Help compose message to local councillor

[GCHelpNeeded]

Long time lurker on this board but first time poster here. I'm trying to compose a message to my local Councillors so thought I might ask for some help from you wise people. I've pasted my draft below (probably full of mistakes). Anybody got any helpful suggestions? Our local council is all red and yellow and green so it's unlikely to make any difference but I felt I should say something.

I wanted to write to you to raise a matter of concern.
I saw on the agenda for this week's council meeting an item calling upon the government to introduce a conversion therapy ban for transgender people.
While I have a great deal of sympathy for transgender people and fully support them living their lives without fear or discrimination I cannot support this agenda item.

The proposed bill was not clearly defined and runs the risk of damaging children and young people who may be questioning their identity but not actually be trans. The rapid rise of children and young people identifying as trans indicates that there seems to be social contagion when it comes to issues of identity and young people are often exploring ideas of who they are and do not come to a settled position until much later.
I have read several heartbreaking stories of detransitioners who went down that path and have later regretted it (e.g Keira Bell).
If "conversion therapy" (which is not clearly defined) is made illegal we run the risk that any child or young person questioning their identity would be unquestioningly affirmed and put on a path which leads to medication and even surgery.
Therapists and other professionals should be free to challenge a child or young person who is experiencing gender-related distress before such a potentially damaging pathway is chosen, especially as such young people often have other issues e.g. autism.
I urge you to please read the Interim Cass report, it would be unwise of the government to move forward in this area until the full report has been released.

I then include a link to the cass report website.

Conversion Therapy is well defined.

It's a therapy which begins with the assumption that transgenderism isn't real, and tries to convince trans people that they are not trans.

That's what people want to ban.

The author mentions therapies which take people questioning their identities and pushes them into a trans identity.

She identifies these are bad therapies and says they support more exploratory therapies instead.

Trans activists, trans lobby groups and the big trans healthcare bodies also support exploratory therapies. Exploratory therapies are the recommended therapy, supported by all major trans groups.

These groups support the conversion therapy ban.

It is simply a mistake to claim that a conversion therapy ban would affect exploratory therapies.

A conversion therapy ban would ban a specific narrow set of bad therapies and won't affect the good ones.

drdylanwilson.substack.com/p/an-open-letter-to-australias-doctors/comments?s=r
This doctor seems to think that only allowing affirmation of a trans identity is harmful.
It is also not true to say...

It is simply a mistake to claim that a conversion therapy ban would affect exploratory therapies.

Anything other than immediate affirmation will be considered conversion therapy by these groups. Asking your council to wait until the Cass Review is published seems eminently sensible to me OP.

Good letter, OP.

But miss out the whole "while I have a great deal of sympathy for..." sentence, and just put "I cannot support this agenda item" as a stand-alone, punchy sentence.

And miss out the bit "but not actually be trans". There is no such thing as a trans child so you don't need this phrase!

Make sure that the title if your email is really clear, so that your councillor does not skim read the title & think that it's an email of support ( we've had this issue, with our MP!)

That councils are getting involved in what they see as virtue signalling is not good. Could you ask to speak at the meeting, in the public bit? Worth checking that out.

Good luck!

Have you read the proposed bill or the Cass report?

(334bu) you say that trans activist groups would oppose any therapy that does not immediately identify their patients as transgender.

I'm afraid this is not accurate. I would ask that you retract this unless you can provide some form of evidence.

You also mention the cass report. The cass report does not touch directly on the subject matter being discussed here.

The Cass report does look at whether the existing therapies in the UK are exploratory, and concludes that some of them are not.

The absence of exploratory therapies is something recognized and opposed by trans activist groups.

Exploratory therapies are good for trans people. Trans activists like and support them.

(oldwomanwhoruns)

You are actively promoting conversion therapy, and claiming to be on the side of the OP.

That is making her case look worse.