February 13, 2023 02:52 PM UTC

Gazette Brings Conversion Therapy "Debate" Back To Life

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• by: Colorado Pols

In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed a prohibition on what’s known as “conversion therapy” performed upon minors, the widely-denounced pseudo-psychological counseling intended to rid the patient of “unwanted” homosexual desires under the presumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder. This bill passed after years of unsuccessful debate over similar measures that resulted in the narrowly split legislature defeating the bill, usually with a flourish of anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice like when then-Rep. Kathleen Conti compared being gay to alcoholism. 20 states have now joined Colorado in banning the practice.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says conversion therapy lacks “scientific credibility and clinical utility.” As a reform on the books for four uncontroversial years and part of a trend of states banning conversion therapy for minors, by a Democratic-dominated legislature that grew from majority to supermajority since passage of this bill, most people would consider the “debate” over conversion therapy to be over. But for GOP gazillionaire Phil Anschutz-owned Denver Gazette worming its way into the Denver media market, nothing is ever over:

Apparently, there is still a “debate” over the efficacy of so-called “conversion therapy”–at the headquarters of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family. And it’s not so much of a “debate” as it is Focus refusing to accept settled law:

[Jeff] Johnston of Focus on the Family decries the movement for states to criminalize such therapy.

“I want to emphasize that ‘conversion therapy’ isn’t a thing — counselors can’t force you to do something,” he said. “We believe people should get the help they want and therapists should be able to help them. We advocate for people’s freedom of speech, freedom of religion and self-determination.”

Given the remote possibility of “conversion therapy” being made legal again for use on minor children in Colorado, which would require undoing the last fifteen years of political history, we’re curious why this story was written at all. We’re not aware of any legislation coming to repeal the 2019 bill, and we expect Democrats would welcome a fight over this issue once again given the lack of a political downside.

We’re rehashing “conversion therapy” because Phil Anschutz’s newspaper wants us to.

This is not what the Denver Post would do.