Will Minnesota be the 15th state to ban gay conversion therapy?
That was the question of the day at the capitol today in St. Paul as a bill in the House got its first committee hearing.
And while the politics of this plays out over the next few weeks, we would like to share a personal story from a young man named Junior Avalos.
Because Junior went to gay conversion therapy when he was a teenager.
"I started knowing from a young age. I knew it was different from the way my teacher would tell me hey that's not right," Avalos told me.
Junior says he was bombarded with that lesson, that he was wrong through his childhood and into his teenage years.
"I was even called a monster at certain points in my childhood because of the feelings I was having and I tried really hard to hide those feelings from the people I loved because all I wanted was for them to love me back," Avalos said.
Desperately seeking societal norms Junior, at the age of 16, went online and found a camp selling gay conversion therapy.
"It promised me these same sex attractions could be changed, could be fixed and I could be saved, I could be loved," Avalos said.
To come up with the 600 dollars for the camp Junior says he got a job and weeks later, took a bus, to the camp.
"The experiences I had there were hard, they were barbaric. There was stuff I wouldn't wish upon anyone else. One of most painful memories was to practice male mannerisms and masculine mannerisms so I had to lower my voice, I had to put my hands in certain positions in my body and if I didn't, if my voice got too high or my wrist went limp I risk getting physically assaulted," Avalos said.
I asked Junior if he left that camp, different.
"I mean I did leave there different. I left there hating myself even more. I left there with suicidal thoughts, with higher anxiety and with distrust for the entire world."
Six years have passed since Junior left that camp - and since then he's graduated from college and started telling his story.
The American Medical Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics and The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology have all stated publicly - there is no scientific evidence saying this kind of therapy works, and, that is has negative effects on the people sent there.
The Minnesota Family Council opposes this proposed ban on gay conversion therapy in this state - saying - the state should not come between individuals and the counseling options they and their families want to explore.