George Rekers

McCollum On Rekers: He Was The Best Anti-Gay Expert We Could Find (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | July 27, 2010, 2:17PM

George Rekers and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum yesterday stuck by his decision to hire anti-gay activist George Rekers -- the George Rekers who was later caught with a male escort -- when the state had to defend its ban on adoption by gay couples.

Rekers, who himself has adopted a child, testified in 2008 in defense of Florida's gay marriage ban, which McCollum supports. As AG, McCollum pushed to hire Rekers over the objections of Department of Children and Families.

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George Rekers

Rekers, In Resignation: 'I Am Not Gay'

Rachel Slajda | May 12, 2010, 1:09PM

George Alan Rekers

Yesterday, TPMmuckraker reported that George Rekers had resigned from the board of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, over a gay escort scandal. In the announcement of his resignation, posted today on the NARTH web site, Rekers asserts that he is not, and has never been, gay.

"I am immediately resigning my membership in NARTH to allow myself the time necessary to fight the false media reports that have been made against me," he said in a statement. "With the assistance of a defamation attorney, I will fight these false reports because I have not engaged in any homosexual behavior whatsoever. I am not gay and never have been."

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George Rekers

Rekers Resigns From Board Of Ex-Gay Group NARTH

Rachel Slajda | May 11, 2010, 12:32PM

George Alan Rekers

George Rekers resigned this morning from the board of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, amid a gay escort scandal.

NARTH vice president of operations David Pruden tells TPMmuckraker that Rekers first offered his resignation last Thursday, and officially resigned today.

NARTH is a group that promotes the idea that homosexuality can, and should, be cured.

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George Rekers

McCollum Personally Pushed To Hire Rekers For Anti-Gay Testimony

Rachel Slajda | May 11, 2010, 10:51AM

George Rekers and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum personally pushed to hire George Rekers to testify in defense of the state's gay adoption ban in 2008, even when the Department of Children and Families balked at the cost, according to letters obtained by the Florida Tribune.

But with Rekers now embroiled in a scandal involving a gay escort, McCollum said he wouldn't do it again.

"We've been defending the constitutionality of the state law and we've been representing the Department of Children and Families, who hired him and paid him and needed expert witnesses and he was available and credentialed," McCollum told the Tribune. "I wouldn't do it again if I knew what I knew today but I didn't know that then and neither did anybody else."

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George Rekers

Florida Paid Rekers $120K For Anti-Gay Adoption Testimony

Rachel Slajda | May 10, 2010, 4:36PM

George Alan Rekers

The state of Florida paid George Rekers -- the anti-gay leader recently caught with a male escort -- $120,000 to testify against allowing gay couples to adopt children, testimony that was deemed not credible by the judge.

Rekers was paid a $60,900 retainer. He also received a $59,793 payment for hourly billing, according to document provided to TPMmuckraker by the Department of Children and Families. That comes out to 402 hours at about $150 per hour. The payments were made by the office of the Florida attorney general, Bill McCollum, which was defending the DCF's policy.

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George Rekers

Male Escort, Hired By Rekers, Talks To CNN (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | May 10, 2010, 9:13AM

"Lucien" speaks with a CNN reporter

"Lucien," the young male escort hired by George Rekers to carry his luggage and give him erotic massages on a trip to Europe, spoke on Anderson Cooper 360 Friday night.

Lucien says that, although the massages were sexual, the two did not have sex. He also said that Rekers -- a leader of the ex-gay movement who has testified in favor of banning gay couples from adopting children -- maintains that he is not gay.

Watch:

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George Rekers

Rekers Was Key Witness For McCollum In Defense Of FL Gay Adoption Ban

Rachel Slajda | May 8, 2010, 10:45AM

George Alan Rekers

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican candidate for governor, paid George Rekers at least $60,900 to be an expert witness in 2008 while defending Florida's ban against gay couple adopting children. When a judge called Rekers' testimony neither "credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy," McCollum explicitly defended him in following briefs.

Rekers is currently embroiled in a scandal for hiring a male escort to accompany him on a trip to Europe. But he's also a leader in the ex-gay movement. He co-founded the Family Research Council and sits on the board of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. He has, by all accounts, dedicated his life to protecting children from the "harmful" influence of gay people.

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George Rekers

Ex-Gay Leader's Male Escort: Actually, We Did Have Sex

Rachel Slajda | May 6, 2010, 2:40PM

George Alan Rekers

The male escort who accompanied George Rekers, a leader of the ex-gay movement, on a European vacation now says the two did engage in sex acts.

The escort, dubbed "Lucien" by the Miami New Times, told the paper that Rekers paid him to provide daily massages, in the nude. The massages included Rekers' favorite move, Lucien said, which he dubbed "the long stroke."

"Rekers liked to be rubbed down there," he said. He originally said the two did not have sex.

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George Rekers

FRC On Co-Founder's Escort Scandal: Bible 'Teaches The Fallen Nature Of All People'

Rachel Slajda | May 5, 2010, 5:53PM

George Alan Rekers

The Family Research Council sends over a statement on George Rekers, a co-founder of the group and leader of the ex-gay movement who was caught hiring a male escort. The council's president, Tony Perkins, denies his group has had any contact with Rekers over the past decade.

He also said it's "not surprising" when a "Christian leader engages in the very activities that they 'preach' against."

The full statement from Perkins:

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George Rekers

Anti-Gay Leader Caught With Male Prostitute Pleads Ignorance, Then Altruism

Rachel Slajda | May 5, 2010, 2:04PM

George Alan Rekers

When George Alan Rekers, a cofounder along with James Dobson of the Family Research Council and a leader in the ex-gay movement, was caught walking off a plane from Europe with a young male prostitute, he first insisted that he didn't know the young man was an escort until halfway through their 10-day vacation.

"I had surgery," Rekers told the Miami New Times, which broke the story yesterday, "and I can't lift luggage. That's why I hired him."

Rekers had hired the escort, dubbed "Lucien" by the New Times, through the website RentBoy.com (NSFW), a popular site that hosts ads for gay male escorts. There's little mistaking what the site is for.

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