The Harm Lasts A Lifetime!

We fought long and hard to pass the legislation but we finally passed it and now it is being questioned by the a Christian Supreme Court.

We proved the damage it does, we proved that it doesn’t work, we proved that being LGBTQ+ is not a choice but the Christian right is trying to bring back Conversion Therapy.

Religion vs. LGBTQ+ rights: Supreme Court weighs 'conversion therapy' bans for minors
The issue of banning 'therapy' to make a gay or lesbian person straight has reemerged as the Supreme Court has become more conservative and receptive to appeals dealing with religious freedom.
USA Today
By John Fritze
October 9, 2023

The Supreme Court is being asked to weigh a ban on “conversion therapy” − the practice of trying to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity − in an appeal that tests the court's appetite for engaging this term in the legal battle between religion and LGBTQ+ rights.

Long discredited and already banned for minors in about half of U.S. states, the practice of using ''treatment'' to make a gay or lesbian person straight has reemerged as the Supreme Court has become more conservative and receptive to appeals dealing with religious freedom. Opponents say the practice can involve electrical shocks and nausea-inducing drugs as well as psychoanalysis and counseling.

Brian Tingley, a licensed family counselor in Washington state, is challenging the state's ban on the practice for people under 18, claiming it violates his free speech and religious rights. The law, he told the Supreme Court this year, "forbids him from speaking, treating his professional license as a license for government censorship."

They want to be able to torture people, because that is what it is… human torture.

The American Psychological Association writes,

Since 1998, the American Psychiatric Association has opposed any psychiatric treatment, such as "reparative" or conversion therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or that a patient should change his/her homosexual orientation1. This position statement updates and replaces previous position statements about conversion therapy regarding sexual orientation, furthermore it also comments on conversion therapy with gender diverse patients in an attempt to prevent harm to any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer person.

In the past, diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity (e.g. homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender identities) were seen as a mental illness. This changed in 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association stated that homosexuality per se is not a mental disorder. While Gender Dysphoria remains a part of the DSM-5, there is growing social acceptance that human sexuality and gender identity can present in a variety of ways as part of the human condition.

The validity, efficacy, and ethics of clinical attempts to change an individual's sexual orientation have been challenged. The literature also consists of anecdotal reports of people who claim that attempts to change were harmful to them, and others who claimed to have changed and then later recanted those claims. Along a similar vein, gender diverse patients have been shown to benefit from gender-affirming therapies, and given the documented harm of “reparative” or conversion therapies regarding sexual orientation, it would likely be seen as unethical to research reparative therapy outcomes with gender diverse populations.

While many might identify as questioning, queer, or a variety of other identities, “reparative” or conversion therapy is based on the a priori assumption that diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are mentally ill and should change.

And now in the name of the First Amendment and god they want to bring back the torture. The USA Today article goes on to say,

Opponents of the practice say states have banned it for minors because it increases the risk of depression and suicide for LGBTQ+ young people. Washington's law doesn't apply to churches or religious groups, only to therapists who are licensed – and regulated – by the state.

"This is a dangerous practice," said Laurel Stine, chief policy officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "The Supreme Court has not taken up any of these challenges before, and we are confident that, if they do, we will win."

The same for Connecticut, the religious voodoo witch doctors can practice it until their heart contents so now the religious right are trying to get the ban banned based on the First Amendment.

"Bottom line: The government cannot censor a counselor’s speech," Bursch said. "Washington's counseling censorship law violates freedom of speech and harms counselors and their clients."

The bottom line is the ban is because it does harm!

Critics say they believe the law − and the science − is on their side when it comes to "conversion therapy" bans. The American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association for Social Workers and other leading medical groups have all repudiated the practice.

Casey Pick, director of law and policy for The Trevor Project, which focuses on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ young people, said every court that has considered a statewide ban has upheld it.

"There is no reason the (Supreme) Court should not do the same here," she said, "and ensure that LGBTQ young people across the country continue to be protected from unprofessional, unscientific and deeply harmful practices."

Wishful thinking!

That was the courts of old, the new Trump Supreme Court has put “religious freedom” before the Constitution. This court believes its mission if from god! A vengeful god who is anti-LGBTQ+.