John Aravosis of Wired Strategies has pointed out that two "incredible quotes" from this week's Newsweek cover story concerning ex-gay issues and ministries (Newsweek, August 17, 1998, "Can Gays Convert?", by John Leland and Mark Miller) may often become invaluable in debates. " I think pro-gay folks might find these very useful, he told GayToday.

Ex-Gay Leader Says Being Gay Isn't a Choice

The first quote is from Anthony Falzarano, more or less the leader of the ex-gay movement. Aravosis has noticed that Falzarano specifically states in Newsweek that being gay isn't a choice. Activists, he says, "should be quoting this back at the bad guys at every opportunity (with Falzarano and Newsweek as the source, no less), and asking the media to "push Trent Lott, the Family Research Council, Christian Coalition and others on whether they agree with their own experts that gayness isn't a choice."

The Newsweek article reads:

"At Transformation Ministries, [Anthony] Falzarano .... raises his voice a notch. 'Homosexuality is not a lifestyle we chose.'"

The Ex-Gay Agenda: Targeting 3-Year Old Kids

The second quote explains the agenda of Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, who along with Charles Socarides is one of the two best-known psychologists who try to convert gays into straights. Nicolosi is also one of the very few professionals that the right wing has been able to find to trumpet their cause.

Aravosis notes that Newsweek says Nicolosi treats "gay" patients as young as 3 years old!

"I can not imagine that most Americans would be comfortable with an ex-gay agenda that includes messing with the minds of 3-year old boys and girls," says the Wired Strategies director. "Does this mean that the ex-gays, the Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council and others in the religious right support introducing sexuality to a 3-year old child? Do they support trying to get 3 year old boys turned on by girls? Now they're offending my Christian sensibilities."

Aravosis believes openly gay and lesbian debaters should use this quote to cast doubt on the ex-gay movement "in every article and interview" that involves "ex-gay" proselytizing. It seems likely, he says, that there is somewhere a prominent child psychologist, children's organization, or pediatrician who would be willing to say on the record that such therapy sounds very much like child abuse.

"Also," says Aravosis, "if homosexuality is a choice, as Trent Lott and others keep telling us, then why the hell is a 3-year old in therapy at all - he can't have chosen to be gay at that age, so what Nicolosi appears to be saying is that being gay is fixed at an early age and NOT a choice!"

The Newsweek article reads:

"[Dr. Joseph] Nicolosi considers himself a maverick in a profession held captive by the gay political lobby. He is the executive director of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a small band that steadfastly maintains that homosexuality is a disorder that can and should be treated. NARTH represents 'the fringe of the mental-health establishment,' says psychologist Herek. Nicolosi's patients, most controversially, can be as young as 3 years old."