"Ex-Gay" Calls Dear Abby "Brainwashed, Ignorant, Uninformed"

"Ex-gay" Stephen Bennett has lashed out at Dear Abby following her statements regarding same-sex marriage and her words of support for gay teens.

Said Bennett: "I got into the office an hour or so late today and my e-mail was flooded with people questioning 'Dear Abby's' comments. The phone has been ringing off the wall ever since. Jeanne Phillips (aka Abby) is opining a lot about how very little she knows. Her using buzz words as 'homophobic' and 'inclusive' and 'judgmental' are to scare people into believing she is 'right.' Homosexual family members need to be loved and be treated with respect, yet going as far out on a limb as Phillips did, is showing FALSE love and is actually harmful. We encourage families to love their 'gay' identified loved ones unconditionally, yet without ever condoning or accepting the behavior. It's a fine line one learns to walk - and when you speak the TRUTH in love - it pays off. 'Dear Abby's' ignorant advice will only cause more harm and pain to a confused society, and not only to the homosexual individual, but to EVERY family member and friend involved. Dear Abby,' stick to what little you know -- and forget about that which you don't. Encouraging young 'gay' men to accept themselves as such can lead to an early death. I wonder how you would respond to several of our Parents Group members, whose sons have died excruciating and painful deaths due to HIV/AIDS. Try comforting these inconsolable parents. What, I wonder, would you say to these distraught parents, 'Dear Abby'? Maybe, 'That's just life! You can do it! Get up now and move on! I suggest Jeanne Phillips talk to people like me and a 75-year-old mother in our group whose son walked away from homosexuality after many years. Phillips is brainwashed, ignorant and uniformed. You want the truth 'Dear Abby'? Give me a call."

Don't wait by the phone.

Dear Abby Comes Out for Same-Sex Marriage

As she prepares to accept PFLAG's "Straight for Equality" award, Dear Abby (aka Jeane Phillips), whose syndicated column appears in approximately 1,400 newspapers, says full marriage equality is the only way to go:

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em. That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake....If gay Americans are not allowed to get married and have all the benefits that American citizens are entitled to by the Bill of Rights, they should get one hell of a tax break. That is my opinion."

It's an issue which puts her at odds with even those closest to her, according to the AP:

"Phillips realizes not everyone agrees with her on gay rights; she and her husband 'argue about this continually,' she said. He thinks civil unions and domestic partnerships 'would be less threatening to people who feel marriage is just a religious rite.' She thinks anything less than full marriage amounts to second-class citizenship."

She also says she'll continue plugging not only PFLAG but suicide lines for gay teens, and a PFLAG affiliate for parents with kids who identify as transgender:

"I'm trying to tell kids if they are gay, it's OK to be gay. I've tried to tell families if they have a gay family member to accept them and love them as they always have."