The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (click the link for the whole article):

Can homosexuality be “cured”?

Those attending one conference here this week say yes. Those attending a conference being held to refute the first gathering say no.

Nor, the latter group says, should gay people be portrayed as needing to be cured, even if they could be.

Exodus International, which purports to help people transform from homosexual to heterosexual, kicks off its four-day International Freedom Conference today at the Ridgecrest Christian conference center in Black Mountain with the theme “The Reality of Grace.”

In response, members of the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their allies will hold a simultaneous conference with panel discussions, guest speakers and exhibits at Tressa’s on Broadway Street and at First Congregational United Church of Christ on Oak Street.

The countertheme of that conference is “The Reality of Will and Grace: A Refutation of the Ex-gay Movement.”

Jeff Buchanan, executive vice president of the Florida-based Exodus International, said he expects about 800 people to attend the conference at Ridgecrest, including family, friends and pastors.

“We believe in the right and opportunity of self-determination for each and every individual, and that’s what we’re representing here,” Buchanan said.