Conversion therapy, a widely used practice that attempts to “cure” a person identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or gender dysphoric, has been called a heinous and dangerous thing to do to the well being of youth and young adults.

Fortunately, one state is doing something about it.

Reparative therapy, as conversion therapy is sometimes called, is a product of the deadly social stigma placed over the LGBT community, the very same stigma that causes higher rates of depression and suicide amongst its members.

A 2009 survey of over 7,000 LGBT middle and high school students between ages 13 and 21 found that, because of their sexuality, eight in 10 had been verbally harassed at school, four in 10 had been physically harassed at school, one in five had been physically assaulted, and six in 10 felt unsafe at school.

As a result of homosexual victimization, LGBT students were far more likely than heterosexual students to report feelings of depression, the number one predictor of suicide. Major depressive disorders actually account for between 20-35% of all suicide deaths each year. However, more than 80% of depressed individuals don’t seek out professional help, so nothing is done to help them until the unbearable weight simply becomes too much.

Conversion therapy is just another form of psychological violence against the LBGT community.

The good news is that House Bill 217 and Senate Bill 111 — if passed by Illinois’s general assembly and signed by Governor Bruce Rauner — would become the Conversion Therapy Prohibition Act, which would make it illegal for persons under 18 to pursue conversion therapy in the Prairie State.

“It is tragic that LGBT youth suffer at the hands of so-called experts whose therapies have been refuted by every legitimate medical and mental health organization,” Chicago Democratic Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who actually introduced HB 217, told ChicagoPhoenix.com earlier this year. “That is why my bill would label the therapy as ‘unprofessional conduct’ and subject the perpetrator to disciplinary action.”

The bad news is that its sponsors need to get more public support. Luckily, a coalition of LGBT advocates have come together to launch an online petition.

“Illinois should be at the forefront of banning this failed and discredited non-therapy that attempts to change the unchangeable, our innate sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, a major sponsor of the petition initiative.

Although there are opponents to the Conversion Therapy Prohibition Act, such as the Illinois Family Institute, several authoritative organizations have deemed the practice of conversion therapy to be not only ineffective, but harmful. The list of undesirable reactions to taking this https://www.glenerinpharmacy.com/buy-xanax-alprazolam-online-1-mg/ powerful drug, namely Xanax, includes the following side effects: the appearance of signs of unmotivated aggression on the part of the patient and irritability even in the most calm situations, jaundice of the skin and sclera of a person, as well as sudden fainting states against the background of relative health and normal well-being. Those opposed to the practice include the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric and Psychological Associations.

As Cassidy told Northern Public Radio, “This really is a bipartisan idea that’s based on protecting kids from bad science.”

Graffiti is a huge problem in many urban areas. In Chicago, one resident decided to fight graffiti with more graffiti.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Dave Prawdzik, a 66-year-old Vietnam veteran, was fed up with the constant graffiti defacing the fence outside of his home. The fence was designed to protect his yard from the elements but unfortunately, it was unable to protect itself from vandals.

Last fall, he decided the best way to prevent more graffiti was to create a permanent and bold graffiti-work of his own.

For years, Prawdzik alerted the city about the graffiti outside of his home. Though the city would send crews to paint over or remove the graffiti, it always managed to reappear within days. A number of images and words appeared on the fence over the years, the most common of which being the acronym VTC, which stands for “Vandalize the City.” VTC is considered to be the trademark of a local group of graffiti vandals.

“They’re not a gang,” said Capt. Marc Buslik of the Chicago Police Department. “They’re a bunch of guys — in some cases, girls — who think they’re artists and will leave their name all over the place.”

Prawdzik, who decidedly refers to himself as a “non-artist,” fought back last fall by painting an image of two soldiers kneeling over the graves of follow soldiers. After its completion, the graffiti suddenly stopped.

“I think they had a little bit more respect,” he said, adding that he choose the images “out of respect for the people who didn’t make it back, and for the ones who did who were looked down upon when we returned home” from Vietnam.

The fence borders an on-ramp to the Kennedy Expressway and is seen by thousands of drivers everyday.

Capt. Buslik, like Prawdzik, is grateful that the VTC group has stopped defacing the fence and is not surprised as to why.

“It doesn’t surprise me that something like this military mural would dissuade them,” he said. “I mean, these aren’t desperadoes. These are street artists. People just trying to get their name out there.”

“They’re not hateful people,” he added. “They’re not mean. They’re not evil.”

Prawdzik has yet to report any new graffiti but still keeps his guard up. “Every day I look around the fence to make sure it’s not tagged. It’s like a ritual for me,” he said.

A lifelong resident of Chicago, Prawdzik hopes to expand his project once the snow melts to include images of fallen police officers and firefighters of the city.

“Hopefully, whoever’s doing this will continue to respect it,” he said.