Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
Thu, November 2, 2023
Prior to launching his political career, Speaker Mike Johnson worked hand in hand with a group promoting “conversion therapy” for gay teens, actively promoting the criminalization of gay sex, and even blaming sexual orientation for the downfall of the Roman Empire.
According to a CNN KFile review that analyzed dozens of the Louisiana Republican’s media appearances between 2006 and 2010, before he entered political office, Johnson spent years providing legal advice to Exodus International, an Orlando-based Christian conversion therapy organization whose practices resulted in quantifiable harm.
He also partnered with the group to run an annual anti-gay event called the “Day of Truth,” a snub of the national youth movement protest “Day of Silence,” which recognizes the silent suffering of LGBTQ teens who are bullied.
According to some experts, Johnson didn’t just pander to anti-gay advocates, “he was the anti-gay and ex-gay advocate,” Wayne Besen, the executive director of Truth Wins Out, told CNN.
“I mean, our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change,” Johnson said during a radio promotion of the “Day of Truth” in 2008. “Homosexual behavior is something you do, it’s not something that you are.”
Johnson also claimed that sexual orientation contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, although Hadrian, one of Rome’s so-called “Five Good Emperors,” publicly identified as gay.
“Some credit the fall of Rome to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” Johnson said in 2008.
The group, Exodus International, shut down in 2013 after nearly four decades in business with a public apology for promoting the debunked practice, which aimed to make gay and lesbian teenagers straight.
In an email bannered “I’m Sorry,” Exodus’s president, Alan Chambers, wrote that he was apologetic for the “shame and guilt” participants endured.
“I’m sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced,” Chambers wrote. “I’m sorry that so many have interpreted this religious rejection from Christians as God’s rejection. I’m profoundly sorry that many have walked away from their faith, and that some have chosen to end their lives.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson Partnered With Antigay Conversion Therapy Group Before Entering Politics
Mike Johnson
By Andrew Kaczynski
CNN Wire
Wed, November 1, 2023
(CNN) — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson closely collaborated with a group in the mid-to-late 2000s that promoted “conversion therapy,” a discredited practice that asserted it could change the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian individuals.
Prior to launching his political career, Johnson, a lawyer, gave legal advice to an organization called Exodus International and partnered with the group to put on an annual anti-gay event aimed at teens, according to a CNN KFile review of more than a dozen of Johnson’s media appearances from that timespan.
Founded in 1976, Exodus International was a leader in the so-called “ex-gay” movement, which aimed to make gay individuals straight through conversion therapy programs using religious and counseling methods. Exodus International connected ministries across the world using these controversial approaches.
The group shut down in 2013, with its founder posting a public apology for the “pain and hurt” his organization caused. Conversion therapy has been widely condemned by most major medical institutions and has been shown to be harmful to struggling LGBTQ people.
At the time, Johnson worked as an attorney for the socially conservative legal advocacy group, Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). He and his group collaborated with Exodus from 2006 to 2010.
For years, Johnson and Exodus worked on an event started by ADF in 2005 known as the “Day of Truth” – a counterprotest to the “Day of Silence,” a day in schools in which students stayed silent to bring awareness to bullying faced by LGBTQ youth.
The Day of Truth sought to counter that silence by distributing information about what Johnson described as the “dangerous” gay lifestyle.
“I mean, our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change,” Johnson told one radio host in 2008 promoting the event. “What these adult advocacy groups like the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network are promoting is a type of behavior. Homosexual behavior is something you do, it’s not something that you are.”
In print, radio and on television, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, frequently disparaged homosexuality, according to KFile’s review. He advocated for the criminalization of gay sex and went so far as to partially blame it for the fall of the Roman Empire.
“Some credit to the fall of Rome to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” Johnson told a radio host in 2008.
Johnson’s office did not respond to a CNN request for comment asking about his work with Exodus.
A close collaboration
Exodus International joined ADF’s Day of Truth event in 2006 and the groups worked together on promotional material for the event, including a standalone website which pointed users to Exodus’ conversion ministries. Documents on that website cited the since-repudiated academic work in support of conversion therapy. Exodus Youth, the group’s youth wing, promoted the event within its blogs.
Videos put out by Exodus and ADF on their standalone Day of Truth website featured two Exodus staffers speaking about how teens didn’t need to “accept” or “embrace” their homosexuality. The videos featured testimonials of a “former-homosexual” and “former lesbian.”
Documents on the website were not archived online but were saved by anti-conversion therapy groups such as Truth Wins Out in 2007 and 2008. The website featured a FAQ on homosexuality provided by Exodus and sold t-shirts saying, “the Truth cannot be silenced.”
One video featured Johnson, who was later quoted in a press release on Exodus International’s website ahead of the event, saying, “An open, honest discussion allows truth to rise to the surface.”
Johnson promoted the event heavily in the media – through radio interviews, comments in newspapers, and an editorial. In interviews, he repeatedly cited the case of a teen who went to school after the Day of Silence wearing a shirt that read, “Be ashamed. Our school has embraced what God has condemned” and “Homosexuality is shameful.” The teen was suspended and ADF represented him in legal action over the incident. The case was dismissed because the teen graduated, and the court found he no longer had standing to challenge the dress code.
“Day of Truth was really established to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda in public schools,” Johnson told a radio host in 2008.
Those who worked to counter ADF and Exodus at the time, said the event was dangerous to confused youth.
“This directly harmed LGBTQ youth,” Wayne Besen, the executive director of Truth Wins Out and an expert on the ex-gay industry, told CNN. “This is someone whose core was promoting anti-gay and ex-gay viewpoints. He wouldn’t pander to anti-gay advocates, he was the anti-gay and ex-gay advocate.”
Randy Scobey, a former executive vice president at Exodus, who worked on the Day of Truth in the organization’s collaboration with ADF, called the event one of his biggest regrets.
“It was bullying those who were trying to not be bullied,” said Scobey, who now lives openly as a gay man. “That was one of the public ways that the Alliance Defense Fund worked with us.”
Ties between Exodus and ADF extended beyond the event.
ADF, which has since changed its name to the Alliance Defending Freedom, touted Exodus International in promotional brochures in 2004, crediting it as an organization that “played an instrumental role in helping thousands of individuals come out of homosexual behavior.”
Scobey recalled Johnson as quiet, but firm in his beliefs that homosexuality was wrong. He said Johnson and ADF provided crucial legal advice to Exodus and its “member ministries.”
“We worked with them behind the scenes a lot,” Scobey told CNN, saying the group offered them legal guidance over their ex-gay counseling. “They were very important to us as far as helping us to feel more secure legally and politically.”
Exodus International stopped sponsoring the Day of Truth event in 2010, saying it became adversarial and counterproductive.
The-CNN-Wire
Mike Johnson Says the Gays Ended Rome in Newly Released Audio Recordings
Christopher Wiggins
Thu, November 2, 2023
House Speak Mike Johnson Press Conference
Recent revelations about the newly elected Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, have raised eyebrows, prompted ridicule, and sparked concern due to his archaic views on homosexuality. Johnson has a history of promoting gay conversion therapy, a discredited notion suggesting that individuals can change their sexual orientation through therapy.
According to audio obtained by CNN, Johnson emphasized the need for an “honest conversation about homosexuality,” stating, “It’s time for an honest conversation about homosexuality. There’s freedom to change. If you want to.”
CNN further revealed that Johnson has been associated with Exodus International, a group known for its anti-gay stance and conversion therapy practices, particularly through an event known as The Day of Truth. This event, orchestrated in response to a pro-gay initiative, aimed at persuading individuals, especially teens that they could alter their sexual behavior through counseling and prayer.
Conversion therapy has been condemned as ineffective and harmful by every major medical and mental health organization. Research has indicated it heightens the risk of suicide among LGBTQ+ young people.
Moreover, the ultra-conservative lawmaker’s involvement with the socially conservative organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, and his efforts in promoting The Day of Truth reflect a deeper-rooted belief that homosexuality is a choice rather than an inherent trait.
He distinctly argued that, unlike other immutable characteristics such as race or eye color, homosexual behavior is a “type of behavior” that individuals can change.
“Our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change. But what these adult advocacy groups like the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network [GLSEN] are promoting is a type of behavior. Homosexual behavior is something you do. It’s not something that you are,” Johnson said.
GLSEN is a non-profit organization committed to ensuring equal treatment and inclusion for all students, including LGBTQ+ students who are present in educational settings everywhere.
Johnson’s disparaging remarks did not stop at conversion therapy.
He has publicly expressed derogatory views on gay rights, notably around the time of the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas ruling, which invalidated state sodomy laws. Johnson contended that such laws should have remained intact and went on to label homosexuality as “inherently unnatural” and a “dangerous lifestyle.”
Lawrence v. Texas was one of the rulings Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said should be reevaluated in his concurring opinion striking down Roe v. Wade and the federal right to abortion access.
Johnson also voiced strong opposition to marriage equality, bizarrely suggesting it could lead to people marrying their pets and even attributing the fall of the Roman Empire to societal acceptance of homosexuality.
“Many historians, those who are objective, would look back and recognize and give some credit to the fall of Rome, to not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” he asserted.
The uncovering of Johnson’s past remarks and associations brings to light a disturbingly outdated perspective on homosexuality at a time when much of the nation is moving toward a more inclusive and understanding stance on LGBTQ+ rights, with more than 71 percent of Americans supporting marriage equality in a recent Gallup poll.
The Advocate contacted Johnson’s office to inquire whether he still holds these views but a spokesperson for the speaker was unable to provide a statement, they said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson once blamed fall of Roman Empire on ‘homosexual behavior,’ audio clip shows
Muri Assunção, New York Daily News
Thu, November 2, 2023
Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America/TNS
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson once appeared to blame the fall of the Roman Empire on same-sex relations, a recently resurfaced audio clip shows.
“Many historians, those who are objective, would look back and recognize and give some credit to the fall of Rome to, not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” Johnson told a radio host in 2008.
The clip was part of an investigative report by CNN’s KFile that looked into the Louisiana Republican’s past links with prominent anti-LGBTQ groups.
Johnson “closely collaborated” with a now-defunct group that promoted so-called LGBTQ “conversion therapy,” the widely debunked practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through prayer, counseling, or other means.
The group, Exodus International, was the highly controversial “ex-gay” organization featured in Netflix’s documentary “Pray Away.” It shut down after 37 years in 2013, when its then-president, Alan Chambers, issued an apology for causing “pain and hurt” to the LGBTQ community.
From 2006 to 2010, while Johnson was an attorney for the conservative legal advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund, known today as Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), he collaborated with Exodus International on an event known as a “Day of Truth.”
The event was created as a counter-protest to a “Day of Silence,” a student-led demonstration designed to spread awareness about the harassment and bullying of LGBTQ youth.
“Our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change,” Johnson said in 2008 while promoting the event. “What these adult advocacy groups like the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network are promoting is a type of behavior. Homosexual behavior is something you do, it’s not something that you are,” he said in an audio clip obtained by CNN.
The four-term congressman — who became the second in line to succeed the U.S. president after the ousting of Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3 — has also previously said same-sex relations were “inherently unnatural” and “harmful.”
When asked about his past anti-LGBTQ remarks while working for the ADF, which is designated as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to its decades-long work against LGBTQ rights,” Johnson said he didn’t “even remember some of them.”
Thu, November 2, 2023
Drew Angerer/Getty Images North America/TNS
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson once appeared to blame the fall of the Roman Empire on same-sex relations, a recently resurfaced audio clip shows.
“Many historians, those who are objective, would look back and recognize and give some credit to the fall of Rome to, not only the deprivation of the society and the loss of morals, but also to the rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society,” Johnson told a radio host in 2008.
The clip was part of an investigative report by CNN’s KFile that looked into the Louisiana Republican’s past links with prominent anti-LGBTQ groups.
Johnson “closely collaborated” with a now-defunct group that promoted so-called LGBTQ “conversion therapy,” the widely debunked practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through prayer, counseling, or other means.
The group, Exodus International, was the highly controversial “ex-gay” organization featured in Netflix’s documentary “Pray Away.” It shut down after 37 years in 2013, when its then-president, Alan Chambers, issued an apology for causing “pain and hurt” to the LGBTQ community.
From 2006 to 2010, while Johnson was an attorney for the conservative legal advocacy group Alliance Defense Fund, known today as Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), he collaborated with Exodus International on an event known as a “Day of Truth.”
The event was created as a counter-protest to a “Day of Silence,” a student-led demonstration designed to spread awareness about the harassment and bullying of LGBTQ youth.
“Our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change,” Johnson said in 2008 while promoting the event. “What these adult advocacy groups like the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network are promoting is a type of behavior. Homosexual behavior is something you do, it’s not something that you are,” he said in an audio clip obtained by CNN.
The four-term congressman — who became the second in line to succeed the U.S. president after the ousting of Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3 — has also previously said same-sex relations were “inherently unnatural” and “harmful.”
When asked about his past anti-LGBTQ remarks while working for the ADF, which is designated as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to its decades-long work against LGBTQ rights,” Johnson said he didn’t “even remember some of them.”
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