Ex-gay group Parents and Friends of
Ex-Gays (PFOX) is asking for financial support similar to what is
given by the government to gay groups, the group said in a press
release.
Ex-gay groups believe that being gay
can be “cured,” most often through prayer.
PFOX says they would like to receive
donations equal to what gay groups Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) receive from
government-sponsored corporations Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
“We support individuals' rights to
self-determination,” Regina Griggs, executive director of PFOX,
said in a statement. “We support families who have homosexual
loved ones. We support those who come out of homosexuality. We
provide outreach and educate teens on same-sex attractions.”
“We would like equal money,” she
said. “We want the same financial opportunity that gay groups
enjoy.”
The Freddie Mac Foundation has given
$125,000 to gay groups since 2005, while the Fannie Mae Foundation
donated about $80,000 in the past decade, PFOX said.
“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a
long history of making smart investments in communities and causes
that are consistent with their institutional values,” said PFLAG
Director of Communications Steve Ralls. “Groups like PFOX, which
advocate harmful 'therapies' for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender young people, hardly fall into that category.”
In October, PFOX claimed that DC
ex-gays were being discriminated by the city's sexual orientation
anti-discrimination law that does not provide for ex-gays.
“The ex-gay community is the most
bullied and maligned group in America, yet they are not protected by
sexual orientation non-discrimination laws,” Griggs said.
“Shouldn't ex-gays enjoy the same legal protections that gays
enjoy?”
“Loony,” fired back Wayne Besen,
President of Truth Wins Out, a group he formed to counter the ex-gay
movement.
“If so-called 'ex-gays' are now
heterosexual, they are covered under the basis of sexual
orientation,” said Besen.
PFOX quotes a Freddie Mac spokeswoman
saying that the group would most likely not meet the corporation's
guidelines that focus on stable homes, foster care and adoption, and
youth development.
Griggs said the process seemed
“agenda-driven.”