FairPlanet.Support
| tags: | #USA, #LGBTQ, #LGBTQ issues, #Mental health, #policy |
|---|---|
| located: | USA |
| by: | Yair Oded |
Despite being proved as harmful and destructive, “ex-gay therapy” is, unfortunately, alive and well across the United States. According to a recent study by the Williams Institute at UCLA, at least 22,000 LGBTQ youths in the U.S. will undergo conversion therapy before the age of 18. This type of ‘therapy’, which aims to convert LGBTQ people into straight, has been shown to have catastrophic repercussions, ranging from anxiety and severe depression to suicide.
Alarmed by the prevalence of such dangerous “therapy”, several states have already banned its practice by state-licensed therapists for people under 18. California spearheaded the wave in 2012, and has since been joined by 11 other states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, 40 municipal bans are being reviewed and deliberated on by local jurisdictions in states across the country.
Alas, in over 30 states, including liberal New York, ‘ex-gay therapy’ for minors is still practiced and is perfectly legal.
A momentum is currently building to pressure legislators to ban gay conversion therapy, as over 50 bills and resolutions are circulating through 24 states, and public awareness is being increasingly drawn to this pressing issue.
A petition launched by Max Johnson at Change.org seeks to utilize this growing momentum and push the remaining 75% of states to outlaw ‘ex-gay therapy’.
Please consider joining the 27 thousand people who have already signed the petition, and raise your voice against gay conversion therapy.
While such bans and regulations don’t prevent religious or spiritual advisers (who are responsible for the majority of ex-gay therapy cases in the U.S.) from providing such sinister services, it will nonetheless reduce the amount of youths that are subject to conversion therapy, and further erode the tragic misperception that being LGBTQ is something one is ought to be cured from.
Image credit: Change.org
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