'Ex-Gay' Billboard Draws Attention, Offers Hope to Homosexuals
by Bill Fancher and Jody Brown
September 29, 2004
(AgapePress) - A billboard along one of the nation's most heavily traveled interstate highways is offering hope to many homosexuals who thought they had no choice in their sexuality.
The controversial sign, placed near the I-64/I-95 interchange in the Richmond, Virginia, area, delivers the following message: "Ex-Gays prove that change is possible." The billboard, which also displays the picture of a former homosexual who left that lifestyle, was placed by the organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, or PFOX.
PFOX director Regina Griggs says the sign is drawing "lots of attention" because many people have not been told that change is possible. "[They] are not familiar with scientific studies that have proven there has never been a gay gene found," she explains, adding that many of those contacting the group say they believed there was a "gay gene" and they could not change -- but that the billboard has given them hope.
"A lot of young men, predominantly college-age kids, that say they don't believe this [and ask] 'How can change be possible?' They believe that they were born homosexual," Griggs says. PFOX quotes the following from a May 2000 report from the American Psychiatric Association: "There are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology [cause or origin] for homosexuality."
The PFOX head feels the whole nation needs to be made aware that no "gay gene" exists -- and that more and more research is finding that change is possible for all homosexuals. "As a nation we have sat back, we've not had a voice; media has not given us an opportunity to present verifiable information that change is possible," she says.
She also points out a double standard demonstrated by many in the homosexual community. "Homosexual activists seek total acceptance and tolerance for their decision," she notes, "but they openly discriminate against ex-gays' decisions to leave homosexuality."
But she says the fact that "ex-gays" indeed exist proves that change is possible and that there are hope and answers for those who do not want live homosexually. "It is time that ex-gays got respect, honesty, and equality," Griggs adds.
PFOX convenes its annual conference in Alexandria, Virginia, October 8-10. Speakers at the conference include educator and therapist Dr. Warren Throckmorton, who will be showing his new video I Do Exist!, which tells the stories of five ex-homosexuals who now boldly proclaim that people can change.
