Click  to watch NCLR’s #BornPerfect campaign coordinator Samantha Ames on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown.

Nine months ago, NCLR launched our #BornPerfect campaign to end the use of conversion therapy on LGBTQ youth in five years. At the time, we thought it was an ambitious goal. We could not have imagined then the speed with which this movement has already grown or the impact it has already made. Thanks to the denunciations of these dangerous practices by mental health professionals, the tenacity of lawmakers and LGBTQ state equality groups, the support of faith leaders, and, most importantly, the courage of survivors, we have come farther in those nine months than we had ever thought possible.

But yesterday hit a new high water mark when one of the most powerful champions in the world joined our corner. Yesterday, President Barack Obama sent a clear message to every LGBTQ person in the country being forced into conversion therapy, into the streets, and all too often into body bags: You are not alone. You are not broken. You are ‪#‎BornPerfect.

When we started this fight 20 years ago, we knew we were in it for the long haul. When we passed SB 1172 in California, we knew we were in it for the long haul. Even today, when it is clearer than ever that this only ends one way, we know we are in it for the long haul. We cannot risk another child ending their life while they wait for the family acceptance and support they so desperately need. Now that the country is finally ready to open its eyes, we must work harder than ever to show how wrong and damaging these practices are. We will not stop fighting until every child can rest easily, no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity. We aren’t finished until conversion therapy is.