Ads link homosexuality, child abuse
on Virginia TV
Commercials featuring 'ex-gays' funded by church
By KATHERINE VOLIN
Friday, December 02, 2005
http://www.washblade.com/....
Critics of a new series of television commercials sponsored by a local church claim the ads imply a link between homosexuality and sexual abuse, a contention disputed by the pastor at the church.
Lynn Carter, associate pastor at Arlington Assembly of God, in Arlington, Va., said the ads were intended only to extend a welcome to people who might have felt demonized by Christianity.
The commercials spotlight at least two "ex-gays." One commercial features a man, the other features a woman, and each says they were sexually abused as a child and later lived a "gay lifestyle." Both commercials end with the person claiming they are now heterosexual and Christian.
Gay activist Wayne Besen, author of "Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals & Lies behind the Ex-gay Myth," said that linking sexual abuse with homosexuality is a familiar message from ex-gay groups.
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