Click here to view the embedded video.

-The mayor of Turin, Italy performs a wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple.

-Andrews Air Force Base disinvites Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council from a speaking engagement.

-Catholic Charities ends spousal benefits for its employees in Washington DC so that it won’t have to offer them to same-sex couples.

-The LGBT Center at UC Davis resolves to leave recent anti-gay graffiti in place as a reminder that intolerance still exists.

-Washington, DC begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

-Free Republic provides Paul Cameron with a platform to disseminate his latest “research.”

-The UK’s House of Lords votes to lift a ban that prevented churches from performing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.

-Yet another anti-gay politician is outed in a scandal.

-Same-sex couples can now marry in Mexico City.

-A gay prostitution scandal unfolds in the Vatican.

-Slovenia becomes the latest country to consider legalizing same-sex marriage.

-Senator John Kerry calls for an end to the ban on blood donations from gay men.

Goldberg, who is co-founder and co-director of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), was revealed last month to have been jailed and fined in 1989 for his part in a multimillion-dollar business fraud.

Goldberg responded to the reports by shifting the blame, and was duly followed by NARTH President Julie Harren-Hamilton, who attacked the gay media and bloggers for exposing Goldberg’s criminal past.

Last week, XGW reported that Goldberg was no longer listed as Executive Secretary of NARTH. Now NARTH Vice-President of Operations David C Pruden has spoken on the record about the situation.

In a statement made to XGW, Pruden revealed that NARTH knew nothing of Arthur Abba Goldberg’s conviction for felony prior to last month’s investigative report. He also confirmed that Goldberg had resigned from the board of NARTH. The full statement reads:

In the past two weeks incidents that took place more than twenty years ago in the career and life of Arthur Goldberg first came to our attention. He has never taken the members of the NARTH Board into his confidence concerning these events and this information came as a complete shock to NARTH members and to our organization.

After years of dedicated service to NARTH Mr. Goldberg has announced his resignation from his NARTH Board position. With his resignation this now becomes a personal matter and all future questions or concerns should be directed to Mr. Goldberg. He has assured us that he plans to make a public statement on his own web site and since none of the issues concerning his past were in any way associated with NARTH, and in fact preceeded the founding of NARTH,  we would feel it inappropriate to make further comments. We wish for Arthur and his family the very best at this difficult time.

This confirms what seemed evident all along: Arthur Abba Goldberg deliberately concealed his criminal past.

Despite the statement that this is now a “personal matter” for Arthur Goldberg, however, NARTH still has some questions of its own to answer. The overwhelming question is how Goldberg was able to such an entrusted position at NARTH without disclosing his conviction for fraud. Does NARTH not have safeguards in place? Does NARTH not require such disclosures? As a professional organization, does it not independently confirm these things before appointing someone to such a position?

Even if no such disclosure is required (which would be remarkable), how is it that Goldberg’s criminal history went undetected, when even before last month’s exposé a simple Google search for “Arthur Abba Goldberg” would have immediately turned up dozens of official documents and newspaper reports from the time of his conviction? Pruden earlier told us that it was common knowledge at NARTH that Goldberg’s middle name was Abba – yet no one seems to have made the connection.

Goldberg may still have a lot to explain – but NARTH must also explain what appears to be astonishing negligence.

This event and the protests that followed were a significant turning point in the effort to shine a light on the actions of such ministries.  But we should not forget that most of those who would later recognize harm from their time at LIA had already been through the program by the time the events of 2005 unfolded.

In 2007, three former Exodus leaders offered a public apology to those “who believed our message that there is something inherently wrong with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”  Today we find that Smid is offering his own apology.

Some people have spoken out about being wounded through their experience with Love In Action. ” I want to say I am very sorry for the things that have wounded you or hurt you by my hands of leadership at Love In Action or anything I have done personally that has harmed you. Please forgive me.

Concerning Exodus International he writes:

I believe I could have done a better job of letting people know that Jesus loves them purely because He does, unconditionally. I am sorry for not being a better vessel of the Love of Christ to those who deeply need to know of His love. I realize I was often more concerned with telling people how to live than I was with imparting God’s grace so that they would want to live!

Concerning the Refuge program responsible for the ordeal over Zach:

I really wanted to help the young men in our program but in some cases the design of our program caused more harm for some of these kids that it did good. I am very sorry for the ways that Refuge further wounded teens that were already in a very delicate place in life.

And Smid asks those who were hurt by or through him to contact him.

If you have been wounded by me or harmed through the hands of my leadership; please come to me and allow an opportunity for me to personally apologize with the hope that we can both be released from the bondage of unforgiveness.

These are just snippets and the entire thing should be read in order to properly evaluate a response, should you have one.  There is also a section addressed directly to Ex-Gay Watch readers.  Obviously, those who have been hurt through LIA will be most interested in what Smid has to say, but there can be no doubt that it is important.

Readers will have to determine for themselves what this means exactly.  Smid is involved in a new ministry, one he says will have no part of the old “change is possible” mission.  While his goals seem similar at this point to those of Andrew Marin, the latter does not have the baggage of the former.  But making such a public apology would seem an important start.

One more piece of the puzzle is illustrated by the short video below from Smid’s website.  It was produced by Morgan Fox, organizer of the Zach Stark protests.  Fox also appears in the clip, apparently at a place of reconciliation with Smid.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What do you think?

The real sodomite is the arrogant person, the overfed and apathetic person who ignores the poor and others in need. The sexual sins of Sodom are second rate compared to the sins of pride and greed. Ban Sodomy, anyone?

Sodomy, viewed from God’s perspective, is practically the American way. I guess we have been exporting sodomy to Uganda.

You might think Throckmorton is getting liberal. In fact, he is merely being consistent with Scripture (Ezekiel 16:49-50):

Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.

Throckmorton suggests conservative Christians should direct their (considerable) anger towards greed, selfishness and indifference, instead of the gays:

The sins of Sodom mark the American church in ways that are very uncomfortable to confront. Defined biblically, I hope we can unite against sodomy. Defined biblically, we have all been sodomites, have we not?

We agree.

There is no indication whether Goldberg resigned or was forced to leave. Either seems likely after last month’s revelation that the champion of reparative therapy and co-director of Jewish ex-gay ministry JONAH was a convicted felon. In 1989, Arthur Abba Goldberg was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and fined $100,000 for his part in a mail fraud scam.

He appears to have deliberately concealed his identity since becoming a leader in the ex-gay movement, and when his past finally caught up with him, he tried to blame everyone but himself for his predicament.

NARTH President Julie Harren-Hamilton (who confusingly appears as both Julie Harren and Julie Hamilton on the NARTH website) gave a weak defense of NARTH and its officers following February’s reports, but without naming Goldberg.

Update: 03/03/10: NARTH’s Vice-President of Operations, David Pruden, has confirmed that Arthur Abba Goldberg is no longer a board member of NARTH.

-Sen. Joseph Lieberman becomes chief sponsor of the effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

-A West Virginia couple is denied an apartment on the basis of their sexual orientation.

-The Minnesota House holds hearings on a trio of marriage equality bills.

-Bruce Carroll of GOProud argues that the recent CPAC conference was a watershed event for modern conservatism.

-College wrestling star Hudson Taylor speaks out for LGBT rights.

-The West Virginia House shoots down a Republican effort to force a vote on a same-sex marriage ban.

-Media Matters debunks the myths surrounding Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

-Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler rules that the state will begin recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages.

-The National Organization for Marriage latches onto another anti-gay beauty pageant contestant.

-Hockey legend Brian Burke becomes a gay rights activist to honor the memory of his son, Brendan.

-The California legislature to review an outdated law that mandated research into a ‘cure’ for homosexuality.

-Religious right leaders expand their anti-gay crusade to Mexico City.

An interesting report featured last night on ABC Australia’s Hungry Beast.  The ex-gay featured could be a spokesperson for Exodus International, he is that spot on.   It’s also interesting that one of the gay men describes having been introduced to gay clubs through an affair with this team leader in an ex-gay program.  This tracks with a statement by Peterson Toscano (if anyone remembers that, please post in the comments).

Hat Tip: Anthony-Venn Brown

A Vermont judge has ordered the arrest of a woman who has refused to turn over her 7-year-old daughter to her former lesbian partner.

Family Court Judge William Cohen found Lisa Miller of Forest, Va., in contempt of court during a hearing Tuesday and issued the arrest warrant.

Miller was ordered to surrender custody of her daughter on Jan. 1 but failed to do so and has since disappeared. Their daughter is now considered a missing person.

Jenkins has asked the public to please help her find her missing daughter.

Anyone with information regarding Isabella’s and Lisa’s whereabouts should call the Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office at 540-586-4800.

On the NARTH website, Hamilton makes a number of assumptions and seems blind to the actual issues raised. She says that activists, “unable to silence NARTH’s message, resort to attacking NARTH’s members.”

I can only speak for Ex-Gay Watch, but when the story broke, it never occurred to me that Goldberg’s exposure was ipso facto a way to discredit NARTH as a whole. It discredited Goldberg, certainly, and by extension JONAH. It is primarily NARTH’s own response that will reflect on the organization – though admittedly, the omens in Hamilton’s article are not good.

Goldberg exposé part of coordinated strategy against NARTH?

Hamilton ties in the Goldberg story with a protest staged against NARTH in Florida last November:

[A] journalism student leading the November protest shouted into a megaphone that they had been unsuccessful in stopping the work of NARTH through counter conventions, so they would instead begin to target the individual members of NARTH. Following these threats, there have indeed been attempts to discredit both NARTH members as well as non-members who do similar work.

Again, I speak only for XGW in saying that we know nothing of the group shown in the video, or the identity of the media student speaking through the megaphone. TWO organized speaking and protesting events at the same conference, but XGW is not aware of a connection to the group in the video.

NARTH members being targeted?

Hamilton continues:

In one recent report from England, a journalist posed as a client seeking help for unwanted homosexual attractions. He set up two unsuspecting therapists, claiming to want help from them, secretly recorded their conversations, and then contacted their professional organizations to seek action against them. That same journalist is reportedly assisting others to disrupt and discredit an event in Ireland this week.

She is referring to Patrick Strudwick’s report in The Independent earlier this month. During his investigation, Strudwick encountered prominent reparative therapist and NARTH representative (as well as disciple of Richard Cohen) Paul Miller, who encouraged sexual arousal as part of therapy sessions, and made inappropriate self-disclosures about his own sexual habits and homosexual attractions. The NARTH President’s response is to blame Strudwick for his tactics, while saying nothing of the behavior of its own members.

Hamilton then turns to the Goldberg story:

In another report, activist groups investigated the background of a NARTH board member in order to publicize his past wrongdoing in an attempt to discredit the organization.

XGW repeats: The report discredits Arthur Abba Goldberg in the first instance, not NARTH. It is this weak, defensive and myopic response that reflects badly on NARTH itself.

“It doesn’t discredit the science”: NARTH misses the point

NARTH does not rise or fall based on the actions of individuals. NARTH is a scientific organization upholding the research behind the issue of homosexuality and defending the rights of clients to seek therapy for unwanted homosexual attractions. NARTH is not responsible for the actions of its members, nor do the actions of NARTH members change the scientific data. The research stands regardless of the attacks launched by activists who are avoiding the data by focusing on individuals. Emotionally based campaigns and character assassinations do not change the research, nor do they diminish the right of clients to pursue their personal goals. NARTH will continue its mission as a scientific organization despite the propaganda, and the research will continue to speak for itself.

Who said this was about the scientific research? XGW and others have worked tirelessly to present plenty of evidence against the supposedly scientific claims of NARTH and reparative therapy over the years. This is about the trustworthiness and character of an important leader in the ex-gay movement. It is about the integrity of a man whom struggling gays and lesbians have trusted with deepest aspects of their lives and sexuality. Call it a “character assassination,” a “personal attack,” or what you will, but does NARTH really believe that character, integrity and trustworthiness is not vital to leaders who set themselves up as moral, religious and scientific authorities?

It should be noted that Hamilton cleverly hedges her bets.  In the first paragraph, she dismisses the claims against Goldberg, implicitly defending him. In the second she ensures that NARTH’s back is covered if it all blows up for Goldberg: Nothing to do with us. We’re not responsible for him, and we don’t stand or fall on the behavior of a handful of our members.

Well, no one to my knowledge claimed NARTH stood or fell on Goldberg alone. This response does say a lot about the organization.

She ends (not in the web version, but in a separate email version) by giving some PR ideas to NARTH members. She tells them:

Try using case studies, success stories, testimonials or examples of how others used your product or service successfully. Solicit material from clients and vendors, or ask your readers to write. It’s a win-win! You get relevant content, and they get exposure.

Insert a “read on” link at the bottom of your article to drive traffic to your website. Links are tracked, allowing you to see which articles create the most interest for your readers.

This slick advice for damage-limitation is a rather cynical addition to the published version of the article.

So, what would the proper response be from NARTH? There are questions to be answered:

• Prior to this week, was NARTH aware of Arthur Abba Goldberg’s status as a convicted felon and a disbarred attorney?
• If so, what bearing did Goldberg’s conviction for fraud and disbarment (on grounds of character) have on his position as Executive Secretary of NARTH?
• If not, does NARTH’s policy not require such disclosures from its senior officers?
• If Goldberg did not disclose his criminal past, what action is it taking now, in light of the reports?
• Since Patrick Strudwick’s investigative report involving a NARTH representative in the UK was also mentioned, is NARTH taking any action to address the allegations made? Does it believe Paul Miller’s alleged behavior is ethical?

Instead of blaming the LGBT community, as Goldberg has tried to do, the appropriate response is for NARTH to ask some serious questions of Arthur Abba Goldberg – and itself.