Gay Teen Sent to 'Camp' by Christian Parents

Imprisoned Teen’s Father Admits He Sent Son To Ex-Gay CampWashington, DC - The father of a gay teenager who wrote in a web log that he was being sent against his will to a camp run by a group called “Love in Action International” to “cure” him of his homosexuality has defended his actions in an interview with televangelist Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. Joe Stark claims he did the right thing when he sent his 16 year old son Zach to the camp near Memphis, Tennessee. “We felt very good about Zach coming here because… to let him see for himself the destructive lifestyle, what he has to face in the future, and to give him some options that society doesn’t give him today,” Stark told CBN. “Knowing that your son... statistics say that by the age of thirty he could either have AIDS or be dead.” Stark also believes that he did nothing wrong in sending the teen to the camp against his will. “But until he turns 18 and he’s an adult in the state of Tennessee, I’m responsible for him. And I’m going to see to it that he has all options available to him,” Stark said. Stark added that when Zack is an adult he can make his own life choices. The interview broadcast on the Disney-owned ABC Family cable network is the first proof offered that Zack actually exists. His story first came to light last month when a Web logger going only by the name of “Zach” said his parents were sending him to the religious organization to try to convert him to heterosexuality. The teen had identified himself as a 16-year-old from Bartlett, TN but did not give a last name, making it impossible to verify the story. Zack wrote in his blog that his parents “tell me that there is something psychologically wrong with me.I’m a big screwup to them, who isn’t on the path God wants me to be on. So I’m sitting here in tears ... and I can’t help it.” The log has created a furor among LGBT activists and has led to two investigations by the state. A department investigator visited the camp and found there were no signs of abuse. The Department did not say whether it found “Zach” and until Stark came forward it remained unclear if the teen ever existed. John Smid, executive director of Love in Action, noted that the allegations were never described to him but he assumed they involved a complaint of psychological abuse. According to Schmid the camp program “is to help kids to grow in their relationship with Christ.” “We understand people don’t have control over what they feel, but we teach them they are able to control what they do,” Smid said. “We don’t have to act on those desires, even if we feel them.” The second probe of “Love In Action” was begun on July 11 by the state Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Department - because the group was offering counseling in drug and alcohol addiction. State officials say they can’t do that without a license. In an effort to head off the new examination of the camp, Love in Action executive director John Smid said the organization will change its website wording and direct clients to established, off-site drug and alcohol counseling services.