A fast growing Change.org petition to enact ‘Leelah’s Law’ to ban transgender conversion therapy, in honor of transgender teen Leela Alcorn has reached more than 280,000 signatures.
The 17-year-old teenager from Ohio whose suicide note blamed gay conversion therapy for her death, and called on others to “fix society” to prevent more transgender suicides. One of the last things Leelah wrote was, “My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.”
Allison Woolbert, a transgender woman and executive director of the Transgender Human Rights Institute, started the petition after learning about Leelah’s death and the call to action in her suicide note. “My heart broke when I heard about Leelah Alcorn’s suicide. I didn’t know Leelah, but I know her story. That’s because Leelah and I are both transgender,” said Woolbert. “Leelah did not want her death to be in vain. She wanted to shine a light on the needs of trans people, and she wanted us to fix society to help kids like her.”
You can check out the petition and comments being left by signers here.
