An online petition to pull an app from iTunes targeted at “homosexual strugglers” has reached 20,000 signatures.
Apple has not commented publicly on whether it intends to pull the free app from Christian group Exodus International and did not return Cult of Mac’s request for comment.
Last November, Apple removed an app called the Manhattan Declaration from the iTunes store after outcry and over 7,000 signatures on an online poll that the content was an anti-gay and hate-mongering. The app makers asked to have it re-instated to no avail.
The group behind the latest petition, Truth Wins Out, has also asked Apple to intervene but received no response. Signers of the petition more than tripled since our last post on the Exodus app.
They issued the following statement: “If Apple continues to bury its head in the sand, we will hold a press conference in front of their offices featuring sexual and spiritual abuse victims of “ex-gay” programs.”
We’ll keep you posted.
Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco freelance writer who heads up Cult of Mac Magazine, our weekly publication available on iTunes. You can find her on Twitter and Google+. If you’re doing something new, cool and Apple-related, email her.
62 responses to “Petition to pull “gay cure” app hits 20,000 signatures”
If there are people who may be dealing with their sexuality and choose one path over another, why not let them? Isn’t that what the gay right movement is about. Let the app stay, this group is acting hypocritical.
The app should be pulled because Exodus International isn’t about “choosing” to be gay or not, which most reasoned people agree isn’t a choice but a fact. It’s about brutally repressing homosexual people through religious rhetoric claiming that “practicing” gays and lesbians are going to go to Hell.
Ok TGB that was the most ignorant statement I have ever heard. The “gay” movement is all for the freedom of choice. Having a bunch of people sign a petition is a freedom for them to petition. If someone that is gay feels they are struggling and wants support via an app, which in all truth I don’t see many people using an app for this, than thats their choice is it not. If you are anyway knowledgable in the TRUE practices of the church it is not to slam people because of their preference. Biblically it does state that the act of homosexuality is immoral, or to use another term that gets blown out of whack, sin. The issue is never the person, its the act & sin. If you were a follower of God, NOT RELIGION, you would be clear that God is all about choice, not force. I think the error here by the Gay community is that they are being very hypocritical. Almost any movement takes this posture. We want the right to fight for our rights but if anyone comes to contest it they back into a corner and pull a woe is me card and say they are being discriminated against. The great thing about this country is we can stand for what we believe, no matter what “faction” you stand on. I say fair is fair, the app can stay because it would be a choice to use it, not a forced option.
how can an app be “brutally repressing homosexual people”. If anyone wants to buy it, great, if not, it’s also ok. This is a FREE country, everyone can decide what to do with their lives. Gay ppl shouldn’t shove their beliefs onto other people
Where were the 20000 signatures to pull the “baby shaker” app?
who cares. what kind of world do we live in that freedom to buy or not buy an app is somehow repression and offends. A country that defends the rights of NAMBLA gets offended at a totally misguided and useless iPhone app. Nice. How about concerning yourselves with things that matter… believe what you believe in to such a degree that an app doesn’t “offend” you. Please. Grow a pair.
How ironic… Truth Wins Out is resorting to censorship by extortion?! While I do agree this app sends a potentially damaging message to troubled homosexuals, it is only through proper education may we socially evolve beyond seeing sexual preference as a divisive issue.
Some of you really need to educate yourselves on Exodus. This is a discredited cult that uses psychologically bankrupt ideas to brainwash its clients. There are survivor’s groups that exist to help people who have been badly damaged by this organization — that preaches that gay people have the “demon of homosexuality”. There are also groups to support divorced spouses who ended up marrying these so-called “ex-gays” — who were instructed to claim they had gone straight, when they actually had not.
As for the “freedom” argument — did you know that Exodus #1 goal for 2011 is indoctrinating youth who are forced to go to these “ex-gay” boot camps against their will? Were you aware that the organization is telling middle school children that they are sick and sinful and need to pray away the gay? Did you know that the therapy group that Exodus works with, NARTH, takes “clients” as young as 3 years old?
Still calling this a matter of “choice” and “freedom”? Or, do you support psychologically torturing young kids by demeaning them and forcing them into Exodus programs against their will?
The issue is not the application but the misinformation that you can pray away gay. You should be who you are without shame or guilt. Bi, straight, gay or what ever; it does not matter as long as you are honest with yourself and accept yourself as you are.
The best defense against snake oil vendors like Exodus is to shine a light on them which is what this petition is accomplishing. People, like yourself, who are not familiar with Exodus will learn and understand why the alarm.
If 7000 signatures resulted in the pulling of an app that currently has the support of 486,926 signatures, how many more signatures might there be in support of the Exodus app relative to the 20,000 signatures who seek to have it pulled?
Thankfully this stupid app has been pulled.
The more I see these fundamentalist Christians, the happier I feel being an atheist.
I don’t see why Apple should enter into censoring political or religious speech that someone doesn’t agree with.
I’m sure the Daily Kos could get thousands of signatures to remove Fox News from the App Store and that Glenn Beck could have thousands of his minions write for removal of just about anything he doesn’t like.
The freedom of ideas should be supported regardless of whether you support the ideas or not.
Sorry Wayne, I will still hold to the “choice” and “freedom” statements. While it looks like you have done a bit of homework on the Exodus group these are just your words that sound extremely opinionated and not factual. My argument is to support or not support Exodus, its the fact that an app is getting pulled because a group is pulling the discrimination card. If an app went up that was to help men or women who feel they could be gay and it helped them in that choice making there would be a hailstorm of mess if it was attempted to get pulled. So yes, back to the hypocritical perspective I think is being shown here. But it looks like it was pulled, another victory for those that fight for freedom but push their own agenda’s and pull the discriminatory card when opposed. Its pretty ridiculous really, this was an app, one that you had to choose to pay for and download on your device. But I suppose with your logic it would be forced on people who are gay to help them “get the demon out of them” as you put it.
Hahaha, Well than you just don’t believe in anything do you? What a happy life that must be.
Thanks Greg for your reply. Although I do not believe your first statement I do agree that you should be who you are. I am not entirely familiar with Exodus and it is sad that such an organization exists. But again, this seems like throwing back hate on a hate group which doesn’t really add to much.
Funny how you assume that atheists don’t believe in “anything”. What a happy life that must be.
Let’s protest because people are insulted about their Gay insecurities but let’s ignore our greater Constitutional rights being violated… this has nothing to do with gays as much as it does with not being comfortable in your own flesh… don’t you realize, that none of us have any rights because we haven’t teamed up to protect the US Const.?
two people viewing the same evidence given different conclusions. and they argue because they cannot understand each other. Ignorance absolves you of any work in the matter and requires no bibliography or personal discovery.
But let us not reveal MY sins that I struggle with! We shall call my sins… natural. And whom do they ‘hurt’? No one! So my a-hole pride and then some sins are a-ok according to the temporal law. Why are we segregating ONE SIN and condeming it but not another? Have Christians forgot? He who hasn’t sin may cast the first stone! And whom hasn’t sinned? Jesus! And Jesus STILL DID NOT CAST STONES! he died for our sins. So in effect, shouldn’t you christians not figuratively beat these who struggle like you? And atheists have no right to jeer because they havent the context in their perception.
I don’t even want to get into the politics of theism. But, I will say I went to a Christian school. When I was in fourth grade, a kid in my class named Joseph made the mistake of telling his parents he thought he was gay. They shipped him off to one of these reeducation places for gay children. When I tell you he was not the same after that, it’s hard for me to communicate just how messed up he was. I will never forget his dead eyes, coming back to school in a white suit with flowers for Lori, a girl in my grade.
He killed himself when he was 20.
These ideas are very dangerous for children, in my opinion. Lives are ruined. I realize there is free speech, and I support that – but it’s hard for me to reconcile that with the life I have seen destroyed by this first hand.
Atheism is just a lack of belief in God, not a lack of belief in everything. The clue is in the name :p.
On the contrary, it is very much possible to argue with someone while understanding their point of view. This is actually key in determining how to express your argument, outlining fallacies or false assumptions of the opposition, as well as being self-critical to uncover any problems with your own argument.
Someone who knows all about a subject may be absolved, as they have nothing left to learn, but those with no knowledge of something have a much greater propensity to investigate further.
I have a friend whose parents sent him to one of those camps, where they tortured him with “aversion therapy” to fix his gayness. Fortunately, he was strong enough to survive this heinous treatment. A lot of kids aren’t so lucky.
The “reparative” and “ex-gay” movement helps drive innocent gay teens to suicide.
it’s pretty simple: freedom of speech. you don’t agree with what they have to say, and nor do I. but without their freedom to say it, watch your and my freedom to say what we believe vanish before your eyes.
I think that’s very fair. I think it’s almost impossible to normalize homosexuality – I think gay, lesbian and transgender teens will always be filled with angst from being different. But, I also think there’s a lot we could do as a society to destigmatize it.
I think what these particular religious groups don’t realize is how much their actions hurt their cause. I feel like, generally speaking, Christianity has become the butt of a joke within my lifetime. And that’s sad, because I think there is a lot of truth in the faith. But, when you have people that chose to abuse that faith and wield it as a political club – well, Christianity is going to have to live with the consequences.
If I were on Apple’s app review board, I think I would feel this was hate speech. But, I can also see the argument for allowing it – I bet it’s worded very neutrally. In either case, I really feel like the more these people say, the worse they look.
It’s an interesting argument “this is just the way they are so you should accept them” I think that is the wrong reason to be supporting the gay movement. There are plenty of people out there that are born with an innate sense to hurt or even kill people, do we just let them be because that is the way that they are? There are people that are greedy and power hungry who exploit workers all around the world for power and money, should we accept them because that’s the way they are? There are people who hate to wear clothes, should we let them walk around our cities because that is who they are?
I do not say that your view on supporting gays is wrong, but I do feel that the reasoning behind it is weak, I’m tired of hearing the “it’s just the way they are” argument. We change a lot of behaviors as a society by what we choose to correct.
Can’t they make a usefull app instead? Like, for example, an app that cures my allergy against grass? I suspect both apps would be equally effective though…
The petition to have 20K people sign a petition about this app includes 19,998 more people than would have ever downloaded this app to begin with. This petition is just educating people to the apps existence.
Apple hates Christians. I will never own an apple product.
I used to be perfectly fine with homosexuality but then I was forced to be homosexual because it’s not a choice. Damn you homosexuality! Damn you to hell!! I didn’t have a choice! Goddamn homosexuality, why couldn’t I decide for myself. I was forced I tell you, they didn’t give me a choice. I was having joyous dreams of big breasts and tight asses and juicy twats. Then I was born and I didn’t have a choice, I was just immediately attracted to sickly hairy man asses and poop filled butt holes, oh wonderful, beauteous man ass!! Damnit! Damnit I can’t stop! It’s not a choice!!! NOOOOOO!!!
The before given testimony is of a newly born boy child and therefore cannot be a lie. Being Homosexuality is not a choice but there are pathetic human beings that are actually born this way.