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P-FOX:
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays
Sponsored link.
Overview:
On 1996-OCT-9, the Family Research Council (FRC) announced the creation of their
new organization Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (P-FOX; later called
PFOX). The Family Research
Council, like many other non-profit organizations with the word "family"
in their title, is a Fundamentalist Christian group who oppose societal acceptance of
homosexual orientation as normal and natural.
The FRC defines PFOX as "a Christ-centered support group for homosexuals and
their families and friends, [which] provides Christian counsel for those who are
struggling with the sin of homosexuality." They consider themselves "to
be the Al-Anon of the ex-gay movement." 1
PFOX is led by Anthony Falzarano, who states that he is a former homosexual. He also
is the Executive Director of Transformation Ex-Gay Christian Ministries.
PFOX is
a national organization of parents and friends of individuals who once were gay or lesbian
and who now regard themselves as either:
 | having a heterosexual orientation |
| having a homosexual orientation, but remaining celibate, or |
| having a bisexual orientation, but forming relationships only with members of the
opposite gender. |
Their web page originally contains two testimonials. One is by a woman who is apparently a
currently celibate lesbian. The other is by their Executive Director, who is apparently a
monogamous bisexual, who is married to a woman. There are no testimonies by individuals
who have actually changed their sexual orientation.
The organization appears to be in decline. Their annual convention attendance has dropped by
50% from 1997 to 1999. As of 1999-APR, the most recent reference to PFOX on the FRC
web site was a minor reference in a CultureFacts column dated 1998-AUG.
Sponsored link:
Beliefs:
In contrast with many other conservative Christian groups, PFOX believes that individuals
do not choose to have feelings of same-sex attractions. However, people choose
whether or not to act on those feelings. By praying, being
saved (repenting of their sin and trusting Jesus as
Lord and Savior), going through reparative therapy and programs of
transformational ministries, PFOX believes that they can be strengthened to lead
a celibate life or to develop heterosexual feelings.
They write: "No one has to
be gay. No one should reject a family member because that family member is 'gay.' But love
does not require accepting behavior that is harmful. In fact, real love in action is a
conscious effort to steer someone away from behavior that can hurt or even kill. It isn't
always easy, but it can be done, as evidenced by the many who have." 2
Professional mental-health organizations reject these beliefs;
they believe that sexual orientation is fixed and not chosen.
One of their favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 27:5, which reads "open
rebuke is better than secret love." Another is I Corinthians 5,
which they interpret as guidance for parents to refuse admittance into their home of their
child's gay partner.
In 1998-MAY-13, Anthony Falzarano discussed a situation that many parents of gays and
lesbians have: 3 what to do if their son or daughter wants to
bring their lover/partner home for dinner. His response was:
| to not permit the friend to come for dinner. |
| parents should "keep their home a holy sanctuary" |
| allowing the friend to come to dinner may be interpreted as an acceptance of the son or
daughter's "lifestyle choice." |
| many parents feel that their "parenting mistakes" may be responsible
for leading their children "down the path to homosexuality." |
Locations:
They have chapters in 20 cities as of 1997-OCT. By 2006, they had opened more
than 38 chapters, including:
| Los Angeles and San Diego, CA. |
| Grand Junction - Eckert, CO. |
| Ft. Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, and West Palm Beach, FL. |
| Glenville, GA. |
| Des Moines - Quad Cities, IA. |
| One chapter in ME. |
| Four locations in MD. |
| One location in MI |
| St. Louis, MO. |
| Buffalo, Rochester & New York City, NY |
| Canton and Cleveland, OH. |
| Oklahoma City, OK |
| Erie, Dannville, Altoona and Pittsburgh, PA |
| Columbia, Spartanburg-Greenville SC. |
| Chattanooga and Memphis, TN. |
| San Antonio and El Paso, TX |
| Five chapters in VA |
| Washington DC |
| Oshkosh, WI. 8 |
PFOX conferences:
They hold annual conferences each spring.
| 1997 conference: The first conference had 250 attendees. |
| 1998 conference: The meeting was held in McLean VA starting MAR-6. About
300 people attended. Speakers included a Alveda King, niece of the late Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Also addressing PFOX were a Texas Supreme Court Justice (parent
of an ex-gay), two ex-lesbians, an ex-transvestite, and a representative of Transformation
Ministries. Workshops dealt with homosexuality and the culture, the root causes of male
homosexuality, and how the 'gay' church is warping holy scripture. Anthony
Falzarano,
the president of PFOX presented a plaque to Gary Bauer, FRC president. It read "For
your Christ-centered response to the recovering homosexual community and their families.
Matthew 25:36 — 'I was sick and you comforted me." (In other locations on
the FRC site, Falzarano is referred to as the National Director or the Executive Director
of PFOX). There was a minor disruption of the conference by two members of the Lesbian
Avengers group: they passed out fliers and pasted stickers on restroom mirrors. |
| 1999 conference: The third annual meeting was in Washington and
attracted about 120 people. 5 Its slogan was: "Reclaiming
the Rainbow." Excerpts from Anthony Falzarano's speeches include:
 | A reference to Matthew Shepard, the gay man who was tortured to death in Wyoming: "...that
poor unfortunate boy in, where
was it? South Dakota? That man was a predator to heterosexual men." |
| "We're here; we're ex-queer; get used to it." |
| "The spirit of the Anti-Christ is in the gay political movement." |
| A reference to the ex-gay movement being the leper of Christianity. He criticized
churches and individuals for not accepting ex-gays. |
| A reference to a class-action lawsuit that PFOX plans to file against the American
Psychological Association. The suit would hold the APA responsible for the death of
gay youth through AIDS. |
| PFOX's $280,000 per year budget is inadequate to handle the needs of the gay community.
He appealed for support from churches. |
| They hope to add 30 new local chapters by the year 2000. |
The Rev. Earl Fox gave the opening talk. He believes that God abandoned America to fend
for itself because of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on compulsory prayer
in the public school system. He believes that gays could burn off their homosexual
desires through exercise or work. Alan Keyes was the keynote speaker. He said that even if
homosexuality is genetic, gays should remain celibate, just as a married man avoids
committing adultery. He feels that the U.S. Supreme Court will probably overturn federal
and state-level Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs). He believes
that a U.S. constitutional amendment is needed to prevent same-sex marriages in the
future. Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons from NARTH spoke. He has
renamed homosexuality "Same Sex Attraction Disorder (SSAD)." He
believes that SSAD is caused by poor eye-hand coordination, improper parenting, poor body
image or early sexual abuse.
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| 2000 Conference: This was held in Alexandria VA. One of the
speakers, psychotherapist and author Richard Cohen, said: "There's a
tremendous amount of misunderstanding surrounding homosexuality. I call it
the mythology about homosexuality...There is no scientific data that
substantiates a genetic or biologic basis for same-sex attraction. Anybody
can change." Referring to liberal politicians, he commented: "They
have been enrolled into the mythology that 'people are born this way'
and 'people cannot change.' This is not a political or a civil rights or a
human rights issue. It's a moral issue and an issue of psychology...It is
our responsibility as people who believe in hope of healing through
psychology and the responsibility of the religious community to offer hope
and healing to those men and women who wish to change. I don't
call it the gay lifestyle, but the SAD lifestyle, the Same-sex
Attachment Disorder lifestyle. Men are looking for attachment and bonding
with their dads through other men and women are looking for attachment and
bonding with their mothers through other women. The problem is, sex doesn't
heal wounds or fulfill unmet primal needs."
Speaker and writer, Joe Dallas, spoke about the dangers of the demand
for a "monolithic viewpoint" on homosexuality which he
feels is promoted by many gay-rights groups. He differentiated between
acceptance of homosexuals and approval of their behavior. "...to
interact with the sinner is not to legitimize the sin." 7
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References:
- PFOX has a web page at http://www.pfox.org/ They can
be contacted 1017 12th St. NW, Washington DC 20005. Voice phone is (202) 371-2900, Fax is
(202) 371-0378. Email is info@pfox.org
- Lecture given by Bob Knight, Director of Cultural Studies for the Family Research
Council, before the National Press Club, 1996-OCT-9
- Anthony Falzarano, "Guest Q & A," CultureFacts, 1998-MAY-13.
CultureFacts is a weekly FRC fax/Email publication.
- FRC / PFOX publishes a list of ex-gay ministries. You can order a copy at
(800) 225-4008.
- People for the American Way report: "Special eye-witness report:
Parents and friends of Ex-gays," 1998-APR-9.
- PFLAG fact sheet, "Reparative Therapy or Ex-gay Ministries" at: http://www.affirmation.org/article73.htm
- "Conference Notes," at: http://www.pfox.org/postcon.htm
- PFOX Chapters, at:
http://www.pfox.org/
Copyright © 1999 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally published: 1999-APR-10
Updated on: 2006-JUN-03
Author: B.A. Robinson
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