LGBT activists protest Restore Hope Network conference, ex-homosexual ministry

The Restored Hope Network conference was under way at City View Church in San Diego. According to RHN, “as many as 1,000 protesters are mobilizing, handing out posters and signs at gay bars, pride marches, and have pledged to protest” outside one of the hotels used by the 400 attendees tonight.

“They [Restored Hope] are not welcome in this city,” said a gay rights activist organizing the protest, adding that the “LGBT movement” cannot tolerate dissent.

“This hateful practice is a result of the bigoted and misguided beliefs of religious extremists, and there is no place in San Diego for its promotion or execution,” Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, president of San Diego Democrats for Equality, told the Times of San Diego.

“California outlawed conversion therapy, which makes it really weird because they’re having a conference here where it’s illegal,” said Gina Roberts, a transgender and local Log Cabin Republican Club leader. “Like, huh?”

She called conversion “totally despicable.”

photo/Facebook

From the Facebook page: “Gay conversion therapy is an abusive and deadly practice that targets LGBTQ youth. This weekend of protest and resistance is our chance to send a clear message to the conversion industry that there will be #NoProfitInAbuse in San Diego! They are not welcome in this city and will be met with a Big O’ Gay Anti-Conversion Therapy Protest.

“Get your signs ready, get your protest gear set, and let’s show the LGBTQA kids we won’t stand for this!”

So, let’s be clear: this is a convention for those who are former homosexual, transgender etc…not a recruitment event or a political activist convention.

Restored Hope Executive Director Anne Paulk, a former lesbian herself, said ahead of the news, “We are prepared for the protest and intend to be kind. We realize they [protesters] are operating out of misunderstanding and misconceptions about who we are and what we do.”

“Tolerance is a two-way street,” Paulk said. “We expect the respect and freedom to leave homosexuality as much as respecting their right to remain homosexual or transgender.”

Paulk says, “We are dedicated to restoring hope to those impacted by homosexuality,” but RHN notes that “the division between people who want freedom from same-sex attractions and those who want acceptance and celebration for their behavior continues to grow.”