The Britain government has been accused of not moving quickly enough to fulfill a three-year promise to ban LGBTQ+ conversion therapy.

Countries like Brazil, Ecuador, and Malta already have bans in place, while Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Germany have plans to do so. But in Britain, it is still not outlawed despite the government’s pledging.

According to Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ charity that works to strengthen the LGBTQ movement by investing in valuable dynamic organizations, projects, and leaders, conversion therapy refers to a range of treatment or practices which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or to suppress a person’s gender identity or expression. 

Despite leading therapy professional bodies and the NHS abhorring it and stating that it is dangerous, some continue to administer these practices. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Stonewall (@stonewalluk)

Filmmaker Dustin Lance Disappointed At The Situation 

In an interview with Lorainne, Tom Daley’s Oscar-winning filmmaker husband Dustin Lance iterated, it was time for Equalities Minister Liz Truss to act. 

Speaking to host Lorraine Kelly, Dustin said:

I can’t believe it. Gay people, LGBT people worldwide look to the UK as this beacon of hope… but the UK is incredibly behind.

Theresa May, the then prime minister, promised to outlaw the practice in 2018, but it was continuously delayed. After pressures from multiple sources and the resignation of three equality advisers, Truss said the government will bring forward plans to ban gay conversion therapy ‘shortly.’

The filmmaker also gave insights on the studies that evaluated the outcome of these conversion therapies. He stated that studies from LGBTQ+ organizations like Stonewall discovered that these therapies can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts.

Dustin also urged viewers to write to the ministers and representatives to get the message across. 

Lance On UK’s Surrogacy Law And Raising His Son

Black, who won an Oscar for the 2008 film “Milk,” a biographical account of LGBT+ activist Harvey Milk, first started dating Olympic diver Tom Daley in 2013.

After 4 years of dating, the couple got married at Bovey Castle in May 2017 in Daley’s native England.

The following year, the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Robert Rennie Ray via surrogate. The pair announced the news in a statement to the Times. To this day, neither of them knows who the biological father is.

In 2018, after his son’s birth, Lance spoke out about his experience with surrogacy. The couple had to do it in California because the UK laws did not permit commercial surrogacy.

Black opined that surrogacy laws needed modernization as more gay parents are seeking to have children.

Lance has always been vocal about his sexuality and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. As a father, he has similar plans for his son. 

In a Same Families podcast, the Milk filmmaker stressed he and his husband want to let their son choose his own identity. They want to teach the little one about queer history and where he fits in.