Religion
Janet Boynes Claims She's Ex-Gay and Anderson Cooper Won't Let Her Talk About It
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Janet Boynes Claims She's Ex-Gay and Anderson Cooper Won't Let Her Talk About It
Janet Boynes Claims She's Ex-Gay and Anderson Cooper Won't Let Her Talk About It
The Bachmanns' "ex-gay" friend went on the Dr. Drew show Monday and complained that more people like her aren't on TV.
"Dr. Drew, you always have a tendency of putting people on your show that is against Christianity," said author Janet Boynes. "Why don't you, Anderson Cooper, and Ellen DeGeneres, Barack Obama put people on their show or bring them to the White House that [believe] change is possible. You never give us the opportunity to come on the show and really tell our side of the story. It's always one sided."
Boynes is the author of Called Out: A Former Lesbian's Discovery of Freedom, and several times she inferred that anyone who doesn't agree with her on the possibility of praying the gay away is anti-Christianity. She claimed there are "thousands of people out there" like her.
CNN's Anderson Cooper has examined whether the therapy she's advocating works and uncovered tragic consequences in a 2011 serieson discredited psychologist George Rekers.
Marcus Bachmann has had Boynes's book on display in his Christian counseling clinic, which a hidden-camera sting by Truth Wins Out found to be offering to change patients' sexual orientation through prayer -- a practice that has been found to be damaging by the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association. California lawmakers are considering outlawing it for anyone under the age of 18.
But it isn't just Marcus Bachmann who aligns with Boynes. While a state senator, his wife, Michele Bachmann, wrote a testimonial on the author's website. Bachmann is quoted as saying, "Janet's life is a powerful testimony of the changes that Christ can bring through His healing power from the bondage of sin." She adds that everyone should meet Boynes and learn about "a deep relationship of forgiveness from the Father. I hope everyone listens closely to Janet's compelling testimony."
Boynes told Dr. Drew that she never had an intervention. "It's not about an intervention," she claimed. "My intervention was Jesus Christ."
Boynes said anyone who was unable to change their sexual orientation just didn't really want to in the first place. But a caller who had undergone so-called reparative therapy said he'd gone through it and witnessed the damage it caused.
Watch the complete video via ThinkProgress below.