Bachmann Supported Reparative Therapy for Gays

Rep. Michele Bachmann once worried about "the deep emotional wounds" that gay people suffer and wanted to ensure that so-called reparative therapy was done compassionately, according to her statements around a Love Won Out conference in 2004.

The Republican presidential contender, who ranks among the party's top prospects in several polls, opened a Love Won Out conference with a welcome address and a blessing, according to a report distributed about the event first covered by Think Progress.

"I know that Love Won Out will present the truth about homosexuality and present it in a compassionate and loving manner," Bachmann said of the group, which disagrees with findings by the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association that it's impossible to change a person's sexual orientation.

At the time of her speech, she was a state senator in Minnesota and was known for authoring a proposal to amend the state's constitution to banning same-sex marriages. A similar ban was approved this year by state lawmakers and will go before voters in 2012.

"Those of us working to safeguard marriage from redefinition by radical judges must inform our efforts with an understanding of the deep emotional wounds that many in the homosexual community carry," she said in a statement reported by The Christian Post. "I look forward to welcoming Minnesotans and residents of surrounding states to hear the message of healing that is possible."

While a state senator, Bachmann also supported author Janet Boynes, who wrote Called Out: A Former Lesbian's Discovery of Freedom and spoke during the conference.

In 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."

Also endorsing the book is the president of Exodus International, which runs the Love Won Out conferences.

Groups like Truth Wins Out were created to combat myths spread by groups like Exodus, and by extension to combat people like Michele Bachmann.