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As a national advocate for a nonprofit organization working to protect the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. youth in America, I spend a lot of time looking down on wheat fields from tens of thousands of feet in the air. The constant flights from coast to coast and state capital to state capital give me plenty of time to reflect on the world in which today’s L.G.B.T.Q. young people are growing up.
My recent reflections have been focused on the onslaught of harmful bills that discriminate against transgender and non-binary youth, and how to ensure they never pass into law. At the same time, I’ve also been thinking about something truly remarkable, and even hopeful:the growing number of states with bills protecting L.G.B.T.Q. youth from the harms of conversion therapy, the dangerous practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. As someone who survived more than two painful years of conversion therapy myself, it’s incredible to see that this discredited idea is on its way into the dustbins of history. Better still, the so-called flyover states are leading the latest charge.
Last month, a Statehouse committee in Oklahoma voted to protect L.G.B.T.Q. youth from conversion therapy; more Republicans than Democrats voted for the measure, and many say this may be the first time in history that state legislators have voted to actively protect L.G.B.T.Q. Oklahomans. Not long ago, Oklahoma made headlines for its long list of anti-L.G.B.T.Q. bills, including the only bill in American history to protect the “right” to attempt to change somebody’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The progress isn’t limited to the Sooner State. Joined by Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentuckians recently rallied in their State Capitol to advocate for pro-equality legislation, including a conversion therapy ban that has more than tripled in its number of co-sponsors this year. The bill is being championed in part by Republican State Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, and across the state local activists are successfully persuading legislators that protecting youth transcends politics.
Arguably, this red-state revolution in the fight against conversion therapy began in one of the nation’s most conservative and most religious states — Utah. Following widespread demonstrations of public support and at the direction of the governor, Utah became the 19th state to prohibit licensed mental health professionals from subjecting minors to conversion therapy in January. These hard-won protections represent a sea change for L.G.B.T.Q. Utahns — one which, we hope, will help to combat Utah’s tragically high rates of youth suicide.
Other seeds of progress are sprouting across the South. This month, Virginia’s governor signed a bill banning conversion therapy — the first Southern state to do so. Georgia has held an informational hearing on the subject and more than 20 Florida cities and counties have enacted local ordinances prohibiting the practice.
These changes can’t come fast enough. According to The Trevor Project’s 2019 national survey, L.G.B.T.Q. youth who reported having undergone conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who did not.
As the number of states protecting L.G.B.T.Q. youth from conversion therapy continues to grow, we’re simultaneously seeing the mass introduction of hostile legislation targeting America’s transgender youth. In what appears to be a nationally-coordinated campaign, these dangerous bills aim to deny transgender youth access to what they need to thrive. That includes best-practice medical care backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and other leading medical authorities, as well as the simple sense of belonging and achievement that comes from participating in school sports.
So what are the lessons from the success of the fight against conversation therapy, and how can we apply them to stopping this new wave of anti-trans legislation?
One lesson is that the current successes in the area of conversion therapy are the culmination of decades of work that approached the issue from many angles. L.G.B.T.Q. legal advocates worked tirelessly to make effective cases against conversion therapy in courts, while a growing movement of mental health professionals continuously educated legislators about how harmful, discriminatory bills can negatively impact young people. In addition, the perspective of parents and personal stories from young people can resonate beyond courtrooms.
We’ve seen that this work does pay off — and sometimes in places where people would least expect: Anti-transgender bills have been defeated in South Dakota and Florida, for instance. This work has tangible impacts. As of June 2019, laws against conversion therapy have protected more than 10,000 L.G.B.T.Q. youth.
The movement to protect L.G.B.T.Q. youth must be based on the express belief that there are people of good will in every state, and that young people in every state matter. Every child deserves to know that advocates fight for them where they live: young people in Kansas must see us working with lawmakers on their behalf just as much as youth in California.
Despite the continuing challenges of anti-L.G.B.T.Q. legislation, we have reached a day where it is possible to not just play defense, but to actually win protections for our community in every part of the country. To truly create a world where L.G.B.T.Q. youth are safe to grow up to be who they are, we will have to fight where the fight is needed most — and we will.
Sam Brinton is the head of advocacy and government affairs at the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to L.G.B.T.Q. youth.
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