PFLAG Condemns
"Ex-Gay" Conference Endorsed by Palin's Church

Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays condemned an "ex-gay" conference taking place Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska. Love Won Out, which claims to "cure" conferencegoers of homosexuality, has been endorsed by Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's church, the Wasilla Bible Church, according to a PFLAG press release.

Jane Schlittler, president of PFLAG's Anchorage chapter, said in the release that the conference is bad for families.

"The conference's organizers maliciously target often well-meaning parents who are dealing with a difficult issue in their lives, and in the process put their kids' well-being at risk," Schlittler said. "Make no mistake: There is far more 'preying' than 'praying' taking place at these meetings, and far more harming than healing in the doctrine of Love Won Out."

The group asked Palin in the statement to stand up against the conference.

While PFLAG Anchorage did not want to peg Palin as someone who believes that a person could stop being gay, it called on her to "make clear that she, as a mother and a public servant, will not condone, either explicitly or implicitly, such attempts at dividing our families and hurting our kids." (The Advocate)