Chicago-based activist Wayne Besen, on June 26, announced that he would be closing his organization, Truth Wins Out ( TWO ), which opposed so-called "ex-gay" organizations, after 11 years.
With the ex-gay industry largely discredited, Besen thinks the organization has in many ways accomplished its goals, he said.
"When I started the organization, the ex-gay organizations were called 'the Normandy landing of the cultural wars," he recalled. "I started it on a lark, after [former President] George W. Bush invited [former Exodus International officials] Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas to the White House. I said, 'Enough is enough.'"
Besen had just published a book on the ex-gay movement and was already informally in contact with people needing help. He took umbrage with the ex-gay industry's stance that lesbians and gays were damaged heterosexuals, and that homosexuality essentially did not exist. Besen referred to it as an "existential attack" on the LGBT community and called it "a form of eliminationism."
Besen said, "Once we debunk this particular existential lie, it makes it so much easier for other things to succeed."
TWO "filled a vacuum" since many larger larger LGBT organizations at the time were wary of the provocative components of the 'ex-gay conversation'religion, politics and sexhe added. "It was kind of toxic. A lot of people were afraid of it."
He admitted to becoming wary of two parts of his job, fundraising and dealing with 'nasty, unpleasant people' in the anti-LGBT movement. But Besen is also proud of the legacy TWO leaves behind, not least of which is what he said is about "a million dollars' worth of research" about the ex-gay movement. He is launching an online fundraising campaign to so that he can continue to maintain and update TWO's various websites.
Besen launched TWO in New York City, but left because of rising costs there. After a stint in Burlington, Vermont, he hung the TWO shingle in Chicago in late 2013. For now, he hopes to stay, but said he'll go wherever work takes him; he is looking to move into political consulting or host a radio program. He already hosted a Chicago program until 2017 but was let go after a dispute with his station's owners.
He noted that anti-LGBT politics are cyclical, however, and didn't rule out returning to advocacy, adding, "If I need to, I'll strap my gloves on and come back," he said. "I will be well-rested and ready."