Anderson Cooper’s smackdown to Texan politician for gay conversion therapy support

Anderson Cooper’s smackdown to Texan politician for gay conversion therapy support

US television journalist and gay celebrity Anderson Cooper has challenged Texas state Republican Party representative Bryan Hughes live on television over his party’s support for gay conversion therapy.

Speaking to Anderson on CNN of his personal support and of the Texas Republican Party’s reason for supporting the therapy as a platform for their party, Hughes said: “We want to make sure that people have rights, and we heard from people that wanted access to that kind of counselling, that kind of therapy and so we believe in free speech.”

RELATED: TEXAS REPUBLICANS BACK TREATMENTS TO TURN GAY PEOPLE STRAIGHT

Anderson also showed Hughes an interview he had done previously with the Alan Chambers, the former head of Exodus International, the now defunct non-profit group ex-gay Christian organisation in the US that encouraged gay conversion therapy for those who wished to limit or reverse their homosexuality.

In that interview, Chambers admitted that he “deeply regretted” his work with conversion therapy and telling people that God did not love them if they were gay.

Hughes responded by saying: “No one is saying that God doesn’t love people as they are… Every one of us makes mistakes, makes decisions we’re not proud of.”

He expressed a view that homosexuality was a mistake, and that “[God] offers us a way to deal with sin and bad choices.”

However, the highlight of the interview was when Hughes claimed that there was medical literature in support of gay conversion therapy, and Cooper reduced his argument to fragments by naming a vast range of leading organisations that opposed it.

Watch the full interview below:

Do you think mainstream journalists and commentators do enough to support LGBTI rights and combat homophobia and transphobia in the current media climate? Why/why not? Comment below.

H/T Huffington Post

 

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2 responses to “Anderson Cooper’s smackdown to Texan politician for gay conversion therapy support”

  1. Thanks to TV shows such as Ellen and Will and Grace, celebrities like Anderson Cooper, and movies including Broke Mountain there is now a substantial presence in the media.For good or for bad Queer culture is in transition, being gentrified. People like Bryan Hughes are dinosaurs and will eventually fade away .
    I think it is our community which should bare the responsibility for the fight for equal rights making the taste of victory all the more sweet.