Dateline: 07/10/98
Have you seen the ads yet? You know the ones I mean....the full-page ads sponsored by the Family Research Council and other like groups that let us know (how nice of them) that all we have to do is "pray" and we'll no longer be gay.
Many prominent and respected newspapers have published the ads. Including the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and the popular, if nothing else, USA Today.
The Washington Post ran the ad, then turned the ad and responses thereto into a newstory.
On the good guy front, GLAAD is but one of the many organizations that have come out strongly against the ads, and their message.
Now, by now you know that I'm very much a "free speech" advocate. So, on the face of it one would think I support the right of the newspapers to publish the ads. Right? Well. I'm not so sure this time.
For example, The Los Angeles Times already has a policy of banning ads it finds inappropriate or socially irresponsible. I have the print edition here, and I notice that I still can't find ads for "porno" flicks or gun shops. All of which find a home in the cross-town rival The Daily News. So, it's not as if these newspapers don't already utilize editorial discretion in determining what ads they will and won't run.
What concerns me most about these ads is not their content. We've seen it all before, and for those of us who want to we have more than ample resources to respond to the fallacies contained therein.
We know that the claims that one can readily change their orientation is hogwash and more hogwash.
We know that the American Psychological Association came out strongly opposed to so-called "reparative therapies."
We know that the Bible doesn't really say what they claim it does about homosexuality, and since most of the passages used "against" us are from the original Torah, the view from a talmudic scholar is both enlightening, and important. - and that many organized religions have made statements which are very supportive.
Of course, on the pro-ad front, the FRC and other groups claim that the ads are merely to help those who have been "sucked into a destructive homosexual lifestyle."
So what's their point? Personally, I think it's all about money. It comes as no surprise to me that Operation Rescue has expanded its operations from anti-abortion to anti-homosexual.
But tell that to the young gay man or woman who is considering coming out to their parents. They are about to broach the subject, when they see one parent turn to the other and say, "Lookie here! Those queers can change!" What a welcoming situation.
All in all ... I think I'm going to write a letter to The Los Angeles Times and let them know that I believe that perhaps a little "editorial discretion" should have entered into this ad decision.
In
pride,
Deborah