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A pro-LGBTQ protest rally is planned in Pasadena, at Washington Blvd and Chester Ave, all day Saturday.

By Shadi Absi



The rally organizers have called for the protest “in support of the LGBTQ+ Community to protest a local event that is holding a gay-conversion workshop,” according to the organizers.

The protested event includes a screening of the controversial film, “Journey Interrupted.” The film and event are organized by “Coming Out” Ministries, and features Mike Carducci, a self-described former homosexual man, who has accused gay couples in the past of “allowing demons to come in with them and to engage with your children.”

Event reactions

Feedback about the day-long event in Pasadena has been met mostly with bad reviews and negative feedback on the church’s Facebook page denouncing the screening and asking the hosting church to cancel it.

Pasadena Seven-day Adventist Church has released a statement stating that the church harbors “no ill will or malice towards anyone,” and that Michael Carducci Jr has “apologized for any unintended harm his statement caused shortly after the remarks were first made”. The church’s response also referred to a an article about “Coming Out” ministries that was published on a British national daily tabloid newspaper.

The pro-LGBTQ rally will meet at 9:00 am at the entrance to the church to hand out flyers and show support for the LGBTQ community. Because of the length of the event, the organizers are asking for more volunteers for specific times, in order to hand off flyers and supplies.

London Similar event canceled

When “Coming Out” Ministries tried to hold a similar event in London, over 40,000 people signed a petition asking the UK Government to not allow them visas because of their anti-gay views. The event was canceled. The petition included a statement from British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who said:

If anything needs curing, it is the outdated belief that being gay is wrong or something to be ashamed of. Sexuality is not an illness but an inherent part of who you are.”

California has banned the use of such therapeutic approach on minors since 2011.