Great opinion piece in EMU's Eastern Echo

Okay, I'll admit, as an Eastern Michigan University alum I am one of those folks that reads almost every issue of the university's paper. In all fairness though, I also read several other university newspapers thanks to my job here at Triangle.

While reading today's issue of the Eastern Echo I came across a great opinion piece - "Gay to straight plan is total bunk." Check it out...

Gay to straight plan is total bunk Centered
By Allegra Lanni / Staff Writer FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2007

I remember my first encounter with an open homosexual. I was in the sixth grade and it was very obvious whose team he was on. He has grown to be one of my very good friends over the years and there has never been a doubt in my mind as to his sexual orientation.

Lately, there have been several prominent religious and political figures who have come out, usually not to be welcomed back into their mainstream roles. Some even undergo gay to straight therapy, even though the American Psychological Association states there is "considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality."

To me, gay to straight therapy kind of seems like undergoing therapy for my eye color. They're green; I was born with green eyes and I will die with green eyes too. I might undergo intensive therapy that tells me that green eyes are wrong and sinful and I could change my wicked ways by putting in color contacts. At the end of the day, I still have green eyes, even though I might be fooling some. Homosexuality, like eye color, is something that cannot be changed. It can be masked if one chooses to do so, but it cannot be corrected by therapy.

The APA clearly states that homosexuality is not a mental illness and so called "conversion therapy" simply does not work. So why then, do such programs exist? Because we live in a world of silly, scared people who are so afraid of homosexuality they feel it needs to be repressed and controlled to the complete detriment of the person. Some of the supporters of conversion therapy are secular, although more often than not, they are religion-based.

The oldest ex-gay conversion group is Love in Action, which began in 1970 and specializes in "Finding Freedom in Jesus Christ." There are links on their Web Site to a myriad of other conversion therapy support groups and ministries. Many of these are based in the South, which doesn't surprise me, as they are the types to drive to church with confederate flags on the backs of their pick-up trucks.

There are many churches, however, that will accept homosexuals and promote love and acceptance among its members. Why can't more people be like this? It is always shocking to me when supposedly religious people can spout off such hate toward a sexual orientation.

More than shocking, it is frustrating. Furthermore, it is completely detrimental to the individuals it targets. According to the Center for Disease Control, gay youth suicides occur at a rate of four times higher than heterosexual youth. Obviously, something needs to change and in my opinion, it isn't the homosexuals. It is our attitude about accepting differences.

For every anti-gay and ex-gay group out there, there is another that is supportive, accepting and an advocate of homosexuals. For that, I am thankful. Do we always need someone to hate in America?

From the early 1700s through the 1960s it was the African Americans who were openly hated and discriminated against by religious and secular groups throughout the country. From the 1970s through to the present, the struggle for gay rights continues. I sincerely hope that we are not a nation of fear and hate, but as more and more ex-gay conversion therapy groups pop up, I am coming to that conclusion.

These groups are ministries of hate and they are completely unfounded on any scientific principles or ideas. Homosexuals simply cannot be converted, much like my green eyes will never be blue. I can put on the colored contacts, but at the end of the day, I am going to take those out and just be me.

Click here to see the article.