People should have the freedom to do what they want with their lives. That’s the American dream. If you’ve read my blog posts, you know I love God and love America. But just because I love God doesn’t mean I want to impose my beliefs or values on someone who doesn’t believe as I do. In fact, I’m a bit Libertarian when it comes to that. Although I believe God looks with disfavor on homosexuality, I am not a fan of making laws against or persecuting those who choose that lifestyle (yes, I said “choose”). That’s ultimately between the individual and God, or just up to the individual if they make the free-will choice to deny his existence.
Let me also say that the extreme expressions of so-called Conversion Therapy that Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt has been “promoting” are truly horrifying as well. I find no value in those extremes, and any licensed professional who uses such methods without medical warrant should have their practice reviewed according to due process and suspended as appropriate. What I’m about to say here should not be taken as an endorsement of the macabre extremes.
Challenging the False Narratives
What I am challenging, though, is the notion that homosexuals, transgenders, and individuals with various manifestations of gender dysphoria cannot change because they’re “born that way.” When you really think about the progressive- and media-driven narrative that ALL homosexuals have that preference because of some innate biological disposition, it’s easy to pick out the flaws. I know of no other behavior for which any scientist can say 100 percent of the cases are attributable to one and only one factor, biological or otherwise. Most studies that try to suggest biology is the sole factor have serious methodological flaws. And yet the Left wants to persist with the false, misleading, and dare I say abusive narrative. That belief in a false narrative is what is driving Senator Hunt’s misguided LB167 to criminalize not just all forms of so-called Conversion Therapy, but to ban any professional from even suggesting that a person struggling with sexual identity issues might consider being restored to the Creator’s original design (see Genesis 1:27 and its reaffirmation in Romans 1:22–32).
A person’s expression of gender and sexual preference cannot and should not be reduced to biological factors only. If gender is a “social construct,” as those on the Left are fond of saying, then it certainly has strong psychosocial and even behavioral etiological influences. Can we really say that a young girl who witnessed her father beating her mother was not impacted toward an aversion to the love of a man because of that? Or that a young boy who was abused by his father turns to seek love and affirmation from another man when he’s older? I can hear my detractors screaming at their computers even as I suggest these possibilities. Of course, these possibilities are merely a couple examples of the complex influences on a person’s gender identity and sexual preference, so don’t get so upset.
Change IS Possible
The sheer number of testimonies from numerous sources reveal that people can and do reject the homosexual or transgender lifestyle and go on to live in healthy heterosexual relationships. So why would Senator Hunt want to deny young people the chance to get some counseling if they’re truly conflicted about the sexual identity issues they’re experiencing? It’s easy to answer that question: she doesn’t care about the truth of the situation and wants to use these kids to push her own social agenda as people on the left are prone to do. The hypocrisy should be obvious to everyone: a political figure who believes a woman has the right to do what she wants with her body when it comes to having a baby doesn’t want to give a young woman the right to explore the biblical concept of womanhood, especially if abusive socialization has led to sexual identity issues.
Vote NO!
LB167 is poorly written, poorly documented, and an assault on the freedom of the individual. Many States have laws that allow minors to seek out therapy on their own when it comes to sexual abuse or mental health issues, and those same States typically protect their right to privacy unless the life of the minor is in danger from influences outside of the family (it’s part of my day job to research and study these laws; typically, the provider they seek out is the one who makes and documents the decision whether to inform the parents). Sen. Hunt’s bill counters that growing trend in children’s mental and behavioral health care.
I could understand and support her if she wanted to ban certain extreme so-called therapeutic practices, especially for young people. But LB167 goes way to far and threatens not only the parents’ right to seek appropriate help for a child struggling with gender identity or sexual preference issues, but also denying the very rights of the children themselves. I urge Nebraska legislators to vote NO on LB167.
Scott Stocking
My opinions are my own.
Sustainable America 