A Glasgow survivor ‘tortured’ by conversion therapy was left ‘disgusted’ after MSP John Mason compared it to ‘eating less chocolate’.

Blair Anderson says he was bombarded with abuse for being gay by his own extremely religious household who forced him to pray to ‘fix’ his sexuality.

Now the 23-year-old has slammed Glasgow Shettleston SNP politician Mason for his comments during a Scottish Government discussion this week about introducing legislation to ban these practices.

Glasgow Times:

It comes after Blair had given evidence for the debate about his traumatic experience which has left him still 'waking up screaming' and struggling with his mental health.

He was then furious when John Mason suggested ‘we sometimes need to say ‘no’ to ourselves’.

During the debate John Mason said: “I might have a natural desire to eat the attractive food I see.

“Many of us are tempted to eat too much chocolate or drink too much alcohol, so that is where self-control comes in, we sometimes need to say ‘no’ to ourselves.”

Although Mason did admit he would support a ban as long it contained specific provisions “not to interfere with freedom of belief or freedom of religion”.

He also mentioned how religious groups have rules “above and beyond the law of the land” similar to a dress code being enforced at a bowling club.

The comments were met by backlash online, including from Blair who branded them ‘genuinely sickening crap’.

Blair said: “Being gay isn’t an optional dessert after dinner, it is a fundamental part of who you are.

“As a survivor myself it was insulting to watch him compare conversion therapy, which is a form of torture, to eating too much chocolate.

“The idea you can say ‘no’ is something conversion therapy supports.

“John Mason is in the minority with his comments as we got cross-party support for the ban, even most religious leaders agree it is bad.

“Overall I am very happy with the debate though, it was good to hear key points like how you can’t consent to conversion therapy and that transgender people should be included in being protected.”

It comes after Blair tweeted: “Disgusting and insulting to hear John Mason MSP compare the experiences of conversion therapy - widely seen to be a form of torture - to being in contravention of a dress code at a bowling club or eating too much chocolate “Genuinely sickening crap.”

 

 

When the Glasgow Times contacted MSP John Mason about his comments during the debate he said: “The key thing that I was trying to distinguish was the orientation between what they are and what they do.

“It is about the idea of self control, in all aspects of life we sometimes have to say no to ourselves.

“If conversion therapy is about trying to change what people are or their orientation then I would support a ban.

“I'd be concerned if it went beyond that and interfered with Christian teaching.”