Minnesota May Be Next to Ban Conversion Therapy

Minnesota could very well become the next state to ban the conversion therapy.

Hunter Cantrell, an openly gay man from Savage, Minnesota, won his election to the Minnesota House of Representatives and is wasting no time in declaring his intention to fight for the LGBTQ community.

“Despite being denounced by every mainstream medical and mental health association, dozens of licensed medical providers in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota still practice conversion therapy,” he said. “People who practice conversion therapy still think that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that should be cured. Unfortunately, there is no way to know how many young LGBTQ people have been the victim of this psychological abuse, which can lead to depression, substance abuse, and suicide.”

If Cantrell’s plan to get Minnesota to ban the barbaric practice succeeds, it will only be the 15th state to do so, though several other states are likely poised to follow suit after the November 6th elections.

Conversion therapy remains a controversial topic in the United States, though many are often shocked to find it’s still practiced.

Singer and actor Troye Sivan appeared on The Tonight Show earlier this week to promote the film Boy, Erased, about a young teen sent to conversion therapy by his Baptist parents.

“When I first read the script, I was like, ‘This is probably set in the ‘90s or something like that,’” he told Jimmy Fallon. “It was set in 2004, and it’s still happening in 2018.”

The realization spurred him to work with The Trevor Project and 50 Bills 50 States, whose aim is to get every state in America to officially ban conversion therapy.

With Americans electing more and more people like Cantrell, hopefully the discontinuation of something so actively harmful to LGBTQ people, and particularly LGBTQ youth, will come to an end sooner rather than later.