DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, May 5th 2010, 12:18 PM
A "general" for the Christian right -- and vocal advocate for gay-to-straight conversion-therapy -- has been accused of gallivanting around Europe with a gay hooker.
Baptist minister George Alan Rekers, a co-founder in 1983 with James Dobson of the right-wing Family Research Council, was spotted leaving Miami International Airport on April 13 with a 20-year-old he met on a gay escort site, the Miami New Times reports.
Contacted by the newspaper, Rekers claimed he was ignorant of his traveling companion's profession when he hired him to accompany him on a 10-day European vacation.
"I had surgery," Rekers told the Miami New Times, "and I can't lift luggage. That's why I hired him."
He allegedly maintained he learned he was traveling with a prostitute halfway through their trip, but did not deny he'd met the man on Rentboy.com, a Web site for connecting gay escorts with clients, the Miami New Times reports.
The escort's Rentboy.com profile describes him as "sensual" and "up for anything," and offers a graphic description of his genitals, according to the paper.
When approached, the escort -- called "Lucien" by the paper -- was reportedly shocked when told Rekers denied knowing he was a sex worker.
"He should've been able to tell you that," he told the newspaper. "But that's up to him."
Both men reportedly denied having sex on the trip.
Rekers’ name has since been removed from the Family Research Council's Web site, according to the blog joe.my.god.
The Family Research Council describes itself as an advocacy group championing "marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society."
Rekers claims on his Web site to have been a fixture in Washington for decades, advising on child welfare to both the White House and Congress.
He also is a board member of NARTH, a group that argues homosexual desires can be "cured" with therapy, and the author of "Growing Up Straight: What Families Should Know About Homosexuality."
In a Facebook interview with joe.my.god, Rekers maintained he was simply trying to spread a message of love to "Lucien."
"I seek to lovingly share two types of messages to them [homosexuals], as I did with the young man called 'Lucien' in the news story: [1] It is possible to cease homosexual practices to avoid the unacceptable health risks associated with that behavior, and [2] the most important decision one can make is to establish a relationship with God for all eternity by trusting in Jesus Christ?a>??s sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, including homosexual sins," he allegedly wrote.
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_top_antigay_christian_activist_and_minister_george_alan_rekers_linked_to_gay_esc.html#ixzz0n5aI6tPv
