Gay Student Protest Hopes to Eliminate “Change Therapy” Group
West Palm Beach, Fla. – In a bold move, a group of South Florida university students have set out to discredit the few remnants of the last professional association to claim that homosexuality is a treatable mental illness.
Traditionally, activists have only set out to mute the message of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH,) but these student protestors have decided to initiate an action that will put NARTH practitioners out of business once-and-for-all.
NARTH became a target for the students from Lynn University and Florida Atlantic University when they scheduled their annual convention for Nov 20-22 at the West Palm Beach Marriott Hotel.
The students will focus attention on a 28-page booklet that is supported by 480,000 professionals from every major mental health, medical, and educational association in America, and contrast that to the mere 158 mental health professionals in the NARTH organization.
The booklet, entitled “Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth – A Primer for Principals, Educators, and School Personnel,” was released in Feb 2008 and is a direct attack on NARTH and their supporters.
Further to that, in August 2009, the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation released the findings of their 18-month-long research project. The 138 page report confirmed, yet again, that after hundreds of studies and years of observing client behavior, that “sexual orientation change efforts are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm.”
“NARTH is asking the APA and ACA to back off on their accusations of ethics violations and allow them to continue to do their research,” said Lester Leavitt. “We cannot stand by while parents are taking gay teenagers to a therapist who will put them at risk of suicide or into a lifetime of depression.” Leavitt is the spokesman for the FAU students.
NARTH maintains a loud and influential voice by allowing political groups and religious organizations to register as affiliates.
The protest is assembling in downtown West Palm Beach at 10:00AM on Saturday, Nov 21st. The group will assemble at the corner of Sapodilla and Hibiscus and will march in front of the Kravis Center before arriving at the Marriott Hotel for an 11:00 media event.
Full details are at http://lelandjames.blogspot.com or call Lester Leavitt at 954-290-1771. Stand Up Florida – Media Director
4915 NW 3rd Avenue
Pompano Beach, FL
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