OMAHA, Neb.-
About 1,000 churchgoers and others were told at a weekend conference held by Focus on the Family that gay people can become straight by turning to support, counseling and God.
Discussions at the “Love Won Out” conference held by Colorado Springs, Colo.,-based Focus on the Family included how religious parents can love a gay child without changing beliefs and how those who have gay desires can overcome them.
“We know that God does not make gay people,” said Melissa Fryrear, one of several speakers who spoke about struggling with homosexuality.
The group has similar conferences planned this year in Irvine, Calif., and Indianapolis, according to the conference Web site.
Fryrear said she believed she was lesbian 15 years ago but fought her sexual orientation through Christianity.
“(The Lord) pushed all the counterfeit love out of my life,” Fryrear said.
A group of about 25 protesters stood on an overpass with signs opposing the event, which was held at Trinity Church on Saturday.
“My viewpoint is that I don’t think there is anything wrong with me,” said Sarah Asher, who held up a sign that read, “Love wins when you come out.”
“Even if there were a real fix, I would not change who I am,” said Asher, 23.
During the conference, two church members brought a box of sandwiches and bottled water to the protesters, which Asher called a kind but probably insincere gesture.
“The heart of the (conference) message is still, ‘We think you’re wrong, we think you need to change, we think you need to be fixed,” Asher said.
A coalition of churches and gay advocacy groups also held a gay affirmation event Friday night in lieu of picketing the event.
The American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association declared in the 1970s that homosexuality was not a mental disorder and did not warrant a “cure.”
Members of the clergy and others of Christian faith often point to Biblical injunctions against homosexuality. Islam is among other religions that also forbid such same-sex relationships.
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On the Net:
Love Won Out conference:
Focus on the Family:
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald,
