“I believe it causes all sorts of trauma and I know that
there are people who have taken their life because they felt so ashamed of who
they are and felt like God couldn’t love them as they are, and that’s something
that will haunt me till the day I die” said Alan Chambers, Former President of
Exodus International (most well-known conversion group). Conversion therapy is
a very harmful practice that is only illegal to use on minors in California,
New Jersey, Washington D.C., and needs to be illegal everywhere.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American
Counseling Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological
Association, American School Counselors Association, National Association of
School Psychologists, and National Association of Social Workers all say being
a part of LGBTQ is not a disease and does not need to be “cured”. In conversion
therapy, a method to “repair’ a man’s masculinity would be to participate in
sports, avoid activities of interest to homosexuals, avoid women unless it’s
for romantic contact, spend time with heterosexual men, attend church, and
engage in heterosexual activity. Another method is spiritual condemnation such
as this statement from a head pastor, John MacArthur, “alienate, isolate, not
have a meal with and give over to Satan your homosexual child”. Lastly there is
aversion treatment which involves causing pain and associating it with
homosexual acts. Conversion therapy causes depression, suicidal
thoughts/attempts, isolation, anxiety, and poor self-esteem.
Recently Leelah Alcorn, a transgender girl, committed
suicide because she felt the life she would’ve lived wasn’t worth living. In
her suicide note she states she was taken to conversion therapy where she was
told she was selfish and wrong. She also says that “The only way I’ll rest in
peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re
treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights”. Since her passing a
petition to ban conversion therapy has been signed by 330,519 people.
In
conclusion, conversion therapy is highly unsuccessful and causes harmful side
effects. More than 330,000 people and I agree that it should end, so should you.
https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-enact-leelah-s-law-to-ban-transgender-conversion-therapy?just_created=true
