Tony Perkins, the president of the
Christian conservative Family Research Council (FRC), has described
“ex-gay” therapy as a way for gays to find “wholeness.”
Perkins made his claims while speaking
to Arthur Goldberg, founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives for
Healing (JONAH), the “ex-gay” group whose practices the Southern
Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claims in a lawsuit violate New Jersey's
Consumer Fraud Act.
(Related: Chaim
Levin on undergoing “ex-gay” therapy: It wasn't kosher.)
Goldberg denied the SPLC's claims that
he has defrauded clients by promising them that his group could alter
a person's sexual orientation from gay to straight. He compared the
lawsuit to someone suing Weight Watchers for failing to lose weight
on their program.
“The lawsuit, I would say it looks
frivolous to me, it's kind of novel,” Perkins
said on Washington Watch Weekly. “Their using a
consumer law, consumer fraud is what they're challenging here.”
“I think we've got to be very clear
here. You're here to help those who want help and it's a
compassionate help, a non-judgmental help for those seeking a
wholeness that has been eluding them in their current lifestyle.”
“Precisely,” Goldberg said in
agreement.