A group of Christians who have renounced homosexual or transgender behavior gathered at the California state Capitol in Sacramento last Thursday to voice their opposition to cultural and governmental resistance against individuals seeking to leave the LGBT lifestyle.
The CHANGED Movement, in collaboration with the California Family Council, organized a two-day “Speak Out” event that took place on Wednesday and Thursday. The event culminated with Christians sharing brief testimonies on the steps of the state Capitol about how they believe God led them away from an LGBT identity.
Elizabeth Woning, an organizer of the event and executive director of advocacy and government affairs for the CHANGED Movement, expressed her hopes for the event, stating to The Christian Post, “I hope that this event accomplishes a pushback against the belief that people don't change.”
Woning, who formerly identified as a lesbian and now is married to a husband, co-founded CHANGED in 2018 with Ken Williams, a licensed pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California. CHANGED describes itself as “a growing international network of people who left LGBTQ identity behind.”
The event coincided with the seventh anniversary of approximately 30 affiliates of the organization assembling there in 2018 in response to AB 2943. This proposed state law, emerging from the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, aimed to classify “efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex” as consumer fraud.
Opponents of the bill contended that it would effectively criminalize professional counseling for adults who wish to distance themselves from same-sex attraction or gender confusion, which they viewed as a First Amendment violation.
Another concern was the bill’s ambiguous language, which the nonprofit Liberty Counsel warned could include pastoral counseling and selling self-help books that do not support LGBT ideology, potentially affecting religious texts like the Bible.
Despite the failure of AB 2943, its principles have been mirrored in similar laws passed in other countries, like Canada, where counselors could face up to five years in prison for providing services that do not affirm homosexuality and transgender identity.
“Conversion therapy” for minors is currently illegal in the District of Columbia and 23 states, including California.
Woning highlighted that this year’s event served as a way to “remember California's efforts at censorship, and to remind legislators that we don't want any future laws that would censor free speech.”
Ken Williams, co-founder of CHANGED, shared with Christian Post that the emotional distress he experienced growing up was so profound that he contemplated suicide at 17. However, years of therapy with a Christian counselor helped him recover and heal.
Williams stressed that this form of therapy, which he accessed as a minor, is now illegal in California. “In those days, it was legal for me to get help that aligned with my faith convictions,” he said. “After getting that kind of help, some amazing Christian people just loved me very consistently, and I came out of that.”
Regarding offering advice to someone in despair over sexual or gender confusion, Williams stated, “I would give him a hug and tell him, ‘Hey, this is just one day in your life, and there's a whole other life ahead for you if you want it. Jesus offers new life to people.”
