Michele Bachmann is a fun candidate to watch. She will likely implode as quickly as Newt Gingrich and the fall out will be far-reaching and messy. Despite her non-existent record in Congress and her propensity for lying, she is being taken seriously as a presidential contender so far by the mainstream media.  So, it makes sense that people are beginning to look more closely at Bachmann’s husband and his “counseling practice.”

Bachmann’s husband runs a Christian counseling center in Minnesota. According to former patients, the center utilizes controversial therapy methods, known as reparative therapy, to try to “convert” gay patients into heterosexuals. Truth Wins Out, a gay advocacy group, recently released an undercover video that displays footage apparently showing a counselor offering to help the activist overcome his homosexual urges. In the video, a counselor is seen saying that sessions could help build up the patient’s desire for women.

“I believe twice over the course of the first session he made reference to his belief that we are all created heterosexual, and that some of us just have different challenges with that,” the activist, John Becker said in an interview with The Associated Press. “God created us all for heterosexuality — he said that twice.”

Both Bachmann and her husband have refused to answer any questions about the video and the therapy. Bachmann campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart said such matters are protected by patient-client confidentiality. “The Bachmann’s are in no position ethically, legally, or morally to discuss specific courses of treatment concerning the clinic’s patients.

The clinic honors and respects all people for whatever issue they come in for and if there is a conflict, they refer elsewhere,” said a written statement from Stewart.

This could potentially be a big issue for the Bachmann campaign. And it should be. The American Psychological Association issued a resolution in 2009 about reparative therapy. The APA pointed that there is no evidence that individuals can change their sexual orientation and to suggest otherwise can induce depression and suicidal thoughts.

There is also the problem of hypocrisy. Bachmann rallies against big government and social programs while her husband has collected $137,000 in Medicaid dollars utilizing a harmful therapy.

Bachmann has recently signed a controversial pledge that was put forth by the “The Family Leader,” an Iowa-based conservative group. One section of the vow that Bachmann signed promises to stand behind a “federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which protects the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.”

According to Matt Taibbi’s profile of Michele Bachmann in “Rolling Stone,” Bachmann and her husband have always focused on being “change agents” who would bring law in line with biblical morality. She won her first state senate race by challenging a moderate Republican over gay rights.  And apparently, she is going to continue with that route.

michael rubin / Shutterstock.com

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Erin Chavez
Erin Whitney-Chavez has been writing professionally since 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from St. Bonaventure University and received a Master of Arts in mental-health counseling from Argosy University. Erin Whitney-Chavez is a licensed mental health counselor and has worked in the mental-health field for more than 10 years.

Related Posts

Fiscal Cliff Deal and Deficit Dilemma

In the final hours of December 31, 2012, congress and the democrats agreed on a deal in the White House that averted the fiscal cliff in the US and saved the economy from slipping away into darkness. But for how long? According...

CBO Projections Show Candidates Face Difficult Decisions

Washington, U.S.A. -- The Concord Coalition has said that new projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) underscore the need for Washington to commit to long-term fiscal reforms while dealing with this year's looming...

Beirut and Khobar Bombing Victims Praise Iran Sanctions Bill

Washington D.C., U.S.A. -- Survivors of Iran-backed bombings in Beirut in 1983, at the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996, and families who lost loved ones in these attacks praised the House and Senate for coming to agreement...