Leaders of the Mormon church say Salt Lake City men in show My Husband’s Not Gay deserve support.
Almost 100,000 people have already signed an online petition calling for the cancellation of the forthcoming 1-hour long TV special featuring a group of Mormon men who say they are attracted to other men but have chosen to marry women.
The show is expected to air on TLC on Jan. 11, “My Husband’s Not Gay” promotes “the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities,” according to the Change.org petition’s founder, Josh Sanders. He added “As a gay Christian man who’s seen first hand how this message can harm people, I am calling on TLC to cancel “My Husband’s Not Gay” and to stop telling America that LGBT people should lie to themselves and to their faith communities about who they are and who they love.”
The gay rights group GLAAD condemned the shows message as a sad reminder of so-called gay conversion therapy, often associated with faith-based efforts that are designed to change sexual orientation which often proves traumatic and emotionally scarring. New Jersey and California in 2013 banned therapists from practicing gay conversion therapy on children and teenagers. The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association do not support the therapy.
Yesterday several members of the Mormon Church added fuel to the fiery debate by speaking in support of the controversial television show.
‘While the church does not promote marriage as a treatment method for same-sex attraction, couples who are trying to be lovingly supportive of each other while being true to their religious convictions deserve our support and respect,’ said LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins.
If you haven’t caught the first look at the reality series, the show will focus on three married couples and one unmarried man who is looking for love. The men in each of the relationships have decided they would rather be married than focus on the feelings they have for other men. It’s a personal choice the men have made thanks to the tenets of their religion, but there are troubling moments when each of the guys involved with My Husband’s Not Gay note how religion has enabled them to suppress their feelings.
TLC has yet to show any signs of backing down from televising the show’s transmission.
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