The White House formally responded to a petition on WeThePeople.gov today seeking a ban on efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of young people, the The New York Timesreports.
The petition called for the creation of “Leelah’s Law,” ideally national legislation that would prohibit licensed therapists from engaging in the scientifically discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy.The petition on the government’s We the People website was authored in the wake of transgender Ohio teenager Leelah Alcorn’s suicide. In a note that went viral after she scheduled it to post to Tumblr after her death, the 17-year-old Alcorn detailed the harm she endured when subjected to conversion therapy by a Christian therapist she was taken to by her parents. The petition obtained more than 100,000 signatures in January, triggering a formal response from the White House.
Noting that the practice is often used on minors, “who lack the legal authority to make their own medical and mental health decisions,” senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett offered a full-throated support from the administration toward efforts to ban such “therapy,” which has been denounced by every major medical and mental health organization in the country as not only ineffective but likely to harm.
“We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer youth,” Jarrett wrote Wednesday night in the White House’s formal response to the petition.
“When assessing the validity of conversion therapy, or other practices that seek to change an individual’s gender identity or sexual orientation, it is as imperative to seek guidance from certified medical experts,” the statement continued. “The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.
“As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors,” the statement concluded.
The official response also included remarks from the president, who stopped short of outright endorsing national legislation — which has yet to be introduced — to ban such efforts. However, the official response did mention bans on the use of such “therapy” on minors in California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.
“Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember,” said President Obama in a statement. “Soon, perhaps, he will decide it’s time to let that secret out. What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends and his teachers and his community. But it also depends on us — on the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”
Transgender advocates applauded the administration’s action.”
#HerNameWasTaylor
Taylor Alesana. 16 Year Old Trans Girl Committed Suicide On April 2nd.
We’ve lost 7 trans youths just this year. Its April. 4th month into the year.
How much longer until society figures out that bullying and depression and suicide isn’t something that you just “grow out of” or “deal with it” or “kids will be kids”
As I’ve said yesterday, I like to keep personal things personal. That being said, I’ve recently come across some posts about a terrible rumor that I would like to address, because I know how fast things like that spread on this website, and this is making me really sad and mad at the same time.
Read mored, I apologize deeply if you are on mobile.
Well, I finally bit the bullet and made the appointment to get scanned.
That was terrifying. Needlessly so. I wanted Beloved to do it for me; but they did what they always do… Nothing, while demanding that I just do the thing. It should be easy.
It would have been easier with a hand to hold.
But I was alone.
And I’m going to be alone again, today, when I go and get my scans done.
The incident from earlier got to me a little bit, and I was sort of wishing that people had to pass a test or read a list of rules before using the internet. So as a joke I wrote up this little quiz.
Take this quiz to find out if you should be using the internet.
1. You want to know the answer to a question. What do you do? a) Google it, and ask someone if you can’t find
Today is, apparently, Sir Terry Pratchett day. In honour of the man, the magic, and his writing, I’ve decided to celebrate with one of my favourite quotes. It says so very much about the human condition. And it was in a footnote.
Every society needs a cry like [”Remember Koom Valley“], but only in a very few do they come out with the complete, unvarnished version, which is ‘Remember-the-atrocity-committed-against-us-last-time-that-will-excuse-the-atrocity-that-we’re-about-to-commit-today! And so on! Hurrah!’ —Sir Terry Pratchett,
My child Tyrone has spent almost his entire life here, English is the only language he hears, yet now, at 9 years of age, the government are going to deport myself and my son to the Philippines because of his autism. I've worked for years, raising my son and studying to be a nurse.
