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from Interviews/Testimonials
Ex-Gay Activist Testifies at Ohio DOMA Hearing
Defense of traditional marriage, he says,
is not a partisan matter, but one that affects us all; it means "following the manufacturer's guidelines for successful living"
Pro-family activist Greg Quinlan and his wife Cheryl appeared before the Ohio committee considering a Defense of Marriage (DOMA) bill. The following is a portion of his testimony:
"I left the homosexual life style over eleven years ago. My wife Cheryl did the same over four years ago.
Homosexuality is a clinical developmental gender identity disorder. There is quantitative scientific research on the subject and thousands of individual case studies that prove, that persons with homosexual ideations can and have changed through clinical therapy and counseling. There is no biological evidence, not one repeatable study, not a single genetic test that gives any validity to homosexual behavior as a "born" trait. No one is born Gay, no one! Homosexuality is an emotional disorder, a pathology that can be and has been effectively changed when a person is highly motivated to change.
Both my wife and I are victims of child abuse... We know first hand that being "gay" is not happy, but a lifestyle that leaves you broken and empty...
As a nurse, I watched 100 of my friends and acquaintances die of AIDS and AIDS related illnesses. After that I stopped counting. The devastation of homosexual behavior, the cumulative effect that that behavior has brought and continues to bring is incalculable.
I lived over nine years of my life as a homosexual. In my attempt to justify being "gay," I founded the Dayton Committee for the Human Rights Campaign Fund in 1989, raising thousands of dollars for the nations largest homosexual organization....
Then, in 1998 I founded Pro-Family Network, which is a Christian Family Advocacy organization...Also during this time I started, with the help of my pastor's wife, a ministry at Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio. Living Free Ministries helps those who want to leave the homosexual lifestyle deal with the issues that brought them to gender identity confusion. We have helped scores of people to follow the Manufacturer's guidelines for successful living.
So what does all of this have to do with the Defense of Marriage Act for Ohio? Everything!
...One of the most obvious examples of the gender identity disorder known as homosexuality happened in the 123rd General Assembly with a failed attempt by Rep. Otto Beatty to expand Ohio's Ethnic Intimidation Law to include sexual orientation. Two individuals testified. They were men, dressed in women's clothing, taking on the names of women. They claimed they were born in the wrong bodies. Right before the Criminal Justice Committee we could see the clinical "walking, talking" evidence of severe gender identity confusion! But some members of that committee enabled that confusion with sympathy instead of empathy.
Tens of thousands of homosexuals have changed and more desire to change. Homosexuality is a behavior -- not a genetic trait. Based on verifiable evidence, there is no justification for same sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnership legislation. None.
My wife and I are living proof, along with thousands of others, that persons with same sex attraction can and have changed, and thereby have the right to marry. We have chosen to follow the Manufactures' specific guidelines for our lives. That means, committed to one another as man and woman.
Remember Vermont, whose state motto is "Don't Tread on Me." Well, with Paul Bunyon-like boots, Vermont's Supreme Court tread on the entire nation. The Vermont Supreme Court's decision, in spite of over two hundred years of American history, suddenly found that their state constitution allows for gay marriage or domestic partnership. I am really curious, how did they miss that for two hundred years?!
Now Massachusetts has arrogantly instructed their legislature, in a complete reversal of powers, to change their laws regarding marriage. Four Massachusetts black-robed " justices" suddenly found that their state constitution allowed for gay marriage. Now how did Massachusetts--with over 350 years of common law and 225 years of constitutional law--overlook the right of homosexuals to marry?
...Ohio must defend her citizens by defending marriage, not enabling the disorder of homosexuality.
Homosexuality is a Gender Identity Disorder. A disorder can be put into order when an individual wants to order his or her life according to the Manufacturer's design.
The State of Ohio must not become an enabler of this disorder. The policy of the State of Ohio should be to help those willing to be helped, not promote a lifestyle choice that is now and is historically a self-destructive dead end.
In 1989, in the Washington DC ballroom of the Park Hyatt Hotel, as a then-gay man, I listened to the gay political strategists of Human Rights Campaign Fund discuss where they should begin the fight in order to legalize gay marriage. They choose Hawaii first, then Vermont.
You, the members of the Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, have a responsibility to not enable self-destructive behavior.
Thank you,
Gregory and Cheryl Quinlan
www.profamilynetwork.org
pfn@profamilynetwork.org
Updated: 8 February 2008
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