A Tory MEP has been causing quite a bit of a stir in the world of Twitter. What set it all off? A simple tweet, a screengrab of which is available here.
Now for the sake of the argument, let's forget about all the controversies Mr Helmer has been involved in, and let's look at whether this particular tweet is worth all the outrage it has caused.
Some even urged David Cameron to act on the issue, as the Guardian reports. Reading through the comments, a vast majority is denouncing homophobia on the part of the MEP.
But is it really homophobic - or even ignorant, as some more sophisticated readers made the distinction? I would argue it is not. The question Mr Helmer asks is an interesting one.

Is it right to try to "turn" a consenting homosexual straight?

Note he didn't use the word "cure". Never did Mr Helmer imply homosexuality was a disease to be cured. The inference is on the reader's part.
I would argue that some gays are unhappy with their sexuality. This could be down to pressure from a homophobic/straight-centered society. It could also stem from personal beliefs, which is something liberal bigots find hard to believe.
For such people, I think that Mr Helmer's suggestion has nothing shocking in it. The fact is, I believe (although I have no links to support this), that all strategies used to turn people don't work. This does not mean that they never work, but that they don't consistently work and that the success rate is so low it could be attributed to randomness.
So Mr Helmer could be defending a con. Or a placebo. He still is not, in that particular instance, making a homophobic statement. So please stop crying wolf.

Note: this was brought to my attention by the lovely @TheBrianDuggan, who is the coolest Labourite I've met, though we seem to disagree on this specific issue. My tweets are here