March 21, 2011; Source: cnet.com | Truth Wins Out, a nonprofit group whose stated goal is to fight anti-gay religious extremism has launched a petition on Change.org to persuade Apple to remove an app that the group says is "hateful and bigoted."

The app was launched last month by Exodus International, a group that advocates "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus." The app connects users to the ministry's website and offers links to its latest news and blog posts, according to cnet.com.

TWO says this type of so-called "reparative therapy" to change one's sexual orientation has been rejected by all the major medical associations. The group says they are particularly concerned with the way Exodus has been targeting young people in the wake of several recent suicides by LGBT teenagers.

The online petition, which has already received more than 99,000 signatures, is calling on Apple CEO Steve Jobs to remove the app based on the company's own guidelines, which say that "any app that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place the targeted individual or group in harms way will be rejected."

Apple took down an app last year by a group whose members spoke out about gay marriage among other issues, based largely on another Change.org online petition.—Aaron Lester