Thank You Apple - But WTF?

Can't imagine life without your cell-phone? What if it starts telling you that you shouldn't be gay?

If you've ever heard of "Exodous Ministries you'll know that they are a fundamentalist Church that believes they can "cure" homosexuals, and like everyone else these days, they developed an app for the iPhone for it.

Now, there is absolutely zero evidence that you can "cure" someone from being attracted to the same sex - and it's not a disease. You're not sick if you're queer, so you don't need a cure. But some branches of Christianity don't agree - they hate us, and want to make us conform to their ideas - and for some queers the Church is a very important thing in their lives, part of their families and their culture, so being sexually different, like being a guy who loves guys, or girl who loves girls, can be a very hard place to be if you have a strong Christian background.

There is a growing number of churches that are totally accepting of us and interpret Christianity in a dfferent way from the fundamentalists, and this is good for those people who value their religion.

Initially Apple didn't seem to have any problem with this app, but eventually they changed their mind as pressure built.

Exodous believe you can "Pray the gay away" among other claims.

None of this is true, none of it has any base in fact. And their track record isn't that great - Exodous has had a number of their leaders who claimed they had been "cured" of being gay speak up and say that actually, no, they were still as gay as ever and the whole thing doesn't work.

This stuff matters because when this kind of information gets out there, some people will buy into it, and end up making themsleves miserable in the process. It's particularly hard on vulnerable kids coming out.

Let's be crystal clear here - being gay is not a sickness. It can't be cured or prayed away. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Just why Apple let the app stay up so long is a mystery, but it's a good thing it's gone now.