‘Conversion,’ or how to misspell the word ‘privacy’

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In a 9-2 vote, the Anchorage Assembly late last night adopted an ordinance banning so-called conversion therapy for minors, and rejected determined, laudable efforts by Assemblywomen Crystal Kennedy and Jamie Allard to amend the legislation.

The ordinance defines conversion therapy as a practice seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It prevents licensed professionals – such as therapists or school counselors – from engaging in efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The ordinance, though, applies only to licensed professionals, not clergy acting in a religious capacity or parents and others unlicensed to provide counseling.

Proponents argued the ordinance is necessary to protect young people from abuse, mistreatment and coercion in the therapy process. Opponents argued it would interfere in the relationship between a child and his or her church, therapist and family, while abridging their rights of privacy, confidentiality and free speech.

The controversial practice has drawn fire from medical professionals and counselors, but a majority of the 60 or so people who testified in the two-day meeting, it should be noted, opposed the ordinance.

Explaining her opposition to the ordinance as written, Kennedy said: “It is one-sided. It really only serves to protect those who want to promote and protect homosexuality. There’s always another side, and we’ve heard a lot of that from a lot of the testimony over the last several days.”

We are left to wonder at what appears to be a serious intrusion in the counseling process by local government. It appears to us that the ordinance introduced by Assembly members Felix Rivera, Austin Quinn-Davidson and Chris Constant is an unnecessary overreach; that parents should have the last say when it comes to their children, not the Anchorage Assembly.

Only one thing is certain about this ordinance: It will end up in court, and likely sooner than later.

11 COMMENTS

  1. I’m just scratching my head as to why on God’s green earth the Anchorage Assembly is inserting themselves into these things? Is there NOTHING happening in this city to focus on? Did they step over all the needles, inebriates, and human feces to rush to the chambers to do this most important ordinance? Is it because three openly homosexual members of the assembly believe that they know what is best for ALL homosexual children and their families? How can that be? Every human being is different – whether gay or not. Every experience is different, every support system is different.
    .
    This assembly is so damn arrogant that they know what is best for everyone, all the time. Nanny State to the hilt. I have never seen anything like what is happening now in this city. The faux leaders have gone stark raving mad in their lust to control everything. They are intentionally blocking the public under the guise of a “disease”, and working feverishly in their ordinance laboratories, compiling the next piece of sh*t to stuff down our throats. Why? because deep down in their arrogance, they know their days are numbered. We are coming for ALL of you (save Allard & Kennedy) via the ballot box. And that means you too, Forrest Dunbar. There will be NO mayor seat for you. EVER.

  2. “Explaining her opposition to the ordinance as written, Kennedy said: ‘It is one-sided. It really only serves to protect those who want to promote and protect homosexuality.’ ”

    This.

    I’m a libertarian. I really don’t care who consenting adults choose to sleep with; that’s your business and none of mine. I also want to be sure that an LGBTQ child does not suffer abusive “therapy” if and when a homophobic parent decides to “force” a gender-identity change on a child.

    HOWEVER…

    The way this ordinance was written seemed to me like it would restrict the counselor/therapist’s discussions with a minor patient away from heterosexual outcomes, and I have a problem with that. The counselor or therapist should have the freedom to help a child discover and accept THEIR OWN identity. Not Felix Rivera’s identity. Not Austin Quin-Davis’ identity. Not Christopher Constant’s identity. And, for the sake of completeness and balance, not MY identity, either.

    This, IMHO, is where a lot of sexual-orientation legislation gets into trouble. If you claim that you are pursuing equality in the eyes of the law, then make sure it truly is crafted to be as equal as you can. When laws are written to push an LGBTQ agenda rather than to establish an equal standing, then people who would otherwise be supportive — like myself — will push back against them, instead.

    • Good answer, Mike. It was well worded and truthful. There should not be an agenda either direction. Some of those on the assembly were bringing their own personal stories into this just a little too much.

  3. Nobody should be surprised about a Protect Homosexual agenda from this assembly. The Anchorage assembly is NOT representative of the Anchorage population, they represent the extreme fringe of Society. Hence the Life style of the extreme fringe of Society is being promoted and made into the Law of the Land.
    Understand why people are upset about the closed Assembly meetings,
    But as reported with overwhelming testimony against this Pro Homosexual Agenda, it Passed.
    Again the Only Two Sane Members of the Assembly were from Chugiak Eagle River. Small wonder why the Separation from Anchorage is gaining
    Momentum North of Anchorage.
    As it is now there will Be several more years of this Perverted Governance to come based on the terms yet to be served by this crazy group of 7, regardless of Who the Mayor is.

  4. It makes me wonder what other subverted, unfair, and one-sided ordinances this assembly will try to pass while hiding under the Mayor’s skirt.

  5. ‘It will end up in court, and likely sooner than later.’ With all that surplus money for lawyers to defend the left wing assembly. There should be a movement that assembly members must personally fund defense of their illegitimate actions.

  6. Because I listen to National Public Radio it’s clear to me where the social engineers of the Left intend to take America. Many other NPR listeners hear the message the same way. What I cannot explain at all is why. Some believe it is a strategy to destroy Christianity, and it may be; after all, Islam is generally must harder against homosexuality than western Christianity yet NPR and other Left voices continually champion Islam. Regardless, the same subtle – sometimes sagacious – methods NPR used 25 years ago to bring homosexuality into mainstream are now used to tiptoe into bestiality and to bring acceptance of homosexual adult males molesting boys (molesting being a verb I use but of course they do not). Does a taxpayer funded nonprofit like NPR send people to social engineering seminars of the Left to help decide where they want to next take American society? Do contemporary college sociology textbooks point the way that industry and discipline believe American should go? Do these social engineers believe their mission to be a path America was on during the Great Depression, interrupted by the world needed America to defeat the National German Socialist Worker Party in what became WWII, that must resume? Why do these people of the Left clearly want to hand America over to much less tolerant forces?

  7. Any therapy that is physically harmful to a child or even an adult for that matter should not be permitted. Conversion therapy in it’s traditional sense is not something I can advocate. That doesn’t mean they should be banning counselling methods like this, Jesus. In a counseling environment it would be malpractice to not help the patient find the honest truth about themselves, LGBT or not.

  8. Unless you want your confused son to get help about how to play on the men’s team, no need for concern.

  9. “Bi-curious.” That was a word used over 15 years ago to get young people interested in experimentation into bisexuality, homosexuality, and transgendering. These concepts were introduced and taught in public school curriculums, all in an effort to influence and brain-wash young minds. These young people are pushed into this, thinking that its mainstream conduct. Some, want out eventually. It takes time and reversal (conversion) therapy. This is what the radical Left despises: Exposure. Truth.

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