IN ENGLAND THE PLOT THICKENS

Caroline Spelman, MP for Meriden

From the Guardian:

A Christian charity which sponsored a conference promoting the idea that gay people can be converted to heterosexuality has funded interns for an estimated 20 MPs, including some who are now ministers in the coalition government.

The Christian Action Research and Education charity (Care) has provided staff to the parliamentary offices of Caroline Spelman, Alistair Burt and Steve Webb. In 2009 it sponsored a London conference about homosexuality and Christianity which included sessions on "mentoring the sexually broken". The event in London was also organised by Anglican Mainstream, one of the conservative Christian charities that was blocked this week from showing adverts on London buses that supported the idea that with therapy, homosexual people can become "ex-gay".

The conference featured a keynote by Joseph Nicolosi, a Californian psychologist and founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. The organisers said they were "very worried about the continued progress of the gay – and in fact the LGBT – agenda across the board in the UK. Social, cultural, political and religious sectors are being targeted and most of them are capitulating".

Well, well.  The "gay cure" folks under the name of a charity named Care (Oh, the irony!) have infiltrated Parliament by paying to support interns for MPs.  The members of Parliament who had or have interns paid by Care are unavailable for comment.  Surprise!  And the Care conference that included sessions on "mentoring the sexually broken" was organized by Anglican Mainstream.  A question: Where does Anglican Mainstream get its funds?

"It's a complete disgrace that any elected representative would have associations with an organisation that promotes a 'gay cure' in the 21st century," said Phillip Dawson, who launched a campaign when he discovered his local MP, David Burrowes had an intern sponsored by Care. "The Royal College of Psychiatrists has explicitly stated that discussions of a 'gay cure' fuel discrimination and prejudice. MPs should be fighting homophobia wherever it occurs but by associating themselves with Care they are actually helping to fuel it. We have to be clear that there is no place for groups that promote a 'gay cure' in the corridors of power."

 The "gay - and in fact the LGBT" agenda promoting fairness and equality for all is, indeed, worrisome to some, but why?

Thanks to themethatisme for the link to the story.

UPDATE:

Should MPs be accepting financial support from charities that sponsor "gay cure" conferences?

Phillip Dawson from Enfield thinks not -- so when he discovered a Christian charity that sponsored a conference discussing "Therapeutic approaches to same-sex attraction" and "Mentoring the sexually broken" had also since funded interns for 17 MPs, including his own, he was shocked.

Now Phillip has started a petition on Change.org calling for all MPs to sever ties with Care (Christian Action Research and Education). 

Thanks to MadPriest for calling the petition to my attention.  Signatures from outside England are accepted.