Sheldon Calls D.C. Parley on Gays : Morality: Anaheim minister is moving his battle against homosexuals to a national arena with a discussion of “reparative therapy” in Washington.

The Rev. Louis Sheldon, a strident foe of gay rights, has called a meeting of national religious activists and public officials next month in Washington to discuss “reparative therapy” or counseling to help gays give up their homosexuality.

Observers say the meeting is another sign that Sheldon, leader of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition, may be seeking national attention, possibly to fill the void of the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s now-defunct Moral Majority.

“He’s already said that is what he’d like,” said Mike Hudson, western director and general counsel of People for the American Way, a group formed in 1980 to challenge ultraconservative influence on public policy. Sheldon would follow Falwell by providing “the infantry, the grass roots and the troops,” it is suggested.

But Sheldon denied that the meeting was an attempt to capture the national spotlight, saying that he has no plans to visit the nation’s capital on a regular basis.

“California is like a mini-nation,” Sheldon said. “What happens here has a national impact. I’m not moving to Washington, D.C.”

In addition to discussing reparative therapy, participants at the meeting will study ways to block gay rights legislation. Among speakers at the meeting, to be held Jan. 26, will be Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), according to his aide, Brett Barbre.

In October, Sheldon organized a two-day conference at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Anaheim that featured speakers who portrayed homosexuality as a curable sickness. U.S. Civil Rights Commission Chairman William B. Allen addressed the meeting, giving a speech entitled “Blacks? Animals? Homosexuals? What is a Minority?” Forty gay rights activists, who targeted Allen in their protest, blockaded the entrance and were arrested on trespassing charges.

Sheldon said he is keeping the exact location of next month’s meeting secret, fearing a repeat of the October conference blockade. “We want to meet each other,” Sheldon said. “The very thing I don’t want is publicity. . . . We just feel that it’s a private meeting.”

A demonstration against the meeting, however, already is in the works. Attorney John Duran, who has represented several gay rights groups, said he expects a significant turnout. He noted that several organizations, including the Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Human Rights Campaign Fund, are based in Washington and could be expected to help organize a demonstration.

Sheldon said he realizes that he could face protesters even more vocal than those in Orange County.

“I understand the D.C. crowd is a whole different ballgame,” Sheldon said. “They’re more militant.”

Sheldon said he organized the meeting after hearing of efforts to defeat what he calls the “homosexual agenda” in other parts of the country. He denied the meeting was to slam homosexuals. “What we’re concerned about is that homosexuals are in a traumatized condition and they need help,” he said. “We’re opposed to any kind of gay-bashing.

”. . . We’re not anti-gay,” he said. “It’s very important that we love them as individuals. We know they need a lot of help. Someday, this will get itself straightened out.”

Sheldon said that treating gays would be much like helping alcoholics overcome their addictions. “We don’t have a minority status,” he said. “We have compulsive behavior.”

But Duran said that Sheldon doesn’t understand that being gay is not an illness.

“What if we don’t want to be helped?” Duran said. “What if we are just fine the way we are? The majority of lesbians and gays are just fine the way we are. We don’t need to be repaired or healed.”

Terry Gock, a Los Angeles psychologist and assistant adjunct professor at the California School of Professional Psychology, said that reparative-therapy methods have had inconclusive results.

“There is no research to suggest that they are in any way effective,” Gock said. “Even if people could change, it’s not just sexual behavior. There’s a whole gamut of emotions and feelings that are bonded with it. Those things don’t change.”

Still, some gay activists believe that Sheldon could succeed in attracting some support nationwide.

“I think there’s a certain segment of the population who hates gays and lesbians that would follow any maniac like Sheldon,” said Drew J. Barras, the co-chairman of the Elections Committee of the County of Orange, a gay political action group. “You can count on it.”

Others doubted that national exposure could last long. Frank Ricchiazzi, a member of the Orange County Log Cabin Republican Club, a gay political organization, said that Sheldon will find himself without support over time.

“The man has to lose in the long run,” Ricchiazzi said. “No matter how much prejudice people have to a group, I really believe 99% of the people will support their right to participate. . . . When you’re dealing with politics, you’re dealing with the inclusion of everybody. He doesn’t want that.”

Some question whether it would be possible for Sheldon to lead a group of the magnitude of the Moral Majority, doubting that he now has a lot of strong support.

“(His support) is maybe a mile wide and an inch and a half deep,” Hudson said. “(But) he has been successful in making it appear that he has grass-roots strength. That often is just as important.”

Orange County political consultant Harvey Englander said that it is still uncertain how Sheldon would appear over a period of time in the national spotlight. “Jerry Falwell’s shoes are very tough to fill,” he said. “I don’t know if Lou Sheldon’s shoes are the same size.”