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SST article continues to do damage

Thu 17 Jun 2004 In: New Zealand Daily News

The Anglican Dean of Auckland's comments that homosexuality remains a choice for some were prompted by a feature article in the Sunday Star-Times. In a newspaper column published last week, Richard Randerson discussed a controversial study of "ex-gays" by Dr Robert Spitzer as proof that some gays can choose their sexuality. The study was rubbished by Spitzer's peers, but has been used in antigay lobbying by moral right groups worldwide since its release in 2001. Randerson has since revealed that his source for the study was not its original publication in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, but the Sunday Star-Times, which was recently subject to a Press Council complaint over accusations of bias and misrepresentation over its article on the Spitzer study. This is the second time that the SST article has been used by a church to justify homophobia. The SST last year gave permission for the article to be reprinted on an official Catholic website that said gay men were child molesters.    

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Thursday, 17th June 2004 - 12:00pm

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