— Justin Boatner
The Supreme Court has just legalized conversion therapy in all 50 states. By doing so, the federal government has sent a clear, chilling message: Queer lives do not matter.
This isn’t just a policy change; it’s a sanctioned form of psychological torture that supersedes every state protection we fought for. We are now subjecting our most vulnerable citizens to an abusive practice that decades of science have proven causes irreversible trauma.
I know the cost of this hate firsthand. My dad disowned me for being gay. I am currently fighting just to get my own healthcare back from him. But when I look at the “what ifs”—what my life would have looked like if I stayed under his thumb—I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know how my life would have ended with him at the helm.
We have to talk about the terrifying intersection of identity and disability.
When you legalize conversion therapy, you are targeting people who are often the least able to defend themselves or escape. For an autistic person, “therapy” that demands you mask your true identity isn’t just difficult—it is soul-crushing. It is a recipe for death and destruction.
Conversion therapy does not work. It will never work. There is no “cure” for who we are, only damage for those who try to break us.
The Supreme Court’s decision is an atrocity. They have handed a weapon to people who use a false idolization of religion to justify their bigotry. If this isn’t reversed, we aren’t just going to see more discrimination—we are going to see a body count.
We cannot allow our most vulnerable to be sacrificed at the altar of “tradition.”
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Arc of Northern Virginia relies on private support from individuals, corporations, organizations, and foundations to fund our efforts. Your generous donations help make it possible for us to provide programs, services, and advocacy so that people with IDD can live “A Life Like Yours.”
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