LGBTQ Breaking News Service

The Changed movement, a group of “ex-gay” advocates that claimed to have left behind their LGBTQ identities, embarked on Washington D.C. this weekend as part of their CHANGED DC “tour.”

One of the main events of the tour was what was called a “freedom march” yesterday to celebrate their ex-gay identities and show support for anti-LGBTQ causes, as they’re lobbying Congress to stop their efforts to pass the Equality Act or other pro-LGBTQ legislation. The “march” turned into a dance party of just members of the group and possibly bewildered onlookers at the Washington Monument.

Related: Milo claims that dogs stopped barking at him as a sign from God once he became “ex-gay”

Today’s event was expected to be a rally with a “diverse group of former LGBTQ individuals in worshipping, sharing our testimonies, and celebrating freedom in Christ publicly on the Mall in Washington!”

From early footage of the event captured by Washington Blade photo editor Michael Patrick Key, the rally mostly featured dancing and singing by Changed members. Others in the shadow of the Washington Monument, some wearing Pride colors, appear to have stopped for the music.

The Changed group consists of men and women who have declared themselves “ex-gay” or “OnceGay.” The “formers,” who are also associated with the organizations Church United, say that they’re the real oppressed minority here. But instead of advancing their interests, they argued against LGBTQ people’s.

They began lobbying Congress this week in opposition to the Equality Act, a landmark LGBTQ non-discrimination legislation. The group also opposes efforts to make so-called conversion therapy illegal, and many believe the psychologically damaging pseudoscientific technique can actually ‘change’ people from gay to straight, as many of them have ‘successfully’ received it.

“CHANGED has come to DC to appeal to Congress to focus on human dignity, not identity politics,” Elizabeth Woning, the group’s co-founder said in an emailed press release announcing their “tour.”

Woning said that they “Are Christians with LGBTQ in our past. Many, like us, have changed. We left LGBTQ because we wanted to.”

After today’s “march,” the “tour” will conclude with a two-day Speak Out training event for other “ex-gay” people at the price of $35, which is “aimed at equipping and activating CHANGED to raise their voices and change culture!”

On the first day, which is tomorrow, Changed will have “friends from strong, conservative advocacy groups to share their wisdom” and ask registered guests to rehearse and share their stories. On the second day, they ask now-“trained” guests to set up meetings with their U.S. Senator’s office and try to convince the politicians to oppose LGBTQ rights by sharing their story — with Changed members present.

While the group claims religious people shouldn’t get “special” protections from the government either, the “ex-gay” lobbyists want a number of their “rights” protected that it claims current pro-LGBTQ legislation will remove. Woning cites freedom of thought and religion as granted by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the adopted guidance of the United Nations. (The United Nations has opposed conversion therapy.)

That includes the right to “follow one’s religious convictions away from LGBTQ identity,” the right to “shape one’s own sexual identity without political indoctrination,” and the right to “publicly declare alternative views of LGBTQ experience without being labeled a ‘hate group.’”

In 2019, two significant “ex-gay” leaders came out of the closet. The first is David Matheson, a Latter Day Saints therapist who helped write the instruction handbook for the “ex-gay” program Journey into Manhood. The second, McRae Game, led a well-known conversion ministry in South Carolina for two decades.

Additionally, a third conversion counselor, Norman Goldwasser was caught using the screen name “hotnhairy72” on Manhunt and Gay Bear Nation.

The group lobbied Congress in 2019 as well. They also descended upon the nation’s capitol in 2018 with as bad of a turnout, long before the pandemic.

Not many online were receptive to the “ex-gay” movement arriving in Washington.

In celebration of Pride Month, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford connected with Apple Music‘s Hattie Collins to talk about being a young gay musician in the late 1970s. Rob shared the difficulty of social pressures holding him back from coming out, writing “Raw Deal” inspired by the idea of Fire Island, and his unplanned coming-out story.

Speaking about what it was like to become the first metal icon to announce he is gay in 1998 during an MTV interview, despite knowing about his sexuality since he was 10, Halford said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It was beautiful. It was very unplanned. It was one of those things where I’m at MTV in New York, I’m talking about a project that I was working on, and in the casual course of the conversation — we were talking about the overall music and the direction and the feelings — and I said something to the effect of, ‘Well, speaking as a gay man… blah blah blah blah blah.’ And then I heard the producer’s clipboard bounce on the floor. It was one of those gay sharp intakes of breath: ‘Oh my God! He’s come out.’ And so there I was. And I did the interview. And then I walked back to the hotel and went back to my room. And [I was, like], ‘Now everybody knows.’ And then, of course, it hit the newswires. And that was that.”

Last October, Halford spoke to New York’s Q104.3 radio station about his recently released autobiography, “Confess”, in which he described in detail how was advised to be discreet about his homosexuality given the macho hetero nature of the metal world, even though his PRIEST bandmates and their management knew he was gay and were accepting.

“When I read the audio for ‘Confess’, that’s when it really started to hit me emotionally,” Halford said. “‘Cause it’s one thing to read the words, but when you speak ’em out… Man, I’ve been on some of the most incredible journeys and experiences.

“I’m not unique in the issue of finding your own sexual identity, but certainly the way I’ve tried to balance that in my professional working life as a musician was tough; it was difficult,” he continued. “And we go into detail how I couldn’t go to clubs or bars for fear of recognition and that hitting the press, and blah blah blah, just because the world was a different place then. Of course, the long-term discovery, when I did come out, famously on MTV in the [late] ’90s, when I was in the 2WO band with John 5, was that it was the most perfect example of the way the metal community is so accepting and inclusive and welcoming people from all over.

“There are no labels on us in the metal community; we’re just all together,” Rob added. “I think that’s kind of attached to the fact that metal, for the longest time, was, like… In rock and roll, everybody was kicking heavy metal music: ‘Oh, man, what is that stuff? It’s nothing. It’s got no value.’ But we knew, as metal maniacs, this was our music; this is how we expressed ourselves. We love to listen to this music, be with each other at home listening to it. Most importantly, going to shows together. Man, please bring back those days as quick as possible. So, all of that is discussed in detail in ‘Confess’.”

“Confess” arrived in September via Hachette Books. It was written with Ian Gittins, co-writer of “The Heroin Diaries” by Nikki Sixx.

Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the ball during a game against the Utah Jazz
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

The Miami Heat are going to be very active this offseason and it’s for obvious reasons. This is an opportunity to begin searching for ways to return to contention in the Eastern Conference, as then search to either trade or sign a perennial All-Star begins.

In addition to bringing in a whale, the Heat must primarily focus their concerns on the impending free agencies of Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, two names who headline as top free-agents in Miami’s youth. Then, you also have the possible negotiations of a maximum extension of star Jimmy Butler.

However, it’s never too early to take note of potential assets and this free agency class has plenty of underrated players who could be game-changers for this franchise. A low-end option to be considered, is San Antonio Spurs veteran forward Rudy Gay.

Once a former borderline All-Star for the Memphis Grizzlies, Gay has just finished his fourth-consecutive season with the Spurs. A fourteen-year NBA veteran in the back-end of his career, Gay likely won’t cross the radar for many teams this summer — as he’ll be turning 35 in August.

However, there’s many reasons for why players of his age still hold value.

Drag queens, LGBT rights activists and their supporters dance in Tokyo’s Shibuya, demanding equality in Japan, after ruling lawmakers were accused of violating the Olympic spirit with homophobic remarks that included saying same-sex relationships threaten “the preservation of the species”.

• A Dallas, Texas, man pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges for a string of crimes in 2017.
• Daniel Jenkins, 22, admitted he used the gay dating app Grindr to target men for their “perceived sexual orientation.”
• Jenkins was the last of four men to plead guilty to crimes involved in the 2017 scheme, according to the Justice Department.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A 22-year-old Dallas, Texas, man last week pleaded guilty to a slew of charges, including federal hate crime charges, and admitted he and his co-conspirators used a gay dating app to target gay men for violent crimes.

Daniel Jenkins admitted that he and other men used the app Grindr, the dating app predominantly used by gay men, to lure men because of their “perceived sexual orientation” to an abandoned apartment complex and other areas around Dallas, according to the Justice Department.

The crimes took place over the course of about one week in December 2017 and included kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, and hate crimes, according to court documents. Jenkins admitted he and his co-conspirators held people against their will, held victims at gunpoint, forced them to withdraw money from ATMs, and stole their property, including their vehicles.

Jenkins also told authorities that one of his co-conspirators had attempted to use an “object” to sexually assault one of the victims, according to court documents. Jenkins also said one of his co-conspirators had “wiped human feces on at least two victims,” documents say.  

Jenkins admitted he and his co-conspirators had physically injured at least one person and had “taunted the victims based upon the co-conspirators’ perception of the men’s sexual orientation,” according to the Justice Department.

Three others involved in the incidents previously pleaded guilty to crimes. Michael Atkinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and kidnapping charges in March 2019. Daryl Henry and Pablo Ceniceros-Deleon pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime charge and other charges in December 2019, according to the DOJ.

The other three co-conspirators are set to be sentenced on June 23.

“These defendants brutalized multiple victims, singling them out due to their sexual orientation. We cannot allow this sort of violence to fester unchecked,” Acting US Attorney Prerak Shah of the Northern District of Texas said in a statement. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting hate crimes. In the meantime, we urge dating app users to remain vigilant. Unfortunately, predators often lurk online.”  

Predators have previously been accused of using Grindr to target gay men. A 19-year-old Louisiana man was indicted in March by a federal grand jury on six charges, including hate crime with intent to kill, after authorities say he used the app to kidnap two men and attempted to kidnap another.

Jenkins faces up to 26 years in prison, according to the DOJ. He is set to be sentenced on October 6.