Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill Aug. 20 declaring the use of conversion therapy on minors illegal in Illinois. The action comes after Rep. Kelly Cassidy, an openly gay woman, initially proposed the bill to the Illinois House of Representatives on Feb. 23, 2014, as reported March 10, 2014, by The Chronicle. The therapy has long been used as an attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity but has been denounced as harmful to patients by many psychologists. Barry Anton, the American Psychological Association’s 2015 president, spoke out against the treatment on April 9 in support of President Barack Obama’s call to end the use of

conversion therapy. “So-called reparative therapies are aimed at ‘fixing’ something that is not a mental illness and therefore does not require therapy,” Anton said in a statement. “There is insufficient scientific evidence these therapies work, and they have the potential to harm the client long term.” Dr. Ariel Shidlo, psychologist and author of “Sexual Conversion Therapy: Ethical, Clinical and Research Perspectives,” argues conversion therapy can be harmful to

young people. Patients in conversion therapy are told their sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes a mental illness, said Shidlo. Patients who struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts and family or religious problems are told their sexual orientation is

the cause. “To be told by someone of authority that to be cured you have to stop associating with other LGBT people, end your relationship with your same-sex partner and stop attending your favorite bars, films and churches—your whole social life is essentially crushed,” Shidlo said. Doug Haldeman, professor and chair of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy University, said there is no scientific evidence suggesting conversion therapy is effective and agrees with the ban. “The damage that can be done is extraordinary in some cases,” Haldeman said. “Some people are in therapy for years trying to undo the shame, guilt and negativity they feel about themselves. Gay kids are still killing themselves over this. Is that what you want?” Illinois joins New Jersey, Oregon, California and the District of Columbia as the only states to ban conversion therapy. Haldeman said several cultural factors, such as societal attitudes about homosexuality, make it difficult to prohibit the practice in

other states. Haldeman, who is openly gay man, said many people fail to recognize LGBT-identifying people as normal people, but he said they are the same as everyone else. “We get up, we go to work, we come home exhausted, we microwave lasagna in front of the television and we fall asleep—doesn’t that sound like a gay agenda to you?” Haldeman said. “Then we just live our lives and love each other, in my case,

to men.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign website, LGBTQ youth who participated in conversion therapy have evidenced that it has not worked. A January 2009 study conducted at San Francisco State University, the found that LGBTQ youth who experience rejection are more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly six times as likely to report high levels of depression, more than three times as likely to use illegal drugs and more than three times as likely to be at high risk for HIV

and STDs. However, with the treatment banned, LGBTQ youth are hopeful for the future. Zoe Malzone, a sophomore design major, identifies as bisexual and thinks it is time Illinois banned what she considers an “old

fashioned treatment.” “Sexuality isn’t a choice, and trying to change something that can’t be changed is inhumane,” Malzone said. “I am hopeful that all of this is happening in a short period of time, especially with same sex marriage, and I think that’s wonderful. The progress we made is incredible, but we still have a lot of catching up to do.”