MSNBC Article on Ex-Gay Conversion Therapy

Read the MSNBC.com article "Most gays, psychologists reject conversion" and go to the on-line poll here to vote on whether "gays can change".

The ex-gay movement is a “big industry,” said Dr. Doug Haldeman, a psychology professor at the University of Washington who is president of the Association of Practicing Psychologists.

The fact that Focus on the Family was able to draw more than 1,200 people to its conference two weeks ago is troubling, said Haldeman, who co-wrote the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Clients. So-called conversion therapies are ineffective and dangerous, he said, because “sexual orientation can’t be changed.”

Focus on the Family and allied ministries, such as Exodus, Day Seven and CrossOver, preach that hatred and confrontation are wrong. A cornerstone principle of such ministries is the injunction to “love the sinner but hate the sin.”