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| Schneider |
In all of the excitement and happening involving yesterday's Virginia decision, something else the lgbt community should be celebrating got lost in the shuffle. According to
Jeremy Hooper, GLAAD Special Projects Consultant:
Yvette Cantu Schneider has one of the most robust pedigrees of
anyone who has ever worked in the so-called "ex-gay" movement. From the
late nineties right through to the second decade of the twenty-first
century, Yvette managed to find herself laboring for and with just about
every top anti-LGBT group and activist you've heard of. From her
high-profile start at the Family Research Council to her work with
California's Proposition 8 campaign—with many stops, at many different
groups and campaigns along the way—Yvette became one of that movement's
most visible faces and certainly one of the most known women in a line
of "work" known mainly for its male spokespeople. To this day, Yvette remains one of the key people who anti-gay
voices like to cite in order to prove that "change" works. In a December
19, 2013, press release concerning the Duck Dynasty brouhaha, notorious
anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who was a colleague of Yvette's
during their shared time at the Family Research Council, cited Schnieder
as an example of a person who has "ovecome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ." "Ex-gay" websites continue to list her as among their ranks and push her story as a source of inspiration. The American Family Association continues to sell a video, "It's Not Gay,"
in which Yvette appears as a talking head. They all still claim Yvette
as being both an example and a worker bee for their side.
That all changes today. Yvette has reached out
to GLAAD, exclusively, to share her story—one that will come as a shock
to her former colleagues and allies.
In a nutshell: Yvette no longer wishes to identify with the
"ex-gay" or anti-LGBT movement; is sorry for the pain she caused as part
of that world; is highly questioning of the idea of "ex-gay" itself;
and is now fully supportive of LGBT people, our truths, and our
families. Yvette has made her sincerity clear to me, saying "as opposed
to when I was doing things for the Christian Right out of duty and
obligation, I'm doing it because I want to and feel it's the right thing
to do." She hopes that by speaking out, she can start to undo any
damage she might've helped to impart.
\Go to this link to read the first of a two-part story in which Schneider explains how an encounter with the child of a gay man and her own daughter's illness led her to question the path she was on.
But first, a little note. There are some who will probably say "f#ck her," or "she hurt too many people to be begging forgiveness."
To those folks, I would like to quote Tyler Perry as Madea Simmons and say shut the hell up!
Forgiveness is a good thing. Not just for the piece of mind of the person you are forgiving but also your own soul.
Who wants to hold on to bitterness when it's so much easier - and healthier - to forgive and open your heart?
