A heartbreaking 20/20 special investigates gay conversion clinics and how advocates for the practice have become emboldened by Donald Trumpâs victory.
Despite being discredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association and American Psychological Association, outlawed in California, Oregon, New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., and opposed by numerous government officials, from U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher in 2001 to President Obama in 2015, Christian extremists are hellbent on making sure the terrifying practice continues for as long as possible.
âI certainly hope that this administration will pull back from some of the aggressive activism that the Obama administration engaged in,â Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council tells 20/20.
Related:Â Grieving Mother Says âGay Conversion Therapy Killed My Sonâ
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According to Sprigg, who is currently fighting legislative proposals in 20 different states aimed to make gay conversion therapy illegal, capturing and psychologically torturing young gay men and women in an attempt to turn them heterosexual âshould not be outlawed.â
âThey certainly should not be prohibited by law,â he says. âAs a Christian, I believe that the Bible teaches that to choose to engage in homosexual conduct is a sin.â
Sprigg, who does not have any medical degrees, licenses, or certificates, adds that he personal believes gay conversion therapy can help people make different choices in their lives.
Hereâs the trailer for the upcoming special, which airs on Friday (you may need to click the speaker icon to turn the sound on)âŚ
h/t: Joe My God
Kieran
Blaming President Trump for the “conversion camps” is as ridiculous as Babs blaming him for getting fat.
michael_regulbuto
It is the Christian Right! Mike Pence is an advocate of Conversion Therapy…and he is Vice President of the Republican Party….via Trump. So we can blame them!
What part of the First Amendment “Separation of Church and State” do they not understand?????
Keep this bullshit out of our government!
DarkZephyr
I will most certainly blame Trump for electrifying and emboldening these people, and as Michael pointed out, Trump is personally responsible for the Vice Presidency of Mike Pence and his other over 90% homophobic and transphobic cabinet members. Why the HELL do you keep defending him?
natekerchel
I really have a problem in understanding how any human being can take part in, or try to justify in some way, this barbaric and inhuman behaviour. It would never cross my mind to try and ‘convert’ a heterosexual man or woman. People are what they are, we dont ‘choose’ our sexuality.
As for KIERAN – this is a simple matter to understand – when someone like Trump makes hate speeches and passes legislation to discriminate against certain minorities there is an increase in ‘hate crimes’ and abusive behaviour towards those minorities. The figures are easily found. Trump knows this and that is why he shares responsibility for those so-called ‘conversion’ clinics. He incites people to this sort of behaviour. He is guilty. We should not forget that he says he approves of torture.
Mo Bro
I’m not necessarily for or against so-called “conversion therapy,” but it seems somewhat sketchy that the common view of it is that it’s the worst evil to attempt converting a gay man into a straight one through therapy . . . and yet, the same people say it’s perfectly A-OK to to convert a gay man into a straight woman through therapy and surgery?
natekerchel
The comparison is absurd. Gender reassignment is a personal choice and is not designed to change sexuality. The whole point of reassignment is that the ‘gay male’ is in fact not a gay male but more than likely a straight woman. The decision is made by the person undergoing the change, not be some bible thumping homophobe who hates for the sake of hating. You can’t change innate sexuality any more than innate gender. If you are innately female it does not matter if you have a male body – you are a female. If you are innately gay thn you are gay – no amount of ‘therapy’ can change that. By the way it is NOT ‘therapy’ – no reputable Doctor or psychologist will sanction this outrage.
StacysMusings
Mo, you could have been a little more clear for natekerchel… I’ll admit, it took me a few minutes to realize what you were saying. Nate, he’s equating the extreme Christians who subject gays to conversion therapy to Muslims who say all gay people should be killed but if they have a sex change operation they are no longer gay. At least, I think that is what Mo is trying to say…
natekerchel
Thank you Stacysmusings for trying to clear things up . However, I don’t think that is what Mo Bro meant at all, and it does not change anything I said in my reply about the innate nature of gender and sexuality. Mo Bro has shown time after time his attitude towards lgbt issues. His comment on here has nothing to do with Muslims and they way they deal with this issue. It just shows a basic misunderstanding of, and support for, ‘gay conversion therapy’.
StacysMusings
Oh, Nate… I wasn’t aware you two had discussed things before… I had just finished reading a couple of articles about sex reassignment in Iran and thought that was what Mo was talking about. My apologies!
natekerchel
Not at all StacysMusings – I appreciate your comments anyway. đ
Mo Bro
@natekerchel:
Did I claim to support gay conversion therapy?
No, I did not, and yet you claim I did.
This is why it’s impossible to take you seriously: You live by your own set of facts and fallacies.
natekerchel
You don’t have to claim to approve – it is dripping from your every word. You dont claim to be homophobic either but I have watched your replies and comments – you dont claim to be racist – I disgaree basede on what you write on here – you dont claim to be sexist – again your writing tells a different story – you dont claim to be a trump troll – but you are. You are not clever enough to disguise who and what you are – it all comes out in your comments.
rand503
Outlawing reparative therapy is targeting only those under the age of 18. After that, it is still legal in all 50 states.
The point of these laws is just to stop the coerciveness of parents who think they can change their son or daughter from being gay.
topblknavy
Aren’t these yahoos who believe in this krap the first ones to be up in arms about Sharia Law?
These folks are probably the ones who advocated for, the rack and the Iron Maiden at one time.