Why Did DC Give PFOX Executive Director an Award?

Wayne Besden at Truth Wins Out surprised me yesterday with this one. It seems the city which is central to our suburbia gave Regina Griggs at PFOX an award "In recognition of your dedication, commitment, and outstanding contributions as Executive Director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays." Washington DC's Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the certificate, and PFOX displays it on their website HERE. The award was given in November, I wasn't aware of it, were you?

PFOX exists to undermine LGBT people by pretending they are gay because they choose to be, and insisting that they can change. Their passive aggressive approach is to pretend that they love everybody, including that oppressed group of people -- thousands of them! hundreds of thousands of them! -- who are "former homosexuals." This persecuted population, also known as "straight people," is, according to PFOX, constantly harassed and discriminated against. The absurdity of their argument sabotages legitimate efforts by actually persecuted groups to get legal protections, and provides leverage for anti-gay bigots to lobby against equal rights for LGBT people.

From Truth Wins Out:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Contact: Wayne Besen, TWO Executive Director
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org

‘Ex-Gay’ Lobby Group Peddles Junk Science and Misleads Public On LGBT Issues

NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out (TWO) called on Adrian Fenty, the mayor of Washington, D.C., to quickly explain how Regina Griggs, an activist with Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays, (PFOX) received a certificate of appreciation. PFOX touted the honor in a press release and is displaying a copy of it on its website.

“We call on mayor Fenty to explain how a pusher of anti-gay propaganda and junk science received a certificate of appreciation,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “It is outrageous and surreal that one of the most dishonest and divisive organizations in Washington would be honored.”

According to a gushing PFOX press release:

The government of the District of Columbia has awarded a certificate of appreciation to Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX). The certificate, signed by D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, recognizes Griggs for her “dedication, commitment, and outstanding contributions as Executive Director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.”

“Regina’s award is well-deserved,” said Greg Quinlan, President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays. PFOX presented the award to Griggs last week in honor of her ten years of volunteer service to parents and the ex-gay community.

“Regina has served as executive director without pay. Instead, she prefers that donations be used to develop resources for families and teens, to promote unconditional love for all regardless of sexual orientation, and to seek equal access and protection for the ex-gay community. Her dedication is unparalleled.”

PFOX is a dangerous organization that promotes reparative therapy, a fringe practice rejected by every respected medical and mental health organization in the nation. Attempts to change sexual orientation are condemned by the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association and The American Academy of Pediatrics.

PFOX’s is an irresponsible organization that potentially places children in harms way. The organization’s speaker’s bureau is run by Arthur Abba Goldberg, a former Wall Street criminal mastermind who was sent to prison in 1987 for committing bond fraud. PFOX’s former President, Richard Cohen, was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association for malpractice.

PFOX is a political front group founded by the Family Research Council in an effort to use so-called “ex-gays” to lobby in favor of discriminatory laws. The group’s first executive director, Anthony Falzarano regularly smeared gay people claiming, without supporting evidence, that, “70-percent of homosexuals are molested as children.” He also said on CBS News that, “AIDS comes directly from Satan. He uses homosexuals as pawns and then he kills them.”

“PFOX is a group that has long attracted undesirable elements who disseminate demeaning and dehumanizing anti-gay lies,” said TWO’s Besen. “It is mind-boggling that Griggs has been given this honor. Only Mayor Fenty can clarify what happened, take responsibility, and ensure this kind of grievous insult won’t be repeated.”

Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that defends the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community against anti-gay misinformation, counters the so-called “ex-gay” industry and educates America about the lives of LGBT people. Our goal is to fight for a world where LGBT individuals can live openly, honestly, free of discrimination and be true to themselves. TWO Calls On DC Mayor To Explain Why PFOX Activist Received Honor

Washington DC and the surrounding suburbs have a vibrant gay community that plays an important role in shaping the personality of this unique region. The mayor's blatant insult to that community really does call for an explanation.