Liberty Counsel
NEWS RELEASE

Contact: PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - 800-671-1776

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2006

Liberty Counsel and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays Launch the “Change is Possible Campaign”

Virginia – Today, Liberty Counsel and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (“PFOX”) kicked off their joint “Change is Possible Campaign.” Liberty Counsel is a national public interest law firm with offices in Florida and Virginia and hundreds of affiliate attorneys in all fifty states. PFOX is a national organization that supports families touched by homosexuality, advocates for the ex-gay community, and educates the public on sexual orientation.

In the past several years, as “tolerance” and “diversity” have become popular buzzwords, there has been a corresponding increase in discrimination and intolerance toward those who have made the decision to leave homosexuality. Former homosexuals have lost their jobs and been physically assaulted because they dared to tell others that people can and do overcome same-sex attractions. Most disturbing is the willingness of homosexual activists to use our youth to advance an agenda. Throughout America’s public schools, staff display “Safe-Zone” stickers with pink triangles, and schools hold diversity days to present the message that people are “born gay,” but schools consistently exclude the message that people can, and have chosen, to change. Given the health risks associated with same-sex behavior, our youth deserve to know that unwanted same-sex attractions can be overcome.

To help students bring this life-saving and life-changing message to their schools, PFOX and Liberty Counsel are encouraging students to take a “Tolerance Test.” Students are asked to distribute literature and put up posters with the message that ex-gays exist, and then report to us the results of their efforts. We also encourage them to start Gay to Straight Clubs, and ask that the ex-gay viewpoint be included in all diversity day presentations that discuss homosexuality. We provide the students with a Students’ Rights Brochure, sample graphics to use to create their own literature, health statistics, and a list of organizations that affirm a person’s decision to leave homosexuality.

Regina Griggs, Executive Director of PFOX, stated: “Far too many confused adolescents experience unwanted same-sex attractions and are told that they must adopt a gay identity. This program will provide them hope, support, and the facts to achieve their goal of overcoming unwanted same-sex attractions because change is possible. Students will also learn to respect others who have chosen to not adopt a gay identity.”

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: “We are confident that this project will help root out intolerance that exists under the guise of tolerance and diversity. There is an ongoing battle over the hearts and minds of our youth. We have an obligation to protect them from the harmful message that people are “born gay” and cannot choose to change.”

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