©2005 Sharon Hughes 

A few weeks ago I covered the Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco. In my closing thoughts on our radio show I talked about how the American Psychiatric Association came to remove homosexuality as a mental disorder from their DSM over 30 years ago. 

Dr. Spitzer, an influential member of the APA and one who encouraged the removal, wrote in "Therapeutically Incorrect" about how Dr. Joseph Nicolosi had provided him with a list of ex-gays who were willing to be interviewed by him regarding a survey he was conducting on the possibility of change in sexual orientation. After his interviews with these and other clients he became convinced that change was possible. 

Years later after publishing his findings in the "Archives of Sexual Behavior" in October of 2003 many of his colleagues were extremely unhappy with him, including the Dean of admissions at Columbia University who said it was a disgrace that a Columbia professor would do such a thing.

A colleague of Dr. Spitzer, Dr. Berger, wrote the background information on the actual reason for the removal of homosexuality from the APA's DSM. He writes, "What most people are not aware of is that when a group from the American Psychiatric Association first proposed the removal of homosexuality from the DSM in 1973, it was very clearly laid out in the "protocol" that the move was purely in response to the designation of 'stigma' that those who identified themselves as homosexual claimed that they suffered as a consequence of 'homosexuality' being included as a psychiatric disorder. It was stated very clearly that the proposed removal was not intended to make any scientific statement about homosexuality. However, that distinction has become forgotten by the next generation, who now have come to believe - or have been 'programmed' to believe - that the APA was in fact making a scientific statement about the 'normality' of homosexuality - and by implication its irreversibility."


As America is being faced with the increasing acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage around the world, such as most recently in Spain, it is critically important to know the facts on this issue, including the stated motivations and agenda of its advocates, the existing law and basis for it, the health risks involved, and the self-evident truths our nation was founded upon, such as the universal acknowledgement that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. To make decisions about critical issues such as gay marriage out of emotion, or what we think apart from a full knowledge of the facts, can have disastrous results for individuals and for society.

Having said all this…let me just say, that while I disagree with the gay lifestyle, gay marriage and the activist agenda of the gay movement, especially when it comes to indoctrinating school children, I hold no animosity towards gay people. You see, I have a nephew who is gay, one of the sweetest young men I know for whom I have a great deal of compassion, because I also know his background and why he has chosen to participate in the homosexual lifestyle. Abuse and rejection by parents do indeed have consequences. 

As a matter of fact, many feminists who hate men with a vengeance where sexually molested and abused by men, often men they trusted in as children. Of course, that doesn't excuse their radical agenda and activities.

However, having said all this…let me say something that is definitely politically incorrect: we can’t allow gay marriage, or any kind of behavior, to be legislated as normal or acceptable simply because of compassion. In the end that doesn’t help anyone. Not the victims, not future generations, no one. Sacrificing truth on the altar of 'love' doesn’t work. It never has. It never will. We need to have compassion, but we also need to have truth…remembering that truth is absolutely necessary for a healthy society. 

I cover more of Dr. Berger's statement on the show as well as give many quotes on the subject for our "In Their Own Words" segment. Hear the show (See 7/15/05)


Related:
San Francisco Gay Pride
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/living/gay/pride2005 

Pictures of SF Parade
http://www.shooter.net/pride.2005.gallery/ 

"The Overhauling of Straight America: Waging Peace Part Two" 
http://www.defendthefamily.com/_docs/resources/8142838.pdf  

History of Homosexuality
http://www.thesnug.plus.com/intro1.htm 

Why NARTH?
http://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/academics/lawreview/articles/

14_2kaufman.doc 

Sharon Hughes - Sharon is the President of The Center for Changing Worldviews, and hosts Changing Worldviews TALK Radio which is heard on KDIA AM1640 San Francisco; KGDP AM660 Santa Maria, CA and WITA AM1490 Knoxville, TN, as well as online daily at Oneplace.com. Her column appears on several online news sites including CaliforniaRepublic.org, ChronWatch.com, Ediblog.com, chNews.com, NewsWithviews.com, RenewAmerica.us and others. For further information visit her: Website www.changingworldviews.com  
Blogsite http://changingworldviews.blogspot.com 
Contact: sharon@changingworldviews.com  

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