Kentucky’s conversion therapy law is an affront to the gospel of Jesus Christ | Opinion

In the Book of Acts, Peter shares the gospel by declaring, “God shows no partiality.” He testifies that Jesus “went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed.”

The Kentucky Legislature could take a page from this book they claim to cherish so deeply.

Before the 2025 General Assembly ended, legislators overrode Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of House Bill 495, a so-called “emergency” measure that reinstated the widely discredited and inhumane practice of conversion therapy in Kentucky.

As Gov. Beshear said when he vetoed the bill, conversion therapy has no medical or scientific credibility. It causes unspeakable harm to LGBTQIA+ children, leaving scars that can last a lifetime.

The American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association are among those who recognize that attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not only completely ineffective; it is profoundly traumatizing.

Nevertheless, Kentucky legislators chose to override a veto that would have protected our commonwealth’s most vulnerable.

This is not just bad policy—it is a betrayal of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It tells LGBTQIA+ youth that God plays favorites, and in Kentucky, so do we.

But that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Peter shared the good news, he spoke of his own transformation, proclaiming, “God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.”

Yet, in Kentucky, politicians do the opposite. They weaponize the Christian faith to shame and harm the LGBTQIA+ community, including young people who deserve to be loved for who they are, not forced into dangerous pseudo-therapies.

Like many in our commonwealth, I grew up believing that who I was — who God made me to be as a gay man — was something that needed to be changed. To use Peter’s words, I believed I was unclean and needed to be washed, broken, and in need of fixing. But the good news of Jesus does not condemn; it liberates. It does not wound; it heals.

Peter’s words remain true: Jesus “went about doing good.” Why can’t Kentucky lawmakers do the same?

To the legislators who voted in favor of this cruelty, I will be praying for you. I will pray that, like Peter, your hearts will be opened to the wideness of God’s love. I will pray that your eyes will be opened to see the pain you are causing.

To my fellow Kentuckians, especially my LGBTQIA+ siblings: You are seen. You are loved. And no law from Frankfort will ever change that truth.

This week, churches across Kentucky will celebrate Easter, the holiest of holy days. We will proclaim that Christ is risen — that love has conquered fear, that life has triumphed over death. Conversion therapy is rooted in death-dealing theology, but the resurrection proclaims life. It is a reminder that no matter what harm is done in the name of religion, the power of God’s love cannot be legislated away.

The good news of Easter is that oppression never has the final word, and neither does the Kentucky legislature. Thanks be to God.

Jordan Conley is a Knott County native and now serves as the Pastor of Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville.

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.