Apple has removed an app from the
“ex-gay” group Exodus International from its iTunes store.
The
company removed the app on Tuesday after nearly 150,000 people signed
onto an online petition sponsored by Truth Wins Out, a group
founded specifically to counter the claims of “ex-gay”
ministries.
“It's official, the @ExodusInl App is
no longer in the @AppStore,” Exodus International President Alan
Chambers tweeted late Tuesday to his nearly 700 followers.
“Incredibly disappointing. Watch out, it could happen to you.
#freedom.”
A search on iTunes verified the app was
no longer available in the digital store.
Wayne Besen, president of Truth Wins
Out, earlier said he was petitioning for the app's removal because
Exodus' message is harmful.
“Exodus' message is hateful and
bigoted,” Besen wrote on his group's website. “They claim to
offer 'freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ'
and use scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions of
LGBT life to recruit clients. They endorse the use of so-called
'reparative therapy' to 'change' the sexual orientation of their
clients, despite the fact that this form of 'therapy' has been
rejected by every major professional medical organization.”
“But reparative therapy isn't just
bad medicine – it's also very damaging to the self-esteem and
mental health of its victims.”
Besen also claims the app specifically
targets vulnerable gay youth.
“In light of the recent wave of LGBT
youth suicides, this tactic is particularly galling as it creates,
legitimizes, and fuels the ostracism of LGBT youth by their
families.” (A Truth Wins Out video urging Apple to dump the
“ex-gay” app is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
Last year, Apple
removed an anti-gay app after thousands signed onto a similar online
petition.