Controversial new TLC show 'My Husband's Not Gay' sparks wave of online protests for 'promoting that gay people can and should choose to be straight'

• Protesters say it's a 'false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight'
• They want TLC to cancel the show for its premise that a man can be attracted to another man yet choose to marry a woman to follow his faith
• Instead of referring to themselves as gay, the men use the term 'SSA', or Same Sex Attraction
• These unconventional marriages are the focus of a new TLC special called My Husband's Not Gay, set in Salt Lake City
• According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, same sex attraction 'itself is not a sin, but acting on it is'

By MailOnline Reporter

Published: 00:36 EST, 7 January 2015 | Updated: 01:36 EST, 7 January 2015

A controversial new show on TLC is sparking wave after wave of protests — as thousands of people ask for the cancellation of the TV special featuring a group of Mormon men who say they're attracted to other men but chose to marry women because of their faith.

John Sanders — who launched a Change.org petition asking for 'My Husband's Not Gay' to be axed — says 'the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities.'

'I started this petition because these men deserve compassion and acceptance,' says Sanders, who has himself been a devout Christian who went through 'ex-gay' therapy and was told to 'pray the gay away' in the past.

'No young person should ever be told to be ashamed of who they are -- especially by a television network.'

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Happily married: 'I'm attracted to my wife, for sure. And I'm definitely attracted to men too,' Pret (left) says of his spouse, Megan (right), in the preview for My Husband's Not Gay

Sanders' petition had more than 88,000 signatures as of late Tuesday evening.

He's not alone in criticizing the show.

'No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to,' says Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD.

'By investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBT people in harm's way.'

TLC officials had only a canned statement when asked by USA Today about the show: 'The individuals featured in this one-hour special reveal the decisions they have made, and speak only for themselves.'

In the show, a group of happily married Mormon men have admitted that they are attracted to their own sex - yet they refuse to identify as gay because of their devout faith.

These unconventional marriages are the focus of a new TLC special called My Husband's Not Gay, set in Salt Lake City, which follows three such couples and their single friend, Tom, who is seeking a wife despite his own sexual attraction to men.

'I'm attracted to my wife, for sure. And I'm definitely attracted to men too,' Pret says of his spouse, Megan, in the preview for the show.

Pret and Megan have been married for nearly nine years and have two daughters together, a three-year-old and a newborn. Both life-long Mormons, they met in Sunday School 17 years ago.

Jeff and Tanya, who have been married for ten years and have a six-year-old son, also seem to share a strong bond.

'We do love each other very much. We're best friends,' Jeff says of his wife, whom he met on a blind date 13 years ago.

'I wouldn't change anything about him,' Tanya adds.

However she admits: 'I get a little defensive when someone calls my husband gay.'

Curtis and Tera have been together the longest, having met on the first day of high school and married 20 years ago. They now have four children.

Strong bond: 'We do love each other very much. We're best friends,' Jeff (right) says of his wife Tanya (left)

Determined: 'There's no marriage that is perfect. Ours isn't, but with our belief in God we believe we can overcome anything,' Curtis (right) says of his wife Tera (left)

'There's no marriage that is perfect. Ours isn't, but with our belief in God we believe we can overcome anything,' Curtis says.

While the three wives seem to have accepted their bizarre marital circumstances, 35-year-old Tom is conflicted about whether to tell his secret to an unsuspecting blind date.

'I want to marry a woman, but I don't know how to work out these feelings,' he says, explaining that he has no intention of dating other men.

'I'm interested in men, I'm just not interested in men,' he adds. 'I like to say I've chosen an alternative to an alternative lifestyle.'

Big secret: Tom is conflicted about whether to tell an unsuspecting blind date that he's attracted to men

Unsuspecting: Tom's date waits to hear his revelation that he's attracted to men

According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, same sex attraction 'itself is not a sin, but acting on it is'.

'Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them,' states the website Mormons and Gays.

The Church admits that from a 'public relations perspective' it would be easier to accept homosexual behavior.

'[But] that we cannot do,' it states. 'God's law is not ours to change. There is no change in the Church's position of what is morally right. But what is changing — and what needs to change — is to help Church members respond sensitively and thoughtfully when they encounter same-sex attraction in their own families, among other Church members, or elsewhere.'

My Husband's Not Gay premieres January 11 at 10pm.