Ex-Gay Pride Events Postponed

It appears that those who made travel plans to attend the First Annual Ex-Gay Pride festivities in Washington, D.C. later this month will have to wait until September due to alleged harassment and perceived security threats, according to the events' organizers, Voice of the Voiceless (VoV).

An announcement dated July 12, posted to the VoV website states, "Due to some anti-ex-gay extremism that has occurred since we first announced Ex-Gay Pride 2013, the July 31 Lobbying Day on Capitol Hill and Evening Dinner/Reception at the Family Research Council has had to be moved and postponed to an undisclosed location in September. The harassment has caused several security threats which has forced us to change plans, and that is unfortunate."

While many may perceive the postponement notice as a white flag on the ex-gay issue, organizers of the event are literally doubling down on the delayed festivities and have claimed another month in the calendar for their cause. Their announcement goes on to state "On the bright side, this harassment and anti-ex-gay extremism has reminded us just how intolerant some individuals and organizations are about the existence of ex-gays and former homosexuals. So much so, that we believe it is necessary not only to hold events in July for Ex-Gay Pride, but also to declare September as the First Annual Ex-Gay Awareness Month."

The postponement announcement continues with an apology to attendees, "For all of our supporters that have made travel plans to attend the July 31 event, we sincerely apologize for having to change plans, but we thought it was in the best interest to ensure the safety and security of all participants and speakers."

The event in question was an evening dinner and reception scheduled for Wednesday, July 31. According to the event's invitation, in addition to honoring "Ex-Gay Pride Month," the evening was to "officially launch two new ex-gay rights organizations, Equality and Justice for All and Voice of the Voiceless. Printed on the invitation was an impressive list of high profile opponents to marriage equality who were invited to speak, including Rep. "Michele Bachman" R-MN (name misspelled on the invitation) and Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-KS, the lead sponsor of a House of Representatives bill to put in place a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Also highlighting the event was to be the debut of the winning entry of a music video contest themed on celebrating ex-gay pride.

As of this writing, neither Bachmann nor Huelskamp confirmed their attendance or participation as speakers for the event.

No mention was made in the postponement announcement regarding any refunds on ticket sales to the July 31 dinner or the return of any $30 entry fees for the scheduled "music video" contest.