LONDON — At least one of two conservative Christian groups whose planned ads promoting “ex-gay” therapy were pulled from London buses because transport authority said they were “intolerant,” said they are now considering legal action.
Anglican Mainstream, a traditionalist Christian coalition, and Core Issues Trust – a counseling group which practices controversial “reorientation” therapy – announced on Thursday that they had booked advertising space promoting the idea that people can become “post-gay” through therapy.
But the Transport for London (TfL) told the British press corps this week that the “Some People are Ex-Gay! Get Over it!” ads booked by Anglican Mainstream and the Core Issues Trust, would not be permitted anywhere on Transport’s network.
“We don’t believe these ads reflect TfL’s commitment to a tolerant and inclusive London,” the TfL said.
The “ex-gay” campaign was an effort to counter advertisements taken out by the gay rights group Stonewall earlier this month as part of the campaign supporting same-sex marriage.
The Stonewall ads emblazoned the message, “Some people are Gay. Get over it!” across London’s famed buses.
On Friday, Anglican Mainstream said it has engaged a law firm to look at whether TfL acted illegally when it scrapped the adverts.
TfL said the advertisement was not consistent with its commitment to a tolerant city.
London mayoral candidates also weighed in, with incumbent Tory Boris Johnson, telling the media: “London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance. It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses.”
Labour’s candidate Ken Livingstone said the “ex-gay” ads “promote a falsehood, the homophobic idea of ‘therapy’ to change the sexual orientation of lesbians and gay men. The adverts are insulting to LGBT Londoners and damaging for everyone who believes London is the greatest city in the world because of its tolerance.”
Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said, “From personal experience as a gay Christian, I can tell you that it’s much better to be out than in. We should be celebrating the diversity for which London is known for, not denegrating it.”
In an email statement to LGBTQ Nation, Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said, “It’s sad that any self-styled ‘Christian’ group promotes voodoo ‘gay cure therapy,’ which has been discredited by the BACP, the UK’s leading professional body for counseling psychotherapists.”
“Life would be much easier if these organizations just admitted that they don’t like gay people,” Summerskill said.
Filed under: Europe
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just wtf are they gonna do lmao
No such thing as EX-GAY.
^ This. Plus I’m really relieved that those ads were removed from the buses.
I’m gonna take ads out for Ex-hetero!!
ex gay? seriously? when will the anti gay bullshit end? sickening!
So, true once ur gay ur gay.. U were born to be gay!! I tried to get 1 of my sister to understand that…
Jen FTW
If you think about it ads for cigarettes have been banned in magazines and who knows where else because it’s bad for your health. Ex-gay “therapy” is also bad for your health, so why shouldn’t it be banned? Wishing the US would follow suit and shut some of these loons up.
as a wise person once said, “Jesus, save me from your followers”
can we have anti christian adds…at this point I’m thinking the devil might be kinder than these people.
Don’t know UK law but they would lose in US
What is this, America? C’mon!
Let em take it to court! “Reparative therapy” for homosexuality is widely known as useless at best, and very damaging much of the time. I’m so sick of ignorance and hate being cloaked in “religious rights.”
So much love for London right now. <3
What a bunch of assholes. Glad those ads were pulled. Don’t think you can pull intolerant shit and get away with it.
I agree with Tammy. Let them sue, so the bastards have to testify under oath about their methods.
HAHAHA! Gotta love London and Canada. This nonsense is considered hate speech and intolerant and is not allowed. The beauty of science and fact trumps ignorance and hate.
Yes and how would you feel if we put ‘ex-christian groups’ up on buses? I mean seriously you may have you’re personal opinions about gays but no need to go public and humiliate them. If you respect them, they’ll respect you and you’re beliefs.
love those buses!!! I wanna shake their hands and say thank you
Its a CROCK OF CRAP, XGAY, We have one of those in our family, Southern Baptist, picked up a trick in Wilmington, NC, next thing he stopped talking to us, next he was a Southern Baptist, now he is doing the nasty with his well off DADDY in Hickory, NC. NEAL BOLICK teaches school, once him and his partner (chaperone) picked up a male flight attendant on a School trip. X Gay ad’s are a contradiction in what GOD MAKES YOU! FALSE ADVERTISING!
^ who the what now?
Stupid Christians.
something my sister would do… she thinks we’re being lead by the devil by being gay D:<
The sad thing is, if this were in the US, they ads might win. Free speech, and freedom of religion, as well as free press would all be on their side. There is definitely some freedom if intolerance inherent in those things.
Yeah Leslie Marbach has a point, free speech is one thing, but it’s not good to have advertising that gives people psychological problems. It’s like secondhand smoke for your brain.
i cant wait to watch the catholics, christians & baptists rot in hell while im w/ my man in heven. religion ic the cause of all wars, why should we be any differnt
We want the right to advertise on public buses a repudiation of other human beings simply because they do not fit in our narrow view of what humans should be. Oh, please. Jesus is crying.
Ex-gay? Ahahahahah, yeah right! Denial is the worst….
I love the “Pray Away the Gay” thing, it’s like “Pray Away the Blue Eyes” or “Pray Away the Color of Your Skin,” we are what we are and because of their narrowed life views, they think they can pray away anything, it’s repulsive.
Remember when people tried to promote business and commerce using advertising instead of their own political agenda? So you hate gays….. OK, get over it. A bus is not the place for that. This is something that the KKK would do, so I guess that means that the Christian group agrees with the KKK.
I think thats great, waste that money! dip shits!
WTF
These people have as much right to express their beliefs as we in the gay community do, however odious I personally find their beliefs and messages to be; reverse discrimination by the gay community is as wrong as discrimination against the gay community.
The money they spend paying attorneys they can buy their own billboard trucks and ride around London like idiots! Stupid people! Some people don’t know how to use the sense that the good Lord gave then. Those attorneys will be laughing at those idiots all the way to the bank!
Perhaps we can ban the “Christians” from the buses.
I guess those who claim that ex gay therapy works must know from experience . Bunch of closeted repressed homosexuals is what they are!
Is there a therapy to make people Ex-Christians???? I would support that!
Pray away the hatred.
I sure hope that all the positive n validating work that is being done is not undone by Obama selecting conservative Supreme Court judges if he is reelected or Romney will place his ultra conservative Supreme Court judges, either way every great step achieved forward could setback LGBTQ n may never recover….elect someone other than a Democrat/Rep.
Bring it on! Let’s look under some of these rocks.
EX CHRISTIAN,EX STRAIGHT,SAW THE LIGHT,GET OVER IT
I think scientists all over London should sue to teach science in churches.
i believe this is all the work of boris johnson to get our votes! truley its so suspicious!
leave it along
ex-gay = in denile
I hate to say it, but they have the right to those ads.
Fekking Xtians need to monitor THEMSELVES!!!!