Homeopathic Gay Cure?

An advertising campaign backed by a Christian group which has been described as anti-gay, has been pulled from London buses. The ads were paid for by the Core Issues Trust and offer therapy to 'cure' homosexuality. The ads have been considered offensive, especially by Stonewall.

Transport for London has said the advert did not reflect a "tolerant and inclusive London".  Excuse me? Since when has London (or indeed any society) been tolerant and inclusive? It's the nature of humans to form groups that then compete with each other. The only inclusiveness that exists is within these groups of like-minded individuals - if you're not a member of the group, you're a pariah and an outcast.

I'm not so sure these adverts are anti-gay - clearly some people are unhappy with their sexual orientation - perhaps not with the orientation per-se, but more the stigmatisation they receive from some quarters because of their orientation - and would like to change, if only they could. Like gay Catholics, for instance.

However, that said, it shouldn't be considered offensive to want to help someone, providing it's done for good motives. It really depends on what's behind Core Issue Trust's agenda - whether it's a sense of moral outrage at homosexuality, or a genuine desire to help those dissatisfied with their sexual orientation.

If the latter, then I wonder if they would consider providing therapy to those dissatisfied with being heterosexual, but feel they can't make that final step? I somehow suspect not.

However, there is no hard evidence that there is such a thing as a 'gay cure'. It's on a par with homeopathy in that respect, and that ain't banned - you can even get that on the NHS, despite there not being a shred of scientific evidence for its efficacy.

When all's said and done, Core Issues Trust has gotten more publicity from the ads being banned than from running them. Job done!