A same-sex couple claimed they were physically attacked by a group of Oklahoma worshipers, who tried to change their sexual orientation.
According to 23-year-old Sean Cormie, at least a dozen members of the congregation at The First Assembly of God Church got violent as they tried to convert the gay men, after a Sunday service in Blackwell, Okla., on Sept. 8.
Cormie who came out last year says his family have tried everything in their power to change his sexual orientation ,including praying about it. – This time they obviously decided to ‘Pray the gay’ out of him.


Cormie told Oklahoma’s News 4 that he was invited by his family to attend a service at the church and they told him to invite his boyfriend, Gary Gardner, to accompany him.
He didn’t think much of it, he said. He’d been to the church many times, and he decided to go “to make my mom proud and make her happy,” said Cormie who came out as gay earlier this year.
The service went on normally, he said, but the mood quickly changed at the end of the worship session. The pastor invited the couple to approach the altar, Gardner told local news station News 9.
“A lot of Sean’s family came over and started praying on us, and church members started praying on us and started getting louder and louder and louder,” he said.

Between 12 and 15 people then circled the young men. The group started praying, while the pastor began saying, “‘It’s a sin, it’s an abomination, you need to realize, wake up, and see it for a sin,’” Cormie said.
“I was just crying ‘mercy, mercy,’” he recalled, adding that he even got punched in the face.

Gary Gardner says he ‘felt two inches tall’ when members of the congregation pushed him out of the church while they assaulted his partner

When Gardner motioned to leave, he was reportedly pushed out by some church members, while his boyfriend was attacked and slammed to the ground by his stepfather, who’s a member there.
“[He] sort of picked him up and body-slammed him over and started praying on him, and when they were doing that, Sean ended up with marks on his arms, a black eye and sort of blacked out,” Gardner said.
“They started holding me down praying in tongues,” Cornie said. “I just started crying,” he said, recalling the frightening incident.
Eventually, Cornie’s sister “convinced them to let me go,” he said.
“She held my face and said, ‘God is in you speak, speak, speak Sean. This is not their judgment this is God’s judgment. They don’t have the power of God in their minds.’”

The alleged assault happened at The First Assembly of God Church got violent as they tried to convert the gay men, after a Sunday service in Blackwell, Oklahoma

After the ordeal, Cornie filed a report with the Blackwell Police Department. The police chief confirmed the incident, which is currently under investigation.
In a statement, Pastors Bill and Tami McKissick played down the attack, saying it was simply a family matter that got heated.
“On behalf of First Assembly we have been asked by the media to respond to the allegations that have been made,” the statement starts.
“This began as a family matter that escalated. Our church would never condone restraint of any person unless they were engaged in violent activity. There is much more to this incident, and we are cooperating fully with law enforcement to hopefully bring all of the facts to light as a rush to judgment is not in anyone’s best interest,” it continued.
“I love the pastors with all my heart,” Cormie said, “but what they did was totally wrong, and I want some kind of consequences out of it. I want it to be heard and known because it really saddens my heart.”
He said he does believe homosexuality is a sin, but he can’t be forced to be something he’s not: “I’m full fledged gay, you can’t change it,” Cormie said.
“It’s my nature. I’m born that way, so let it be.”