Scott Johnson: Any special session after Annunciation shooting should address ‘conversion therapy’ ban

Gov. Walz is said to be in talks with legislative leaders to address “gun violence” in the aftermath of the utterly tragic mass shooting and murders at Annunciation Church last week. “Gun violence” is of course a favorite subject of Democrats and there is no reason to think that Walz would call a special session for any reason other than nakedly partisan purposes.

As we all know, the shooter was Robin Westman, the 23-year-old male formerly known as Robert Westman who identified as a girl at age 17 and changed his name to Robin. If Walz were to call a special session on the basis of Westman’s shooting spree, they should take the opportunity to revisit the statutory ban on so-called “conversion therapy” that Democrats enacted early in their hold on the political branches during the 2023 legislative session. The Westman case strongly suggests that the ban on “conversion therapy” is worse than misguided.

Let’s look at the law — Minn. Stat. § 214.078 — with the Westman case in mind. As it applies to minors, the Minnesota law bans therapy “that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions …” If Westman had been troubled by the feelings that led to his identification as a girl and wanted to confirm his masculinity, or reconcile himself to his physiological sex, the law would have prevented him from receiving help from mental health professionals to do so. So-called gender-affirming care is the only legal treatment.

As it turns out, before the attack, Westman reportedly professed to “regret being trans.” He wished he “had never brain-washed” himself, according to the New York Post. While Westman was 23 at the time of the attack and the “conversion therapy” law would not have banned his receiving help to resolve the discomfort he felt with his masculinity, it would have limited his right to receive such help were he deemed a “vulnerable adult” as defined by Minnesota law. In effect, the law discourages mental health professionals from providing such help.

One need only change the facts slightly to amplify the point. Suppose Westman had changed his sexual identification at 13 instead of 17 and regretted it at 17 instead of 23. The law would have directly prohibited him from receiving professional help to mitigate or resolve his feelings. Insofar as teenagers are more likely to struggle with issues of “identification” than adults, the ban on their receiving anything but “affirmation” that mismatches their physiology is perverse.

Minnesota, by the way, is not alone in enacting a ban on “conversion therapy.” Some version of a ban has been adopted by 23 states. It is something of an epidemic.

As I say, the Minnesota law and its counterparts in other states are misguided. Dr. Jill Simons — executive director of the American College of Pediatricians — has spelled out errors underlying the Minnesota law in an interview with Alpha News. “None of this social affirmation, chemicals, hormones, puberty blockers, surgeries, none of this so-called affirmation care reduces any of the mental health problems in these children. They don’t reduce suicides,” Dr. Simons explained.

“We do know that there are harms and the evidence is piling up. And just the fact that children can’t consent to these, they can’t consent to most, if not all, medical, major medical procedures, they need a parent or caregiver to consent for them. But even the parents are not being informed of the harms of these interventions,” she continued.

“When parents go in to treat their children who’s really struggling with either their sexual identity or their sex or even other, a host of other mental problems and they’re told that it’s because, you know, they’re born in the wrong body, that’s not only not true—it’s malpractice,” Dr. Simons explained. Dr. Simons insists that “no child is ever born in the wrong body and if they are struggling with accepting that or struggling with how they feel, it’s important to look into why and to treat the whole child.”

Whether or not Walz calls a special session, Minnesota’s “conversion ban” law should be amended or repealed. It amounts to little more than ideological mania masquerading as compassion.

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