‘You Must Stay Gay’ Laws Stifle Religious Freedom and Smother Hope: Fighting Back in California
California is one of 22 states that declare, by force of law, that gay people must stay that way. They’re not allowed to explore their other options with a therapist, even if their religious convictions and consciences tell them to. That’s now labeled “conversion therapy” and legally banned, with significant penalties for mental health professionals who agree to help people who might want to change.
But people in California can change their sex, mind you. That’s not illegal. In fact, the government will pay for it via Medi-Cal. Public schools also will encourage pre-teens to wonder if they were “born in the wrong body” via transgender propaganda books carefully seeded in children’s libraries. If parents divorce, the law in California requires judges to favor giving custody to a parent who’s willing to “affirm” a child’s claim that he or she is “trans.” In other words, parents who disagree that there are 47 genders are deemed unfit by the government to raise their own kids.
My organization, the Ruth Institute, is banding together with others to challenge these laws, and the “science” and philosophy behind them. On June 11-12 in Sacramento, we’re cosponsoring the Speak Out conference, along with the wonderful people from the Changed Movement,
the Family Research Council, and the California Family Council as part of our month-long Leaving Pride Behind campaign. We will highlight the stories of men and women who have Left Pride Behind, sometimes with the help of therapy, sometimes without. We are challenging the idea that sexual orientation is an innate, immutable trait, hard-wired from birth and unchangeable. People can and do change their sexual orientation.
This message is strategically important because the “born gay” narrative has done enormous harm to society.
How Does It Harm Us? Let Us Count the Ways.
- The “born gay” narrative allows anti-discrimination law to treat homosexual behavior as if it were the same as race.
- It robs people struggling with same-sex attraction of hope that their lives can change for the better.
- It silences people who might otherwise speak out about policies they know can’t really be OK.
We want the public to know that the science that supposedly supports this extreme claim has evaporated. There really are millions of men and women who have Left Pride Behind.
A large-scale study of the human genome concluded there is certainly no single genetic determinant of homosexual behavior. According to the study, “all tested genetic variants accounted for 8% to 25% of variation in same-sex sexual behavior … and do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual’s sexual behavior.” The lead author of the study told The New York Times that it is “basically impossible to predict one’s person’s sexual activity or orientation just from genetics.”
Data derived from numerous studies of identical twins also are inconsistent with the idea that “gayness” is genetically determined. If it were, we would expect that if one twin is “gay,” the other also would be 100% of the time. The actual concordance is closer to one-third of the time, according to an extensive meta-analysis.
At the same time, therapy voluntarily sought by people who are unhappy with their sexual attractions is really not “dangerous” or “harmful,” as the LGBTQ lobby has taught legislators. Dr. Paul Sullins, one of my colleagues at the Ruth Institute, has conducted research that corrects such misleading claims by well-funded activists who cherry-pick flawed studies. In fact, he found that therapy for people who wish to change their sexual orientation actually reduces the risk of suicide.
We humans are complicated creatures and often experience shifting desires and temptations. What forms a person’s sexual self is equally complicated, and sometimes the fruit of trauma or dysfunctional family lives. Some people are happy with their sexual orientation; many others aren’t. Allowing people to choose the type of therapy that aligns with personal life goals should be a no-brainer in a pluralistic society that celebrates our constitutional rights.
That is why, this month of June, the Ruth institute is pleased to co-sponsor the Speak Out Symposium June 11 and 12 in Sacramento. On June 11, attendees will hear presentations by experts presenting peer-reviewed research debunking the claims of radical gender theorists. On July 12, conference participants will rally at the state Capitol, where Changed Movement members will give their personal testimonies about their journey away from LGBT identities.
Our message to all who are struggling with unwanted same sex-attraction is: Do not lose hope. No matter what California law currently mandates, and regardless of whatever you may be feeling today, those things are not the final word about your identity. The Ruth Institute and our friends at the Changed Movement and the California Family Council can safely assure you that “gay” is not a life sentence.
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is the founder and president of The Ruth Institute , a global nonprofit organization leading an international, interfaith coalition working to defend the family and build a civilization of love. She is also the author of The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies Are Destroying Lives and Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village.