WTF is it with the Marriott anyway? First the Delray Beach Marriott throws open its doors to CAIR and Geert Wilders, now West Palm's Marriott will offer a cozy welcome for this year's national NARTH conference. The National Association of Research and Therapy for Homosexuality, in case you're new to this, is a pseudo-scientific association dedicated to the proposition that gays can be cured with a little "reparative therapy." Or, actually, probably quite a lot of reparative therapy, and it don't come cheap.
Nevermind that the American Psychological Association, not exactly a
radical entity, released a report a couple of months ago that
definitively states that therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation
don't work. And nevermind that NARTH's proposition begs the question of
whether or not we want to be cured. I sure don't. But I think
it'll be amusing to trot over to the Marriott on November 20, 21, 22 to
listen to lectures on the subject of "Preventing & Treating Sexual
Identity Confusion in the Lives of Children, Adolescents, and Adults."
Enemies of Narth are planning nearly a week of counter-events, beginning on Tuesday November 17th, when gay activist Wayne Besen will be presenting a multimedia presentation at Compass in Lake Worth. Besen is the founder and Executive Director of Truth Wins Out, the author of "Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth", and he's been a figure on the talk show circuit, including appearances on The Daily Show and Fox's O'Reilly Factor.
The "Pray Away the Gay Town Hall Event featuring Wayne Besen" takes place at Compass GLCC in Lake Worth, 201 N. Dixie Highway on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
