Truth Wins Out (TWO)<\/a>, an organization that campaigns against conversion therapy, launched a petition against the app last week. Though it\u2019s been available for three years, Apple very quickly complied with removing the app<\/a>, so now TWO is targeting Google to do the same .<\/p>\n In an open letter TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen applauded Google and Amazon for being LGBTQ-friendly but criticized them for allowing the Living Hope Ministries app to still be available in their stores.<\/p>\n Read the whole letter below:<\/p>\n Dear Mr. Pichai and Bezos:<\/p>\n I want to begin by thanking Amazon and Google on behalf of the LGBT community for their ongoing support. In a country where it is still perfectly legal\u00a0to fire<\/a>\u00a0people in 28 states based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, your dedication to diversity and inclusion is notable. We appreciate your willingness to hire the best and the brightest regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and for creating workplaces where LGBT people can flourish and thrive.<\/p>\n Given your commitment to fairness and inclusion, it is with great surprise, disappointment and regret that you have not swiftly moved to ban the sale of an app that demeans and dehumanizes LGBT people. The app, by Texas-based Living Hope Ministries, targets LGBT youth with destructive messages and misleads vulnerable and desperate people into believing that they can \u201cpray away the gay<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Every respected medical and\u00a0mental health organization<\/a>\u00a0in the world considers attempts to change sexual orientation potentially dangerous. The American Psychiatric Association says that sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) can lead to \u201canxiety, depression, and self-destructive behavior\u201d, including suicide. The American Psychological Association says, \u201cThere is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.\u201d Such \u201ctherapy\u201d is considered so detrimental that fourteen states and the District of Colombia ban practicing it on minors.<\/p>\n Given these documented, verifiable risks, why are Google and Amazon still providing platforms for such an unsafe and misleading product? Indeed, there are real consequences when kids are told that their sexuality or gender identity is wrong and that they are broken. According Dr. Caitlin Ryan\u2019s study published in\u00a0the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics:<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cLGBT teens<\/a> who experienced negative feedback from their family were 8 times more likely to have attempted suicide, 6 times as vulnerable to severe depression, and 3 times more likely to use drugs.\u201d (Caitlin Ryan, San Francisco State University, June 2009).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A new study by Dr. Ryan, who also directs the Family Acceptance Project, reports:<\/p>\n \u201cParent-initiated attempts to change participant\u2019s sexual orientation during adolescence were associated with more negative mental health problems for young adults.\u201d(<\/em>Journal of Homosexuality<\/a>, Nov. 2018)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In addition to the self-harm that results from such noxious \u201cex-gay<\/a>\u201d organizations, the message that they impart to society can also have consequences.\u00a0In 2017,\u00a0the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs\u00a0recorded reports<\/a>\u00a0of 52 hate violence related homicides of LGBTQ people<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>the highest single incident number ever recorded by NCAVP. This number represents an\u00a0<\/strong>86% increase in single incident reports from 2016<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Given these sobering statistics, why are Google and Amazon allowing their platforms to become vehicles for obvious disinformation campaigns that will inevitably lead to discrimination, or worse? The app that you offer from Living Hope does not simply represent honest differences of opinion. The sole mission of the app is stigmatizing LGBT people. If one clicks the app, it is an echo chamber of repetitive, negative messages that portray gay<\/a> people as less-than and inferior.<\/p>\n The app dismisses the opinion of mental health experts by\u00a0comparing homosexuality to an addiction<\/a>causedby\u201cdeep-seated wounds.\u201d It casually trashes the rich and fulfilling lives of most LGBT people by claiming it \u201ccan help homosexuals leave their\u00a0destructive lifestyles<\/a>.\u201d Living Hope repeatedly belittles transgender people by saying they suffer from \u201cgender confusion<\/a>.\u201d The group refers to gay<\/a> men<\/a> as \u201csexually broken guys<\/a>\u201d who can \u201cwalk out of false identities<\/a>\u201d and claims, without evidence, that the \u201cgay<\/a> lifestyle\u201d is \u201cspiritually and physically harmful<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The app also disrespects gay<\/a> Christians by proclaiming that they \u201cteach a false gospel<\/a>\u201d and that homosexuality \u201cfalls short of\u00a0God\u2019s best<\/a>\u00a0for humanity.\u201d The group\u00a0promises to walk \u201cindividuals toward God and\u00a0away from bondage<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In one video<\/a>, featured on Living Hope\u2019s website, the organization seems to suggest that being gay<\/a> is the work of Satan, with the Men\u2019s Ministry Director saying, \u201cGod blessed us with three incredible children,\u00a0whom the devil intended<\/a>\u00a0none of them would be here.\u201d In another video<\/a>, a mother talks about how she rejected her son, \u201cThe\u00a0enemy of our soul<\/a>\u00a0was already working on convincing my husband and I of the lie that our son was gay<\/a> and born that way, and that it was our entire fault.\u201d<\/p>\n Even more disconcerting is the pseudoscientific advice promulgated by Living Hope, which its staff is wholly unqualified to offer. The organization incorrectly tells clients that gay<\/a> people \u201cexperience detachment from their own biblical gender\u201d and that \u201cmany who struggle with SSA (Same Sex Attraction) have issues with abandonment.\u201d Living Hope markets products to kids such as, \u201cWhy? Understanding the Roots of Male Homosexuality and Gender Identity\u201d, as if their untrained, ill-equipped staff is certified in dispensing medical or mental health advice to young clients.<\/p>\n Finally, I submit that Living Hope is grossly misleading clients by not revealing its complete history. For years, the organization was part of the \u201cex-gay<\/a>\u201d umbrella group Exodus International, which had its app taken out of the Apple store in 2011 after Truth Wins Out launched a petition that gathered nearly 150,000 signatures. Two years after the app was removed, Exodus closed its doors\u00a0after acknowledging<\/a>\u00a0that their program\u00a0did not successfully transform<\/a>\u00a0people from gay<\/a> to straight. Living Hope\u2019s affiliation with the now-defunct ministry is not reflected in the group\u2019s app or website, giving the false impression that this ministry has a history of success, when it has one of notable failure.<\/p>\n In conclusion, Truth Wins Out would like Google and Amazon to stop procrastinating and remove Living Hope\u2019s hateful app that deliberately targets LGBT people for stigmatization, discrimination and ridicule. We ask that you follow Apple\u2019s lead and live<\/a> up to your creed of openness and inclusion by removing a misleading and scientifically bankrupt app that has no redeemable value or purpose.<\/p>\n I\u2019d be happy to further discuss this matter, as well as your intended course of action. We can also introduce you to survivors of \u201cex-gay<\/a>\u201d programs who were psychologically harmed by such barbaric work. Every moment that this app remains at your stores, vulnerable LGBT teenagers<\/a> can download it, so time is of the essence<\/p>\n History suggests you are better than this and will protect LGBT youth from a predatory organization that deliberately maligns and misinforms. It is time to do what is right and just by eliminating an app that has the potential to cause significant harm.<\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n Wayne Besen The post Google Is Still Selling Gay Conversion App<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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\nExecutive Director
\nTruth Wins Out<\/p>\n