Written by Savannah Eadens of the Courier-Journal
Zach Meiners was 15 when a Louisville counselor encouraged him to snap the rubber band on his wrist whenever he felt “homosexual urges.”
Twice a week for four years, Meiners “confessed” his sexual preferences for men in a private office in the Highlands. In return, he was told he was a sexual deviant who needed to change if he wanted God to love him.
Meiners’ “therapy” caused him years of depression, shame and guilt.
He’s not alone. Across the U.S., more than 700,000 LGBTQ people have been subjected to some form of “conversion therapy,” estimates say. And tens of thousands more will undergo some form of “conversion therapy” in the coming years, often at the insistence of parents, according to according to the Trevor Project, the largest LGBTQ suicide prevention organization in the U.S.
“Conversion therapy,” sometimes called “reparative therapy,” isn’t really therapy, professionals insist. Instead, it’s a combination of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, according to the Human Rights Commission.
Already, 19 states have banned the practice, and Kentucky could soon join them. Two bills introduced in the legislature this session — with bipartisan support — would ban it altogether for anyone younger than 18.
But the legislation wouldn’t apply to those practicing informal, unlicensed counseling, which often happens in churches and faith communities.
Opponents who fear the legislation could impede religious freedom — especially organizations that support the right of those “struggling with unwanted homosexuality” to seek Christian-based counseling — have lobbied against it in Frankfort.
House Bill 199, sponsored by state Rep. Lisa Willner (D-Louisville), would forbid any licensed mental health professional in Kentucky to practice any form of therapy that attempts to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate has an equivalent bill, SB 85.
(Cross-posted via the Kentucky Press News Service. Read the rest of the article at the Courier-Journal.)
–30–