PETITION: Tell Amazon to reverse censorship of alternative views on homosexuality. Sign the petition here.
July 8, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – After Amazon knuckled under pressure from LGBT activists to ban books offering help to those dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction, former gays launched a petition demanding the online retailer reverse its decision.
Amazon recently removed several books in response to a Change.org petition that mislabeled all materials dealing with leaving the practice of active homosexuality as destructive “conversion therapy.”
Those who have left homosexuality and now live chaste single lives or who have gone on to marry and form a family with a member of the opposite sex see a different motive behind Amazon’s action. It is an attempt to silence all the voices of those who have found new life and freedom not through “conversion therapy,” but through conversion to Jesus Christ, a distinction that seems lost on LGBT activists.
“We exist. Do not erase our community,” said Daren Mehl, founder of Voice of the Voiceless, an organization that seeks to defend the rights of former homosexuals and those with unwanted same-sex attraction, and which launched the petition. “Jesus is alive and does wonderful works in our lives. Desires change. Sexual orientation changes. It is not immutable.”
Among the banned books are several by Catholic psychologists Joseph Nicolosi and Gerard Van Aardweg, as well as autobiographies of individuals who left active homosexuality.
“We are outraged that a smear campaign by one individual (who stated here that he never read these books) could convince Amazon to censor all books, audiobooks, and Kindle material related to our experiences and viewpoints,” reads the petition.
“For every major issue there are two sides to each story,” continues the petition. “For one side to be bullied and censored on every platform is counter to the values we have long held in common with Amazon.”
Amazon’s action has unleashed a torrent of criticism from former gays and lesbians
“These books have been life-saving instruments to some who have been struggling to find hope,” ex-gay Ethan Martin told LifeSiteNews. “They have been a beacon of light to those of us who hold to traditional Biblical views of sexuality.”
“And in so taking these resources away, (Amazon) has not only become hypocritical to its own values, they have attempted to silence a smaller minority of the population that is represented by those of us who have left the LGBTQ lifestyle.”
“Over the last several days Amazon has begun their efforts to silence the voices of ex-gays, ex-transgendered and our stories by removing books of our stories and testimonies,” wrote Jason Maxwell on Facebook.
Amazon “is trying to eliminate the voice of one of the smallest minorities in America, because America has let the second smallest minority (LGBTQ community) speak for the whole country,” Maxwell continued. “Really, it isn’t even the LGBTQ community but a few activists who are loud and proud and financially backed by those wishing to see religious freedom destroyed.”
“It’s time for those who have walked out of the LGBTQ community to Rise! Stand up and fight back against the bullied, who have now become the bullies!” he added.
“I have experienced freedom from a life of same-sex attractions and it wasn’t through conversion therapy and the stereotypical perceptions that follow that form of counsel,” Gabriel Pagan told LifeSiteNews.
“I don’t believe in conversion therapy. I believe in the truth that Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection offers a new life to ANYONE who puts their faith in Him as Lord and repents,” continued Pagan, who disagrees with the rationale that led to Amazon banning the books. Jesus, “never made me ‘pray the gay away’ or convince myself to be straight.”
“I’m now living seven years as a heterosexual male with plans to marry my current girlfriend next year. I don’t feel repressed in the slightest bit and I finally feel at peace with my God-given sexuality,” added Pagan.
“I have been helped by these authors, and it’d be a CRIME to not make them available to others in need!” commented Rich Thompson on the petition website.
“I personally have benefited greatly from some of these books!” wrote Vaughn Armstrong. “I personally know hundreds of people who choose celibacy, or asexuality, or mixed-orientation marriage rather than choosing to (side) with mainstream LGB propaganda. Censoring this content is completely inappropriate!”
“I am a once-gay man. And a pastor. Been married to my wife for 13 years. Helped create 4 children,” said Ken Williams, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California.
“Books and therapy and church ministry radically changed my understanding of my identity and I experienced a dramatic shift in my sexual desires,” said Williams. “But I don’t fit the narrative, so apparently my life is invalid. This is discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is discrimination based on my religious beliefs which inform my beliefs about human sexual morality. Un-American. Egregious!”
“These books are necessary for people like myself who have walked away from homosexuality,” wrote Kimberly Johnson. “We learn and grow from others’ experiences!”
“Just because of a ruling in 1973 by a small number of psychiatrists who voted to say homosexuality is normal does not make it normal,” Grace Harley, a woman who tried to live as a man for 18 years, told LifeSiteNews. “Therefore, Dr. Nicolosi books must be made available immediately. Many other books by ex-gays are here to help only those who desire normal, healthy sexuality.”
Harley said God enabled Dr. Nicolosi to write his books in order to help those who came to him with unwanted sexual desires.
“Amazon, reverse your decision, you are playing with a losing team. God has already won this battle,” added Harley.
“Amazon’s decision to pull all the books written by Catholic writer Dr. Joseph Nicolosi is a horrible decision which sets a dangerous precedent,” chaste same-sex attracted Catholic Thomas Berryman told LifeSiteNews. “Ideas will no longer be fought over in the public square or in the marketplace. Instead, bookstores and libraries will have the decisions about what books to carry decided for them by those public interest groups that can bring the greatest amount of pressure to bear.
“As an aside, I wonder what they plan to do with the books they’ve pulled. Will Amazon give them over to the LGBTQ activists so they can have a good old-fashioned book burning?
“It is eerily reminiscent of how the American Psychiatric Association (APA) decided to remove homosexuality from its list of disordered behaviors in 1973,” continued Berryman. “There was no ground-breaking research to support that decision. The APA simply caved to intimidation, including violence and threats of further violence, from the so-called Gay Liberation Movement.”
Berryman said it is tragic when a corporation like Amazon allows itself to be bullied, adding that Amazon’s action is “an incentive to work harder to find other retailers through whom I can purchase books.”
“As a former transgender, I am grieved that books attempting to help those struggling with homosexual and transgender feelings are being banned from Amazon, and I fear soon from other sources as well,” Laura Perry told LifeSiteNews.
Perry explained that she believes the types of therapy represented in some of the banned books would have helped her. While her therapist did identify some of the issues leading Perry to believe the lie that she was a man, the therapist ended up giving in to Perry’s demands for hormones.
“As a result, I spent nine years, thousands of dollars in hormones and surgeries, and hundreds of sleepless nights trying to become something I wasn’t rather than forgiving my mom, forgiving the boy that molested me, and healing from the pain of my past,” said Perry.
LGBT activists attempt to block ex-gays and ex-transgenders on social media
A lot has gone into getting the now-banned books into Amazon, Kindle, and Audible.
The problem is that we can’t just go to another platform or create our own,” said Jeremy Schwab, a former homosexual and founder of Joel 2:25, a ministry whose mission is to help men and women who experience same-sex attraction, encouraging relational healing, sexual sobriety, and spiritual growth.
“Every time we create our own app, the gay activists force Apple, Google, etc. to remove us,” Schwab said. “They are trying to cut us off on every side and they have never even read our material. They have no idea what they are even opposing.”
Here are the books known to have been banned by Amazon, which former gays and lesbians are demanding be restored:
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Shame and Attachment Loss: The Practical Work of Reparative Therapy, by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi;
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Restoring Sexual Identity: Hope for Women Who Struggle with Same-Sex Attraction, by Anne Paulk;
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The Battle for Normality: A Guide for (Self-)Therapy for Homosexuality, by Dr. Gerard J. M. Van Den Aardweg;
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Healing Homosexuality: Case Stories of Reparative Therapy, by Lucy Freeman and Dr. Joseph Nicolosi;
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Coming Out Straight: Understanding Same-Sex Attraction, by Richard Cohen;
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Growth into Manhood: Resuming the Journey, by Alan Medinger;
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A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi and Linda Nicolosi;
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Reparative therapy of male homosexuality: A new clinical approach, by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi;
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Straight Talk about Homosexuality: The Other Side of Tolerance, by Richard Cohen;
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Desires in Conflict: Hope for Men Who Struggle with Sexual Identity, by Joe Dallas;
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Orientation and Choice: One Man's Sexual Journey, by David A. Robinson
The petition demanding that Amazon reverse its decision to ban books that aim to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction can be found here.
