On November 17, the anti-LGBT hate group MassResistance opened it’s two-day conference, Truth 4 Teens: Countering the LGBT Agenda, with a flamboyant flag dance by an ex-gay man.
Flag dancer Derek Paul (Photo via Facebook)
“I have come to begin worshiping God with flags over the past two years, teaching in churches, conferences, art festivals and even making them by request,” the dancer, Derek Paul, wrote on his Facebook page. “I have found that churches and conservative groups have been the most supportive of my expression in the arts than anyone.” The video of Paul’s dance at the conference has gone viral on social media.
The conference, which was held at the Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, featured talks by anti-LGBT speakers, ex-gay testimony, and an exhibition hall filled with anti-gay literature including signs which read “No Anal Sex Taught in Schools” and “Women Make Lousy Dads.”
The event was presided over by David Pickup, an ex-gay psychotherapist originally from California. The featured speaker, who appeared via video hookup, was Texas State Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Carrollton), who authored of some of the unsuccessful bathroom bills submitted during the last legislative session.
In 2008, MassResistance was named an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Earlier this year, NBC News reported the group distributed a flier, “The Health Hazards of Homosexuality,” at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, an event at which President Donald Trump spoke.
In his remarks to the conference, Paul, the ex-gay dancer, spoke of the LGBT teens he encountered in high school. “I was in the competitive cheerleading scene for 11 years. I studied fine arts at a fine arts high school,” he said. “I know what it’s like. I saw it up close and personal super early. I got to see what happened to them when they came out, before and after. I’m sorry it happened to them, and, if you are watching me. I am so sorry. But I’m praying for you.”
