It was only a few weeks earlier that I received an angry email from a bloke named Tim Wright. He had his knickers in a knot over a mob called Exodus Global Alliance which, he said, claimed on its web site that "change is possible for the homosexual through the transforming power of Jesus Christ". Exodus was holding a conference in Melbourne with expert speakers who would inform participants that "they don't have to lead the homosexual lifestyle".

Wright said that this had "angered gay rights activists" and they would stage a protest outside the conference as the participants arrived. "You can't choose to become straight because your religious leaders tell you that homosexuality is a sin," honked Wright.

Sure enough, there was a small item in the tabloid press a few days later, "Clash over gay pray", which told of "a dozen protesters" clashing with conference attendees at the Mitcham Baptist church. It also quoted an organiser of the conference, Shirley Baskett, who said she used to be a lesbian and wanted to help others to "choose the right path". Said Baskettt: "It can be very confusing to have these feelings. We are giving troubled church members a place to speak about what they are going through."

Apparently Baskett had done the impossible: she had "chosen to become straight". As indeed have many others, one of the most controversial being JoAnn Loulan, a lesbian psychotherapist on the board of the American Psychiatric Association, an organisation that removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses after heavy lobbying by the gay push (it was the "you can't choose" argument). But then in 1997 Loulan upturned the applecart and announced that she'd fallen in love with a man.

Then there's the problem of Ellen DeGeneres, who told the Oprah Winfrey show: "I wasn't gay" before she flipped and turned lesbian with Ann Heche (although that fizzled out in four years). According to The Advocate newspaper, sociologist Paula Rust found that up to 90% of women who identify themselves as lesbians have had sex with men and that nearly 65% say that they're at least somewhat attracted to men. Hmm, that's inconvenient.

The Mitcham conference has since featured on a website called TWO (Truth Wins Out) where the ubiquitous Mr Wright bobs up again , banging on about gays "not being able to choose". TWO has a video clip too showing a bloke who endured the state of "being gay in a heterosexual marriage" because homosexuals were victimised, attacked and ridiculed in the 1960s and he was scared off.

Eventually this bloke crossed the divide, just like Baskett and Loulan crossed the other way. Were there heterosexual campaigners chanting and jeering at him? Nope. Was he told he "couldn't choose"? No. What business is it of the gay rights people to harrass a homosexual who feels he/she wants to live a heterosexual life? If a peaceful church organisation wants to help them open the door, it's none of the gays' damn business.

END