Conversion Kills

 

If you were to ask any gay individual about their “coming out” experience, it would most likely be a lengthy story riddled with mixed emotions including doubt, fear, reluctance, shame, confusion, and even anxiety. Yet, at some point in their life, they made the conscious decision to present their true colors to the world, trusting in the fact that their friends and family would continue to love them, accept them, and appreciate them for exactly who they are. Sadly, this is not always the case. While some families are accepting, others are not. Often time’s parents may get angry and choose not to speak to their child, and in extreme cases some parents even disown or send their children to gay conversion camps.  The brutality of these camps has long been kept under wraps. The story of Raymond Buys, for example, is just one of many that depict the atrociousness of these camps. The horrifying torture, cruelty, and treatment these people face while forcibly attending these camps projects a global message of un-acceptance, ignorance, intolerance, and hatred.  This message is the wrong message! Being born a certain way is not a sin, it’s not wrong, and definitely not a crime! Nobody can be forced to change who they are by any means. In short, anyone who’s Gay, should be proud to have been born that way!