Video: Clinic owned by Michele Bachmann and husband tries to ‘cure’ gays
Video footage has been emerged of a counsellor at a clinic owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband telling a gay man he can become straight.
Mrs Bachmann is a Republican presidential candidate with a history of making offensive remarks about gay people. She has said that gay people suffer “sexual dysfunction” and “personal enslavement”, as well as claiming that gays are “specifically targeting our children”.
Her husband of 30 years, Marcus, runs Christian counselling organisation Bachmann & Associates in Minnesota.
Reports of ‘gay cure’ therapy at Bachmann & Associates first surfaced in 2005 but Mr Bachmann said these were “false”.
ABC News has now obtained footage of a counselling session.
In the footage, John Becker, of gay group Truth Wins Out, is told by a therapist: “The truth is that God designed our eyes to be attracted to the woman’s body.”
When he asks whether he can be rid of “homosexual urges”, the therapist replies: “I think it’s possible to be totally free of them.”
Mr Becker also photographed a stack of books by self-proclaimed ‘ex-lesbian’ Janet Boynes, plus a personal endorsement from Mr Bachmann pasted on the wall above them.
Speaking to ABC News, Mr Becker said: “It’s unambiguous: the goal was to change me from homosexual to heterosexual.”
Mr Bachmann has said in the past that gay people are “barbarians [who] need to be educated, they need to be disciplined”.
The counselling service said it could not comment on individual cases or treatments due to patient confidentiality.
Appearing in Iowa yesterday as part of her election campaign, Ms Bachmann said she was “very proud” of her family business and was there to talk about job creation.
‘Gay cure’ therapy, also known as ‘reparative therapy’, has been widely condemned by mainstream health experts as pointless as best and damaging at worst.
