ORLANDO, Fla. _ A survivor the Pulse shooting has raised a kerfuffle on the Internet by saying he is no longer gay while crediting his Christian faith for the conversion.
"I should of been ... number 50 (sic)," gay-club shooting survivor Luis Javier Ruiz wrote in an April 27 Facebook post, referencing the massacre that killed 49 people.
"Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse a memory were my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV my struggles were real (sic)," Ruiz wrote on Facebook.
"The enemy had its grip and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ Jesus I've grown to know his love in a deeper level."
One life to live, and everyone chooses their path. But this most certainly is going to raise eyebrows in Orlando and beyond.
Sexuality conversion has been widely debunked as a myth among experts. A 2009 review of 83 studies conducted by the American Psychological Association concluded there was no evidence to prove "gay conversion therapies" work.
"I feel bad because obviously the trauma of that is devastating to people," said Ron Legler, one of the original owners of Pulse when it was established in 2004. "If that's what he needs to do to find comfort in his life, then so be it."
Although Ruiz did not specifically state he had undergone conversion therapy, his Facebook post included hashtags promoting the Freedom March on May 5, at the National Sylvan Theater, Washington, D.C.
The event is organized by the fundamentalist Christian organization Voice of the Voiceless. Attendees will include people who claim they were able to reverse their sexual and or gender identities.
"The mission of Voice of the Voiceless is to defend the rights of former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction, and their families," the organization says on its website.
"When someone tells me they're straight, I don't care," said Legler, who is gay. "I don't judge. Who am I to judge? Live your best life and be a good person.
"If that's how he wants to live his life, that's his choice. Being gay isn't really a choice. Choosing to be straight is a choice and being gay is what God made you and I try to celebrate every day I can."
