Tag Archives: homosexuality
Liam Geraghty writes:
“Disgusted to see this ‘Promoted’ tweet appearing on my Twitter feed yesterday. The link goes to a website which encourages reparative (conversion) therapy (gay to straight). Only last month the Supreme Court in the States turned away a legal challenge on California’s ban on gay ‘conversion therapy’, [see below] leaving the ban in place, deeming this kind of therapy to have no scientific merit….”
The interdenominational Christian organisation Exodus International that sought to cure gay people of their homosexual desires has shut up shop after 37 years.
In an open letter to the LBGT community, founder Alan Chambers has apologised for the pain and hurt inflicted on people over nearly four decades saying that the group had “been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.”
There were several years that I conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions. I was afraid to share them as readily and easily as I do today. They brought me tremendous shame and I hid them in the hopes they would go away. Looking back, it seems so odd that I thought I could do something to make them stop. Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there. The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does. As my friends do. As God does.
I am sorry (Alan Chambers, Exodus International)
Gay AA
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Wayne Fahey writes:
From Alive No.181 – one of many. It could have its own web section…
Previously: A Lesson There For Us All
This year marks the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing: the father of both computer science and artificial intelligence: the man whose Enigma decoding process was instrumental in winning World War II.
Arrested for homosexuality in 1952, Turing’s security clearances were revoked, he was barred from consulting work and offered the horrific choice of chemical castration or prison. He chose castration. In 1954, he committed suicide by eating a cyanide-laced apple.
Recently, more than 23,000 people signed an online petition to ask the UK government to pardon Alan Turing for homosexuality, (which, at the time of Turning’s arrest, was considered a crime of “gross indecency”). Yesterday, the motion was dismissed by the House of Lords.
According to Justice Minister Lord McNally (who said that the possibility of a pardon had been under consideration by the government since 2009):
“It is tragic that Alan Turing was convicted of an offence which now seems both cruel and absurd, particularly… given his outstanding contribution to the war effort,” he said.
“However, the law at the time required a prosecution and, as such, long-standing policy has been to accept that such convictions took place and, rather than trying to alter the historical context and to put right what cannot be put right, ensure instead that we never again return to those times.”
UK denies Alan Turing postumous pardon for homosexuality (Forbes)
A previous petition, organised by computer security expert and author, John Graham-Cumming in 2009 led to the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown issuing an unequivocal posthumous apology to Mr Turing on behalf of the Government, describing his treatment as “horrifying” and “utterly unfair”.
In his blog post on Monday John Graham-Cunningham wrote:
It’s interesting, to me at least, that the issue of a pardon was considered in 2009 as this was not something I had been asking for. The government’s response makes clear that they do not consider a pardon appropriate.
Widespread Celebrations But No Pardon For Turing (I Programmer)