http://blog.chron.com/believeitornot/20 ... -campaign/

Controversy over ‘pray away the gay’ enters Bachmann campaign

Michele Bachmann and her husband Marcus Bachmann (Glen Stubbe / Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Michele Bachmann, as a Republican presidential nominee who’s starting to hold a special place in the hearts of some evangelical voters, has taken a “one man, one woman” stance on marriage. Her position against homosexuality now faces more scrutiny following reports that her husband Marcus Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic advocates gay reversal through prayer.

Though Marcus Bachmann says his clinic does not try to “cure gays,” hidden camera footage from his clinic reveals that patients are told, “God has created you for heterosexuality,” according to a report in left-leaning magazine The Nation Friday that’s been since picked up by other news outlets.

Now the news headlines are that Michele Bachmann, and her campaign, is “under fire” for the allegation. She’s gone back and forth about homosexuality in the past, sometimes keeping her mouth shut on the issue and sometimes putting her name behind pro-family, anti-gay marriage campaigns.

So will the reports of Marcus Bachmann’s connection with a controversial gay therapy position hurt her?

“If I were a betting person, I’d bet this doesn’t have much impact on his wife’s campaign. While LGBT rights advocates and allies are right to be outraged, I doubt it would bring any new opposition to Bachmann, who is already well-known for her anti-gay views and voting record,” wrote Sarah Posner, an expert on Christianity and the Right and an editor for Religion Dispatches. “And her supporters would likely not only support the use of ex-gay therapy, but view her husband as beleaguered by those motivated by ‘the homosexual agenda.’ I’m not defending this, of course, but just predicting how it will likely play out.”

Posner points out that big Christian names including Rick Warren and National Association of Evangelicals president Leith Anderson have advocated similar therapies for gay Christians.

Though this approach, called reparative therapy, has been condemned as harmful by psychologists, a number of Americans still consider it a viable option. Nearly 4-in-10 Americans say a person’s sexual orientation could be changed, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center.

That number likely includes religious people (like the Bachmanns?) who believe the Bible prescribes heterosexual marriage and discourages homosexuality.

One thing is true about Bachmann, when she is in campaign mode she is straight forward and its rare that she goofs. However when not in campaign mode she flubs up all the time. I agree that she will rally her forces the extreme christian right and the tea party but not much more, she believes that sense she keeps winning in her little district of all republicans she has a mandate, but I doubt she could win a state wide election, let alone a national one. I do predict however that when she does not win the republican nomination for president she will run on a third party tea party ticket Because she knows GOD is on her side.

Obama wins another four years.

River

What about religious people (not

tugon (imported) wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2011 6:32 pm like the Bachmanns?) who believe the Bible

(meaning "book" or "everything ever written") prescribes the whole realm of human diversity, and therefore encourages homosexuality for those given to be homosexual?

What, in a scientific sense, is religion other than a name for how people grapple with what they do not understand? Who, among us ordinary people, understands everything and so has no place for religious experiences, by which I intend to mean experiences of incomplete understanding?

Of course, a person's sexual orientation can be changed. Someone might have doubts about being homosexual and resolve those doubts into thriving as homosexual; that would be a change in sexual orientation, or so it seems to me.

My wife and I were at a restaurant in which I decided to have a sundae topped with blueberries and raspberries. The order taker asked me if I wanted the sundae before the meal, with the meal or after the meal.

I said, "Yes."

There was this bewildered facial expression on the order taker.

Another joy of my being autistic; I can easily understand simple things that people less autism-sufficient seem to find bewildering.

You are heterosexual? Okay. You are homosexual? Okay. You are bisexual? Okay. You are who you are? Okay. You prefer low testosterone? Okay. You prefer high testosterone? Okay, but please do not hurt me.

I guess I spent too much time working with gates (not Bill) in the RTL-DTL days. An or-gate is inclusive-or. An xor-gate is exclusive-or. I tend strongly toward being inclusive. I am not, however, all that willing to be inclusive regarding traumatizing, deindividuating, depersonalizing coercion.

Folks who believe much as I guess the Bachmanns do pose a problem for me and my life. Their sincerity, I guess I cannot fault. Whatever happened in their lives such that they seemingly would find it helpful to utterly destroy me, I find sadly tragic.

There are a few straight men I would like to pray gay. Oh hell it would be easier just to get them drunk.

Let's not forget there are (or at least were if they stopped) people praying that the President would die "of natural causes" or some shit. I don't understand religious people in a scientific world. At least not the ones who pervert the real message of the bibles for hate.

I understand "people of religion" in a scientific world. Truly religious people are not the problem but the fake religious people with the overblown attitude of I'm right and the world is wrong and damned to hell make it bad for hte good guys.

I have two neighbors who are the most wonderful couple with two great kids and they are Evangelical Christians. They never speak this way to people. They never look down on people. They never "pray" away the "politicians" or the "gay" or the for the President to "die" or for God to destroy the heathen city of (fill in he blank).

I guess I just don't understand people in this day and age who still practice hate. Whether it is racial or political.

I don't either and it really pissed me off, I could just ............... oh wait, yes I, I totally agree.

River

Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, July 13, did a routine of her and her husband dancing and whether he was a bit, swishy.

My word not his.

Moi

You know of course that he is a therapist who works with GAYS turning them straight through prayer, RIGHT.

And you wonder why she is the way she is, what a pair.

River