News & Opinion
Former Ex-Gay Crusader Alan Chambers Is 'Sorry'
...And 5 Other Things You Need To Know Today.
June 19 2013 6:00 PM EST
December 20 2017 12:58 AM EST
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...And 5 Other Things You Need To Know Today.
1. One day before he and his organization will be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network special God & Gays, Alan Chambers, head of Exodus International, once one of the worst advocates for "ex-gay therapy," has issued an apology for his and his organization's past actions. "I understand why I am distrusted and why Exodus is hated. Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn't change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents," said Chambers, pictured to the left.
2. Lisa Murkowski is now the third Republican U.S. Senator to support marriage equality. Murkowski credits her shift in part on getting to know a lesbian couple in her home state of Alaska. "With the notion of marriage - an exclusive, emotional, binding 'til death do you part' tie - becoming more and more an exception to the rule given a rise in cohabitation and high rates of divorce, why should the federal government be telling adults who love one another that they cannot get married, simply because they happen to be gay?" Murkowski wrote in her announcement. "I believe when there are so many forces pulling our society apart, we need more commitment to marriage, not less."
3. A Housing and Urban Development Department study, the first of its kind, found that American gay and lesbian couples are routinely discriminated against when it comes to renting apartments and homes. "Straight couples were favored over gay male couples 15.9 percent of the time; straight couples were favored over lesbians 15.6 percent of the time, according to the study," reports ABC News.
4. Equality Florida and likeminded allies have started a "Get Engaged" movement that hopes to overturn the Sunshine States' 2008 ban on same-sex marriage.
5. In its annual Gay Pride Issue, the Village Voice wonders, "Why Don't Lesbians Hook Up Online?"
6. Even if you can't stand the song, the video for Miley Cyrus's track "We Can't Stop" is pretty darn cool.