by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer

Wayne Besen, founder of Truth Wins Out, announced on June 27 that his organization was closing on its 11th anniversary. Truth Wins Out was founded to counter so-called 'ex-gay' groups, and it has served its purpose, Besen said in a statement.

'Truth Wins Out is closing because we accomplished our major goals,' he wrote. 'We helped expose and ultimately vanquish (with the help of other heroes) major 'ex-gay' programs, including Love Won Out, Exodus International, and JONAH [Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality].'

In a final fundraising appeal, Besen asked for donations to keep the group's websites - TruthWinsOut.org, LGBTScience.org, and TWOCARE.org - 'operating in perpetuity.'

Besen also listed the major accomplishments of Truth Wins Out:

o Got the APA to send a letter condemning Focus on the Family and NARTH by name in 2006

o Protested dozens of 'ex-gay' conferences across the country from Alaska to Alabama

o Launched undercover investigation proving that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and her husband Marcus own a clinic that practices 'ex-gay' therapy (with John Becker in a key undercover role)

o Organized the American Prayer Hour, an event that shined a spotlight on the role American evangelicals played in the introduction of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill

o Led a successful petition campaign to have Apple remove Exodus International's 'ex-gay' iPhone app

o In a joint investigation with South Florida Gay News in 2010, exposed JONAH's Arthur Abba Goldberg as a Wall Street con artist and convicted felon

o Worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center in their amazing and successful legal effort to shut down JONAH

o Brought enormous attention to the harm caused by the 'ex-Gay' myth, including on 'ABC World News Tonight,' ABC's 'Nightline,' ABC's 'Good Morning America,' MSNBC's 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' MSNBC's 'The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell,' 'MSNBC News with Thomas Roberts,' MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews,' CNN's 'AC360,' Fox's 'O'Reilly Factor,' FOX's 'The Sean Hannity Show,' and Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,' and in print, in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Advocate, Newsweek, TIME, The Nation, and Mother Jones.

'Yes, similar programs will always exist, as charlatans will provide a supply of snake oil to fill a demand,' Besen said in his final statement.

'However, Truth Wins Out has created a robust legacy that irrefutably proves 'ex-gay' activists are frauds and such programs are a hoax that exploits hate. We battled these groups tooth and nail, in their heyday, when they were truly a threat to LGBT rights.'

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