I was 9 years old when I declared myself a feminist. Who knows what provoked me to take up the feminist cause—it might have been the progressive books I was reading, rebellion against the traditional family dynamics under which I grew up, or just extreme irritation that I had to wash the dishes every night because it was a “female chore” while my brother watched TV. Whatever it was, I decided at a very early age that I wanted to smash the patriarchy. 

John Freeman founded Harvest USA, a Christian ministry that helps individuals and families troubled by pornography, homosexuality, and sexual addictions. He’s a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, an elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, and the author of a new book, Hide or Seek: When Men Get Real with God About Sex. Here are edited excerpts of our interview before students at Patrick Henry College. 

In a new spin on marriage equality, the U.K.’s highest court this week ruled that British law illegally discriminates against heterosexual couples. The 5-0 ruling by Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday found a 2005 law establishing civil partnerships exclusively for same-sex couples violates the human rights of opposite-sex couples.

Public libraries across the country are hosting drag performers for children’s story hours in June. What started as a one-off 2015 event in San Francisco has become a national movement of libraries hiring men dressed as women to read books and sing songs with children, all advertised as kid-friendly exposure to gender fluidity.

The cover story in WORLD’s June 30, 2018 issue shows how a bill to ban “conversion therapy” (sometimes called “reparative therapy”) in California, even for consenting adults, is in a pipeline to passage. Since press coverage has been biased in favor of the bill, here are a few voices of opposition from testimony before the California Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.

Christians in China are used to living in a one-party dictatorship. Christians in the United States are not, so this spring many are gasping as the California Legislature moves toward passing Assembly Bill 2943, which makes “conversion therapy” illegal. Under the bill, which Gov. Jerry Brown expects to sign into law, it is likely to be unlawful to advise a same-sex-attracted adult on ways to fight his or her urges, even though many wish to do so (see sidebar below).

For California residents dealing with unwanted, same-sex attraction, certain members of the state Legislature have a clear message: What you want for your life isn’t as important as what we think you should want. In fact, what you want isn’t really valid.

How else can one read California Assembly Bill 2943? The bill passed the California State Assembly in April and awaits a hearing in the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee.