Wayne Besen

Infobox scientist
name = Wayne Besen

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image_size = 150px
birth_date =
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nationality = United States
field =
work_institutions = Human Rights Campaign
alma_mater = University of Florida
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for = Former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign
Founder of Truth Wins Out
prizes = Nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards

Wayne Besen is a gay rights advocate in the United States. He is a former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.

Besen, a gay man, was never personally involved in the ex-gay movement, but says he has interviewed hundreds of former and current ex-gays.

In 2000, he photographed ex-gay activist John Paulk in a Washington D.C. gay bar called Mr. P's. Paulk said he was simply there to use the washroom, but Besen and other witnesses allege he was drinking and flirting for over twenty minutes. Besen went public with the story, and wrote about it in his book "Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth". The book was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards in 2003. [http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/lammy_archives.html]

Besen's photograph of Paulk (and subsequent release of the story) was instrumental in the ultimate removal of Paulk as Chair of Exodus International, a major organization in the "Ex-gay movement". As noted by "The Washington Post" in October 2002: " [John Paulk] had been the most famous success story of the Christian ex- gay movement, which seeks to persuade gay men and lesbians to accept Jesus and renounce homosexuality. He had appeared on "60 Minutes," "Oprah" and the cover of "Newsweek"." [Archives, The Washington Post, "Ads Renew Ex-gay Debate", by Alan Cooperman, 21 Oct 2002]

In June 2006, Besen founded Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization to counter ex-gay ministries. He also launched www.RespectMyResearch.org, to document what he views as distortions of science, particularly by Focus on the Family.

References

Education

* Besen graduated from the University of Florida in 1993 with a Bachelors of Science degree in journalism. [http://www.waynebesen.com]

External links

* [http://www.waynebesen.com www.waynebesen.com]
* [http://www.anythingbutstraight.com/ Anything but Straight (official website)]
* [http://www.truthwinsout.org Truth Wins Out] , of which Besen is the Founding Executive Director