It seems no matter how many health organizations tell us that conversion therapy does not magically change sexual orientation, there are still groups out there that claim gays can go straight, as long as they place their faith in some invisible space ghost and deny their own, true nature. Last year, the Freedom March was held as a way to show us foolish science trusters that, yes, you can live free of sin and even had the testimonies to prove it.

And they’re right. Sort of. One can deny who and what they are if the indoctrination is strong enough. Religious-based conversion therapy is built upon a foundation of internalized hate. When your personal lord and savior says your feelings for that cute boy are wrong and unworthy of eternal bliss and everyone one in authority reinforces this idea, of course you’re going to work hard to ungay yourself. People need people, even if those people are horrible, nasty, hateful bigots.

THE DANGERS OF SELF HATE

When you’re raised in an ultra-conservative environment and hear how evil and devil-sucking the “gay agenda” is, you begin to believe the giant pile of bullshit. If you happen to be one of those devil-suckers, you internalize all that nonsense and a struggle begins. Sometimes, you can fight back the painful feelings and learn to accept yourself. Sometimes, the hate you’re spoon-fed wins out and you push your truth so far down even a diamond is amazed at the pressure placed on it.

Even with the happy ending, you might suffer at your own hand. Ever wonder why suicide rates are higher for LGBT youth compared to their straight counterparts? If you’re told you should hate the parts of yourself that lead you to sin, your mental health suffers. By the time you find freedom, you can be covered in scars, both physical and mental. All because of a really old book of stories and ridiculous laws most believers have never even read.

If you get the bad ending, you remain in that place of doubt and repression and claim it was a choice you made. Really, nobody had anything to do with your becoming an upstanding straight boy after a lifetime of boy-lusting. There’ll be some “Jesus saves” and “God’s blessing” quotes thrown around because Gawwwwd and a good chance there was some life-changing experience (those are great for proponents to latch onto ‘cause when ya gonna be more susceptible to their bull than when you’ve just had a near-death experience or lost your most beloved loved one?) and next thing you know, you’re brainwashed.

The worst possible outcome? Death. Freedom March prolly didn’t spend much time on this one; high mortality rates aren’t good P.R. for anyone. But it happens, far too often, all because some people can’t keep they business out others’ bedrooms.

HOW THEY DO IT

The Bible is a great weapon to wield when you want believers to do what you want; why else ya think those books were written in the first place? Controlling religion gives you money, power and burnt offerings. Convince someone their eternal soul rests in the hands of an incorporeal being who can only speak through selected individuals (if you snickered at that and practice any organized religion, take a step back and consider some shit) you win.

Once you’ve got ‘em by the soul, you can inject whatever craziness into their belief system you want. Hate the gays? Cool. Give ten percent of their meager, barely-covers-basic-needs paycheck? Got it. Vote for politicians who will screw ‘em over and over and push them deeper down the ladder in favor of the already-super freaking rich? Overjoyed to. Because God says so. God, even if he hasn’t made a canonical appearance in about two thousand years, can’t come down and say it personally but The Greatest Book Ever Written says so (and so does the preacher’s interpretation) so it must be true.

Along with everything else thrown into the religious mix, pseudo-science also appears. From flat earthers to anti-blood infusion rules, everything science explains can be “debunked” by an error-ridden text. And sexuality is not excluded. Not only is it unnatural, no matter how often it’s found in the wild, homosexuality can be changed! Like a snake oil salesman peddling his wears to the misinformed and desperate, religion can convince those same misinformed and desperate that yes, you’re wrong but with God’s help, you too can be normal! Don’t bother pointing out that the same dude created everything and makes no mistakes so it’s impossible that someone was born wrong; that’s the Devil’s handy work. They’re just trying to bring you back to the light, where God intends you to be.

NO FREEDOM IN FREEDOM MARCH

Fear. Dishonesty. Abuse of power. Pseudo-science. Ancient laws. Faith. Those are the tools of an organization like Freedom March. All because they can’t stand the thought of people living happy, fulfilled lives without their version of a fictional character deciding their fate. They look at loving gay couples and see perversion. They look at gay parents and see filth. They look at gay children and see the seed of evil. They need someone to hate and see gay people as easy targets. And they hate it when LGBTers fight back so they call it oppression.

Gay conversion isn’t about any god’s laws. It isn’t about saving souls. It isn’t about freedom from sin. It’s about power and the fear of losing it. Society had been built on the oppression of many groups and those who stand against LGBT rights see their last whipping boy being pulled away and fear a level playing ground. They don’t care about the pain they inflict or the lives their rhetoric costs; they only care about keeping their flocks coming back and forking over the money, power and prestige their holy hate brings.