Local
Largest ‘ex-gay’ group shuts down
Leader of Exodus International apologizes to gays
Exodus International logo
Exodus International, the oldest and largest Christian ministry that claimed to have helped “cure” homosexuality for thousands of people through prayer and conversion therapy, announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down its operations.
The announcement came one day after its executive director, Alan Chambers, issued a written apology to the LGBT community acknowledging “the pain and hurt others have experienced” through failed attempts to convert from gay to straight.
Chambers’ announcement and apology also came about a year and a half after he startled leaders of the ex-gay movement by saying conversion therapy doesn’t work for more than 99 percent of the clients who undergo such therapy.
Experts from the nation’s leading, mainline mental health organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association, have long held that conversion therapy doesn’t work and is harmful to those who undergo it.
“Exodus is an institution in the conservative Christian world, but we’ve ceased to be a living, breathing organism,” Chambers said in a statement released on June 19. “For quite some time we’ve been imprisoned in a worldview that’s neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical,” he said.
The statement, which was released during Exodus’s annual conference in Irvine, Calif., says the organization’s board voted unanimously to close its operations. It says local ex-gay ministries affiliated with Exodus throughout the country that have been autonomous would continue to operate, “but not under the name or umbrella of Exodus.”
Rev. Cindi Love, executive director of Soulforce, an LGBT supportive Christian organization that has long opposed the practice of conversion therapy, called the closing of Exodus International a positive development in the advancement of LGBT equality.
“I pray that Alan Chambers is truly remorseful about the damaged and lost lives as a result of Exodus interventions,” Love said in a statement. “Soulforce will never stop speaking up for our siblings who are vulnerable to the harm and spiritual violence caused by ‘ex-gay’ ministries,” she said.
“We are grateful for this development. God loves us exactly as we are – we need no repair,” she said. “Anyone who continues to try and ‘fix’ LGBT people makes a mockery of God’s love.”
Wayne Besen, founder and director of Truth Wins Out, an LGBT organization that has challenged the “ex-gay” movement, called the action by Chambers and other leaders of Exodus International a bold move and a “crippling blow” to the “ex-gay” movement.
“This will forever cast a looming shadow on the ‘ex-gay’ industry,” Besen told the Blade. “It cuts to the heart of their credibility. This will hang over their heads and diminish their false promises and their false hope that they’re selling to vulnerable and desperate people.”
Sharon Groves, director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program, called Exodus International’s decision to close its doors “a welcome first step” in addressing the harm she said Exodus has caused to LGBT people during the 37 years it has been in business in the U.S. and abroad.
“Now we need them to take the next step of leadership and persuade all other religious-based institutions that they got it wrong,” Groves said. “This is the right kind of reparative work that is left for them to do.”
In his written apology Chambers told of how up until recently he “conveniently” concealed his own “ongoing same-sex attractions” while continuing to advance Exodus International’s mission of helping people shed their homosexuality.
“Today, however, I accept these feelings as parts of my life that will likely always be there,” he said. “The days of feeling shame over being human in that way are long over, and I feel free simply accepting myself as my wife and family does,” indicating his plans to remain married to his wife Leslie.
“I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced,” he said. “I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents,” he continued.
“I am sorry that there were times when I didn’t stand up to people publicly ‘on my side’ who called you names like sodomite – or worse,” Chambers said.
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
Delaware
Delaware school district remains supportive after Trump attacks on trans students
Cape Henlopen has gender identity nondiscrimination policy
The Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, one of five school districts in several states where the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month rescinded agreements protecting the rights of transgender students, says it will continue to provide a “safe and supportive learning environment” for all students.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Cape Henlopen district sent the Washington Blade a short statement on its response to the federal Education Department’s action under orders from the Trump administration that ended what were called school district “resolution agreements” put in place under the administration of President Joe Biden.
Among other things, the federally initiated agreements required schools to train faculty on responding to a student’s preferred name and pronouns and to implement policies that allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.
“The Cape Henlopen School District has received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding the resolution agreement entered in March 2024,” the Cape Henlopen School District’s statement says. “As always, we are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment where all students can succeed,” it says.
“We will continue to work collaboratively to ensure our practices and programs support the well-being, growth, and achievement of every student in our District,” the statement concludes.
Although it did not respond specifically to the Trump-initiated action ending federal protections for trans students, a statement on the Cape Henlopen School District’s website says the district has a policy of non-discrimination based on a wide range of categories, including race, religion, creed, gender, and “sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The Trump administration’s latest action does not take away nondiscrimination policies put in place by school districts on their own.
The Cape Henlopen district is in Sussex County, a short distance from Rehoboth Beach, a Delaware resort town with many LGBTQ residents and summer visitors.
The other school districts for which the U.S. education department ended the trans nondiscrimination agreements include the Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, Sacramento City Unified School District in California, Fife School District in Washington State, and La Mesa Spring Valley School District also in California.
Kimberly Richey, the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, said in a statement that the decision to terminate the school agreements highlighted the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent trans students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.
“Today, the Trump administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” she said in her statement.
Shiwali Patel, an official with the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement that the action removing protections for trans students would negatively impact all students.
“There is absolutely no basis for what the Department of Education is doing, and it is unimaginably cruel,” she said. “Parents, teachers, and students need the Department to focus on addressing real harms on campuses instead of rolling back policies that keep all students safe.”
Virginia
Va. voters approve HRC-backed redistricting plan
10 of state’s 11 congressional districts now favor Democrats
Virginia voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a congressional redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The referendum passed by a 51-48 vote margin.
Virginia’s last Census happened in 2020. The next time maps would have been redrawn was intended for 2030, but the referendum results allow for redistricting to happen this year, while allowing the standard district procedures to resume after the 2030 Census.
Many congressional maps have been redrawn since the Trump-Vance administration took office, adding seats for both Republicans and Democrats. Ten of 11 of Virginia’s congressional districts will now favor Democrats.
The Human Rights Campaign PAC supported the referendum.
“Virginians made their voices heard today, rebuking Republicans’ attempts to stack the deck in their favor in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond,” said Human Rights Campaign PAC President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “This year, we’re going to take Congress back from the fringe extremists who have bent the knee to President Trump’s historically unpopular agenda at every turn.”
“Virginians just put anti-equality, anti-democracy, and anti-freedom lawmakers on notice — together, we are fighting for a future where every single American’s vote matters and where every elected official must earn their constituents’ trust,” she added.
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Delaware school district remains supportive after Trump attacks on trans students
Va. voters approve HRC-backed redistricting plan
Australia lifts additional restrictions on LGBTQ blood donors
Top EU court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law
Calendar: April 17-23
Team DC’s annual gala set for this weekend
Judge rescinds stay-away order in Capital Pride anti-stalking case
The latest Supreme Court case erasing LGBTQ identity
