Counselors Assoc. Stifles Ex-'Gay' Perspective from Conference
by Jim Brown
April 4, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An ex-"gay" group claims it was the victim of viewpoint discrimination last weekend at a school counselors' conference in Richmond, Virginia. PFOX -- Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays -- says it was kicked out of the annual convention of the Virginia School Counselor Association for promoting change from the homosexual lifestyle.
According to PFOX spokesman Dr. Warren Throckmorton, the conservative group had applied for, paid for, and received permission to exhibit at the conference -- but school counselors objected to some materials on the PFOX table. Throckmorton says even though PFOX removed the offending materials, which included a brochure that asks "Can Gays Change?", the two female representatives for PFOX were ordered to dismantle their table.
"And I think that's a sad thing," Throckmorton offers. "I think it's a shocking thing, really, that these two grandmothers, who were there out of concern for kids and safety in schools and kids making good decisions about their sexuality, ... would be treated in such a manner."
Throckmorton explains that the counseling association had hotel staff and police order the PFOX representatives to leave. He admits to seeing some hypocrisy in the association's actions.
"The irony is lost, I guess, on them that the silencing of a perspective is intolerant," he says. "And no one there at the PFOX table was advocating any harm to anybody; in fact, they were advocating safety for all."
Throckmorton says such efforts to silence the ex-"gay" perspective are intolerant and chill free speech. "It's pretty hard to see how the advocacy of that perspective could be considered damaging to parents or children or any of the attendees at the convention," he states.
Officials with the Virginia School Counselor Association were unavailable for comment.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
