A group of so-called “ex-gay” activists who say they no longer are LGBTQ+ held an event over the weekend that devolved into a sparsely attended dance party with onlookers.
The “ex-gay” group that calls themselves the Changed Movement wrote in an Instagram post promoting Saturday’s event, “Join our diverse group of former LGBTQ individuals in worshipping, sharing our testimonies, and celebrating freedom in Christ publicly on the Mall in Washington!”
LGBTQ Nation previously reported that the group had come out against the Equality Act. Additionally, the group has opposed making conversion therapy illegal. Conversion therapy refers to any group of practices that are aimed at changing the gender identity and or sexuality of a person. They range from “praying” the gay away, to electric shock therapy and have been widely debunked and decried as abusive and ineffectual. In some cases they lead to depression as well as death by suicide.
The Changed Movement event goes on into this week where meetings are to take place with some lawmakers to push against the Equality Act.
The Washington Blade’s photo editor Michael Patrick Key shared video of Saturday’s event on Twitter.
“CHANGED has come to DC to appeal to Congress to focus on human dignity, not identity politics,” Elizabeth Woning, the group’s co-founder, said in a press release, according to LGBTQ Nation.
Woning said in the email that they “Are Christians with LGBTQ in our past. Many, like us, have changed. We left LGBTQ because we wanted to.”
LGBTQ Nation noted the group is associated with Church United. It also reported that several leaders for the group had come out of the closet.
