"At the program, I watched my vibrant son grow visibly more depressed. We had no idea that what we thought was help would become the source of trauma he carries to this day. The program told Garrard he had to recognize that he hated his father and blame his parents for their deficient parenting that turned him gay."
"Colorado's conversion therapy ban - and all the other states' bans - wouldn't have done anything to protect Garrard. That law only bans conversion therapy for minors, and Garrard was already a college student when he was sent to Love In Action. Moreover, that ban only applies to state-licensed therapists, and Love In Action, like most conversion therapy practices, is a Christian ministry without staff who are trained or licensed in science-based approaches to therapy."
Garrard Conley, a conversion therapy survivor whose memoir inspired the 2018 film Boy Erased, appears in a Supreme Court amicus brief alongside others harmed by conversion therapy. His mother, Martha Conley, describes how church leaders directed them to Love In Action, a conversion therapy program, after Garrard was outed in college. During the program, Garrard experienced depression and psychological manipulation, including being told to blame his parents for his sexuality and having his possessions withheld to prevent escape. Colorado's conversion therapy ban, like most state bans, only protects minors and applies only to licensed therapists. Since Garrard was an adult and Love In Action is an unlicensed Christian ministry, existing laws provided no protection. Martha Conley's testimony to the Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar highlights the limitations of current conversion therapy legislation.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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