part of the Human Rights Campaign.
When I worked at HRC, not one person had ever heard of Quinlan. So, much for honesty and integrity. I also wonder why PFOX’s Executive Director Regina Griggs has no pictures. Is she ashamed of her work?
