I'm a gay man that grew up in Virginia. I was always afraid of coming out as a kid due to the threat of being sent to conversion therapy. A lot of my family members were members of the catholic church and associated with the catholic societies that have also commented on this public forum as well.

I missed out on a lot of experiences that most others people in this country have gone through, like having a teenage relationship, a prom date, and learning what kind of person you are as a kid. How can you even begin to understand yourself, when you have to lie to yourself about your sexual orientation?Living in fear as a kid sucked, to put it simply.

Let children live their lives happily. There has been no scientific evidence for conversion therapy that also doesn't cause irreparable harm to the subject. The threat of conversion therapy terrorized me as a kid, I can't imagine the harm it causes to those that are forced to undergo it.