‘Traumatised’ during church’s ‘ex-gays’ event

By Sarah Lagan

A rights campaigner who attended a controversial church event featuring members of a group that encourages people to “break free” from homosexuality told how she felt “traumatised” and “sick” when listening to the question and answer session.

Shari-Lynn Pringle, a pansexual who bases attraction on personality rather than gender, sat through two hours of speeches on Saturday by panellists from the Coming Out Ministries.

The organisation, which is made up of “ex-gays”, was invited by the Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church to talk about how they turned their backs on homosexual lifestyles.

Ms Pringle, who has campaigned for equal rights for people of all sexual orientations with the Two Words and a Comma group, said: “I was traumatised. I felt sick, I felt uncomfortable and I felt disrespected. It was like they were talking about aliens. Some of the questions were just juvenile.”

According to Ms Pringle, panellist Wayne Blakely told the audience that children of the same sex should not bathe together because it could lead to confusion about sexuality.

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