Will Love Win? Again?
Article by: Adriel Malaca / Graphic by: Naya Moukabary
“Justice and liberty for all,” until it’s my lifestyle and rights on the line. The LGBTQ+ community has always received backlash, but more recently, it has been hit with problems concerning conversion therapy and same-sex marriage.
In 2019, Colorado enacted its law banning conversion therapy for minors. But in September of 2022, a Colorado Christian counselor, Kaley Chiles, challenged the state of Colorado on its ban on gay conversion therapy because she felt that the ban was a violation of her First Amendment rights, specifically freedom of speech. Chiles has gotten the support from the Trump administration, and the case was recently brought to the attention of the Supreme Court. On October 7, 2025, the oral arguments were heard, and the justices seemed to lean in favor of Chiles. However, people like Chiles and her supporters, including the people who voluntarily go see Chiles for help, don’t seem to understand that this type of therapy is not healthcare, but rather a hazard.
A story following a mother, Joyce Calvo, tells the story of her daughter, Alana Chen, who underwent several years of conversion therapy hidden from her parents. At the age of fourteen, she confessed to a priest that she was attracted to girls, and the priest told her that her attraction was a mortal sin, the worst sin of all. After the confession, Chen received almost a decade of conversion therapy and religious counseling, which ultimately led to her hospitalization. Later on, she committed suicide in 2019 at the age of 24. The people who receive conversion therapy are people who are so ashamed and scared of who they are. They believe that they are not good enough for God’s unconditional love, and that’s sad because the Church welcomes all, no matter who you are.
Another issue concerning the LGBTQ+ community is the subject of marriage. Attempts to legalize same-sex marriage began to arise nationwide in the 1990s, bringing with them state and federal challenges. It took around 25 years of strikes from coast to coast to make same-sex marriage legal on a federal level. Thus, on June 26, 2015, the LGBTQ+ community claimed victory in the Obergefell v. Hodges landmark case, making gay marriage legal across the whole nation. However, a full decade later, on November 7, 2025, that landmark decision is back into question for the justices’ closed-door conference due to Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who denied same-sex couples a license to marry following the Obergefell v. Hodges case. But the reason why she was refusing was solely because of her religious beliefs.
Chiles, Davis, and I believe in the same God, but what makes us different is the way we follow our Faith. The verse John 13:34, “Love one another, as I have loved you,” is a verse that I heavily try to follow every day. I have always given people the benefit of the doubt because you never know what others could be going through, and yet I feel that my actions have never been reciprocated, especially when it comes to my identity. I grew up to be the odd one out, and because of that, people treated me differently. I have cried and cried so many times and prayed so many times to God, asking for a change just so that I could finally fit in. People like Chiles and Davis don’t try to understand people like me. They think that I choose to be the way that I am, when that is further from the truth. If I do choose, why would I choose the harder lifestyle when I could be living the easier one? Why would I choose a life of questioning and confusion? Why would I choose a life where I would have to doubt my acceptance from God?
There are so many people out there who have experienced the same journey as me. I am not telling you my experience to pity me or the people like me, but instead to create an impact on people like Chiles and Davis. People who believe that being who you are is wrong. These types of people don’t take the time to put themselves in others’ shoes, but instead are quick to judge. They don’t follow the one rule that we were all taught as children: treat others how you want to be treated.
Sources:
https://www.hrc.org/our-work/stories/the-journey-to-marriage-equality-in-the-united-states
