Like many modern social justice movements, the LGBTQ+ movement was born as a response to real injustice in society. Historically, people who are sexually attracted to members of their own sex or who experience confusion or discomfort with their biological gender have been the victims of injustice, sometimes gross injustice and maltreatment.
Even today, people who identify as gay or lesbian still suffer discrimination. Many are shunned by family and friends once they “come out” and some are ostracized by their communities or may face unjust discrimination and true harassment in their place of employment. Those people of good will among the sponsors and supporters of the so-called “Equality” Act no doubt wanted to address some of these problems with this legislation. However, every action has consequences.
Sometimes an apparent solution for one group of people raises a whole new set of problems for a different group of people.
This is the case with the “Equality” Act. There are many reasons to be concerned with this very dangerous piece of legislation. Critics have correctly noted how easily it could be used to stifle constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. However, one of my personal concerns is the part of the bill that labels so-called “conversion” therapies (see Findings and Purpose #7) as discriminatory. This is problematic because the bill never mentions this again nor defines what is meant by the term. See the entire bill here. The stated purpose of the bill is to prevent discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ+ so it doesn’t take much to deduce that this language is being introduced into this bill as a sort of preamble for what will be coming down the legislative road if this bill manages to pass. Enter the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019. This one already made the rounds once in June of that year as HR 3750 but never even made it out of committee. However, now that Democrats control both Houses and President Biden already promised to sign it into law during his campaign, it certainly seems like they will try to enact some version of this even more destructive piece of legislation. As the bill is currently written, it would prevent any “person” from doing the following as quoted exactly from the Section 4 of the bill: (a) In General.—It shall be unlawful for any person-- (1) to provide conversion therapy to any individual; or (2) to advertise for the provision of conversion therapy and claim in such advertising-- (A) to change another individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity; (B) to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender; or (C) that such efforts are harmless or without risk to individuals receiving such therapy. This means that not only would it make illegal to provide therapy but even to make the claim that such change is possible. Talk about the proverbial “thought police”! This whole bill is frightening in its scope and worth a read in its entirety here. Note that there is no exception for consenting adults, so this ban would apply to everyone. Section 3 of the bill defines “Conversion Therapy” as “any practice or treatment by any person that seeks to change another individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender, if such person—” [emphasis mine] So basically, those of us with unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA) or gender dysphoria would not be allowed to seek any kind of help that does not affirm our unwanted desires. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of us out there who would be affected by legislation like this. We span all walks of life and all parts of the globe. We are Christians, Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists and just about every other creed out there. We are black, brown, white and every other race. We are men and women. We are young and old. We are single and married. We are not going away. Most importantly, we choose not to accept society’s label of “gay” or “transgender”. I am proud to count myself among them. I have personally experienced unwanted SSA since my teenage years. At one point, I would have identified as exclusively gay. Because I basically followed the social narrative being pushed on me even back then, I believed that I was “born gay” and that my only “healthy” option was to embrace a “gay” identity and act on my desires. “Educated” people told me that I could not change and that I had to accept these attractions as immutable. However, as I grew in my understanding of the causes and development of my SSA, I came to realize that my sexuality was much more fluid than the social engineers and the LGBTQ+ advocates would have everyone believe. Using many of the principles and therapeutic techniques incorrectly labeled in both bills as “conversion” therapies as well as drawing from my own personal faith, I came to realize my own latent heterosexuality and masculinity to the point that I eventually began to desire women. These are properly called “reparative” or “restorative” or “reintegrative” therapies and should be distinguished from other less scientific, and yes, sometimes even harmful techniques out there. There seems to be much misunderstanding about what these therapies are and what they aren't. The overarching theory behind these effective therapies is that male homosexuality is caused by a variety of mostly environmental factors which cause boys to dissociate from their own masculinity and/or the masculine world. This desire for masculine connection then becomes sexualized and eroticized. The establishment “experts”, many of whom are gay activists or their allies, insist that these therapies are fraudulent at best and deeply harmful at worst. I beg to differ. If used correctly and ethically, these therapeutic principles work. At least, they worked for me and if they worked for me, and I am really kind of an average guy, there is no reason to believe that they wouldn’t work for at least some other people out there who also experience unwanted SSA. Although it has sometimes been a painful journey, there has never been a day I regretted pursuing the path to healing my SSA. If I had listened to the voices of people like those who support this bill, I never would have found the true joy and happiness of my marriage of 18 years and my three beautiful children would never even exist! I can’t imagine life without my wife and kids and all the joy they have brought me! If anyone had told me the summer before high school that I would have been this happy 30+ years later, I never would have believed them. Back then, I was a depressed boy with a broken spirit who didn't know how to deal with overwhelming sexual desires I didn’t want, didn’t understand and couldn’t control. Now I am a confident, strong man with a solid, heterosexual masculine identity. I couldn’t keep this freedom to myself! So, I started a website for men with unwanted SSA, thesilentknight.net through which I have been in contact with hundreds of men and women who also deal with these issues. The “Equality” Act paves the way for future discrimination against those of us who experience unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria and are looking for support that is consistent with our philosophical and/or religious beliefs. We shouldn’t be limited to only “gay-affirmative” therapies selected by the cultural elites, but rather able to choose the therapy of our choice. By saying this, we clearly challenge the societal narrative being pushed by the gay advocacy groups and their allies. Legislation found in both of these acts will suppress the voices of men and women like me and prevent others from finding the same peace I did by essentially forcing them to accept that they cannot change their desires and suppressing even the discussion of such a possibility. Our experiences are just as valid as everyone else’s and we deserve a voice in this discussion. No one has the right to force someone else to accept a prescribed label, to live a certain lifestyle, or to accept only one therapeutic/philosophical/religious worldview. Both of these bills assume that individuals experiencing SSA/gender dysphoria should and will necessarily adopt a certain lifestyle, which is ironically, a stereotype in itself, and certainly does not speak for all of us. The sponsors of these bills are ignorant of the fact that there are individuals who experience SSA/gender dysphoria who aspire to live in a manner consistent with a religious/philosophical worldview of their choosing. By forbidding any talk or exploration of other options even for consenting adults, these bills, in effect, would force me and others like me to identify as "gay" against our wills by silencing, or at least preventing access to, other equally valid viewpoints. This directly harms us, violates our rights, invalidates our experiences and takes away our freedom of choice and expression. The great irony of all this is that the LGBTQ+ movement was founded on the idea that everyone should be able to live their life as they want and love whomever they want. Apparently, they don’t want men and women with unwanted SSA or gender dysphoria to be allowed that same freedom of choice. That is the tragic hypocrisy of inequality inherent in bills like the “Equality” Act and the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019 and why they must be opposed at every level by all people of good will. Comments are closed.
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