I am a long time resident of Virginia and grew up here in Prince William County as a gay man. I started one of the first Gay Straight Alliances in our county when I was in high school and as part of my activism I am a youth facilitator for our PFLAG community group here in the county.

Simply put, conversion "therapy" is torture. Queer folks should not have to change who we are in order to be accepted by anybody and all conversion "therapy" aims to do is try to change an immutable characteristic through trauma. 

Accepting myself and finding supportive friends within my community has been what I've needed to become the successful person I am today. We need to focus our efforts on creating support networks and ending dangerous toxic beliefs that cause harm - especially to young people.