Theresa O'Connor updated her status. (Facebook)

Hi.

I have a diverse crowd of friends and family, we don't always agree on things, and I like it that way. I don't think it's healthy to live in an echo chamber.

Since Tuesday there's been every sort of hot take about the US election result. I'm not going to write another one. If you somehow haven't seen any yet, keep clicking around here on Facebook. I'm sure you'll run into a couple.

I do, however, want to write about a very specific aspect of the election and how it impacts me and people like me. You see, on Tuesday the American electorate decided to put Mike Pence one heartbeat away from the Presidency.

Now, he's a Republican, and I'm not. (Before you stop reading here, I'm not a Democrat either, although their candidate did get my vote this year.) Consequently, there are several policy positions of his (and that the RNC adopted in its convention this year) that I disagree with.

But I just want to talk about one specific position of his right now.

I want to talk about conversion therapy, otherwise known as reparative therapy. If you don't know what it is, conversion therapy is "psychological treatment or spiritual counseling designed to change a person's sexual orientation" or gender identity. (Quote from the Wikipedia article on conversion therapy, linked in the comments.)

It's more than "praying the gay away." It's abuse, and is illegal in several states. It's considered to be unethical pseudoscience by all reputable authorities, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. (Ibid.)

If you want a first-person account of what experiencing conversion therapy is like, please see the Twitter thread I've linked in the comments. It's truly horrifying.

When he was first elected to Congress in 2000, Mike Pence supported conversion therapy. He even called for federal funds to be diverted for it in his campaign platform that year. "Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior." He published this on his website, which is archived here in San Francisco at the Internet Archive (link in comments).

At the Republican National Convention this past July, the party adopted dog-whistle language supporting conversion therapy. ("We support the right of parents to determine the proper medical treatment and therapy for their minor children." Page 37 of the party platform, linked in the comments.)

So if you hear queer people express fear about this election result, please understand that our fear is justified. And, if you voted for the Trump/Pence ticket, I have to ask you why the health and well-being of queer people, including your queer friends and relatives, is so unimportant to you. I'm afraid I do take it personally.

As my friend Val said, when "voting for a candidate, you don't get to choose which parts of their platform & behavior you endorse. You bought the entire package. Own it."