Laura Dowling

When you have, as in being targeted violently online or offline, or you're seeing what we call slap suits or you're seeing legal junctions being placed on journalists that are doing their job and being killed world over for bringing the truth to light.

And then we begin to believe certain cohorts because they shout the loudest and they say things really simple.

But democracy isn't simple.

If it is, we would have finished it a long time ago.

And it's just the civil war mentality is really alive and well online and offline.

And, you know, I'm American born, so I always hate to point fingers only at America.

I think the current president of the United States just turned a mirror on a lot of us and allowed us to feel comfortable, feel comfortable saying things that are not true.

And you see it, I mean, we see it in the parliament all the time.

Just this week, we had a debate in the parliament on conversion therapy against the LGBTI plus community.

So it's not banned, it's not banned in Ireland.

It's a part of the program for government.

So I've been working with colleagues to make sure,

Now, across the EU, only eight countries have banned it.

And you still have LGBTI plus community...

Sometimes you think of conversion therapy of they're sitting in a room like we are and there's whatever religion you believe in.

They're having deep discussions about it being bad.

It's not like you have solitary confinement.

You have a high dose of medication.

In some forms, you have electric therapy being used, extreme isolation, mental and physical abuse.

And it's happening to the LGBTI plus community around Europe and around the world.