Family Research Council relies on fake expert to justify fraudulent 'ex-gay therapy'

FRC's Peter Sprigg is a fake expert.

One of the most annoying things about anti-LGBTQ groups is how they bestow official-sounding titles on their spokespeople and then trot them out as experts in front of the media. Often times, these folks  anointed as experts don't know what they are talking about except for the talking points they are paid to spew.

Peter Sprigg, the Family Research Council's Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, is a perfect example of what I am talking about. FRC's bio of Sprigg says the following:

 Mr. Sprigg joined FRC in 2001, and his research and writing have addressed issues of marriage and family, human sexuality, the arts and entertainment, and religion in public life. Mr. Sprigg has been quoted as a spokesman for FRC in many major newspapers, and he has been interviewed or participated in debates on all of the national television networks. He is the author of the book Outrage: How Gay Activists and Liberal Judges Are Trashing Democracy to Redefine Marriage (Regnery, 2004), and he was co-editor of another FRC book on homosexuality. Mr. Sprigg also edited FRC's agenda-setting booklet, 25 Pro-Family Policy Goals for the Nation.

The bio also says:

Mr. Sprigg is an ordained Baptist minister. Before coming to FRC, he served as pastor of Clifton Park Center Baptist Church in Clifton Park, N.Y. Mr. Sprigg previously served for ten years as a professional actor and unit leader in Covenant Players, an international Christian drama ministry. Prior to his career in ministry, Mr. Sprigg worked in the government and non-profit sectors, including service as economic development assistant to the late Congressman Robert F. Drinan (D-Mass.). Mr. Sprigg received the Master of Divinity degree cum laude from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Mass.). He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Drew University (N.J.), with a double major in political science and economics.

I'm willing to wager that when it comes to the LGBTQ community and human sexuality, I could give you more credible information while talking in my sleep than Sprigg could while awake.

Yet, FRC trots him out as an expert to talk about such things as the recent decision by Amazon to stop selling books defending the fraudulent practice of "ex-gay therapy."

Peter Sprigg, who joined "Washington Watch" on Monday to talk about the controversy, said he couldn't believe a company as massive as Amazon would take a single activist's word for it. 

 "It's interesting that the LGBT movement wields such power as that they are able to persuade a huge corporation -- in fact, one single activist is able to persuade a huge corporation -- to remove a whole set of books. I'm pretty certain that nobody at Amazon has cracked the cover of any of these books to see what's inside. I doubt that Roho Allen himself has ever looked at any of these books to see what's inside. And you might be surprised if he did because, the content is not the kind of extreme material that LGBT activists always associate with what they call 'conversion therapy.'"

. . . As Peter explains, "The fact is, there have been a number of publications [and] peer-reviewed scientific studies that have shown that this therapy can be effective. So anytime you hear an LGBT activist say there's no research showing it works, that's a lie. There is research showing it works, and you can find it on the FRC website..."

The "research" Sprigg is talking about is some ridiculous paper he wrote claiming that studies show  "ex-gay therapy" works. I chose not to post the link for two reasons.

1. The Family Research Council and particularly Sprigg has consistently either distorted legitimate science or relied on junk science to denigrate the LGBTQ community. I've written on this so many times over the years that my blog could devote a wing specifically to Sprigg:

Why can't anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council stop distorting science? 

Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg gave misleading testimony at hearing on 'ex-gay' therapy 

Anti-gay spokesman's distortions exposed by actual experts on NPR Family Research Council's attack on Politifact backfires 

Peter Sprigg proves the Family Research Council to be a hate group (again)

2. Legitimate experts contradict Sprigg's nonsense about the success of "ex-gay therapy." This link, courtesy of activist Florence Ashley, lists over 40 medical and professional organizations which oppose the practice of "ex-gay" therapy. This includes the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the  American Academy of Family Physicians, the  American Academy of Nursing, the  American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association.

So when it comes to the issue of "ex-gay therapy," who would you believe? Legitimate medical and professional organizations? Or a failed actor and (based on the many lies he tells) a failed pastor anointed as an "expert" by an anti-LGBTQ hate group? A man whose expertise probably ranks several leagues below that of Scooby Doo?