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California governor signs ‘ex-gay’ therapy ban into law
October 1, 2012
By Jacob Combs
California is now the first state to prohibit the use of so-called gay ‘conversion’ therapy on minors after Governor Jerry Brown signed a ban into law this Saturday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. From the Chronicle:
The bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars mental health practitioners from performing so-called reparative therapy, which professional psychological organizations have said may cause harm. Gay rights groups have labeled them dangerous and abusive.
“This bill bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery,” Brown said in a statement to The Chronicle.
Brown approved the ban after the public release of two other lists of bills signed and vetoed earlier Saturday. Lieu’s bill is expected to appear on a new list to be released Sunday.
The new law will take effect on January 1 and will prohibit mental health providers from practicing therapy with an aim “”to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”
The Courage Campaign, which sponsors P8TT, was among the groups spearheading the push to pass SB 1172 through the legislature and encourage Governor Brown to sign the bill. Rick Jacobs, Courage’s founder and chair, issued the following statement the bill was signed:
“Governor Brown has shown courage for enacting the first law in the nation to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for gay people. The Governor’s action will protect thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth of California. This law will save lives here and across the nation by ending the torture of young people through the quackery that suggests that gay people can decide somehow not to be gay, which is akin to white people deciding not to be white. Once again, California is a model for the nation.”
Having technical problems? E-mail equalityontrial AT couragecampaign DOT org for assistance!
20 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Derek Williams | October 1, 2012 at 8:04 am
"Pray away the Gay" quackery is snake oil that makes endless professional fees for its merchants. Gays duped into this 'therapy' spend tens of thousands attempting to be rewired, with amplified self hatred the usual outcome. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/19475393
It is comparable to trying to 'correct' sinistrality by forcing children to write with their right hand, which practice caused a dear friend to develop an incurable stuttering speech defect in childhood.
The rationale behind homophobia is that if you make homosexuals miserable for long enough, they will inevitably eventually transmogrify into heterosexuals. Sadly, the usual outcome has been to create a substantial constituency of abused, confused and embittered homosexuals.
Based upon exit polls from 2004 and 2008 Census, 5% of the US population are 'openly gay', leaving a sizeable number still 'in the closet'. Applying just 5% to the world's 7 billion population yields a staggering 350 million homosexuals in the world.
Thus, looking at the size of their potential customer base, which is endlessly self-renewing (because our parents are invariably heterosexuals), it's easy to see why it took so long for the APA to voluntarily relinquish such fees, but is to its great credit that it has so comprehensively done so: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation….
It's also worth 9 minutes of your time to listen to what some of the ex ex-gay hawkers have to say about what harm they have done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDiYeJ_bsQo
2.
MightyAcorn | October 1, 2012 at 8:20 am
I'm so glad he not only signed the bill, but issued such a strong statement against anti- gay "quackery." Mwah, Jerry!
3.
brad | October 1, 2012 at 9:07 am
Ex Gay Therapy?? OMG i can hardly believe it was allowed in the first place!
Not even surprised it is now banned.
Now lets move on to things that matter like EQUALITY!~
4.
davep | October 1, 2012 at 9:43 am
Well, maybe that was just a poor choice of words there, Brad …. but the issue of stopping 'conversion therapy' has been very important and it certainly does matter. Young gay people have been driven to suicide by this sadistic practice.
But yes, now that this bill is law, let's tackle the next issue.
5.
curiouskas | October 1, 2012 at 9:47 am
Great for California, but now it's time to enact this across the nation. I hope other states adopt this law in the coming years, as our vulnerable youth are put in great jeopardy by such odious practices
6.
brad | October 1, 2012 at 9:47 am
Bad choice of words? What do you mean?
I am all for the ban ya know? Nothing wrong with being who you are.
And btw, i do know it has been VERY important to alot of people.
Sorry for the confusion if any??
7.
davep | October 1, 2012 at 11:27 am
Yes, we agree, I was referring to the phrase "let's move on to things that matter". It sounded like it was implying that this issue wasn't something that mattered, and I didn't think you meant to say that.
8.
Mike in Baltimore | October 1, 2012 at 11:40 am
"Gays duped into this 'therapy' spend tens of thousands attempting to be rewired, with amplified self hatred the usual outcome."
Actually, since it's usually teens who undergo the 'therapy', it's the parents who try to 'Pray away the Gay'. Most of them are afraid that there will be no grandchildren if they don't do something.
9.
brad | October 1, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Oh ok…yeah i see…i guess what i meant or felt was that ex gay therapy is useless and such a waste of time..ya know? But yeah i see now….MY BAD…lol
I can only imagine how many gay teens were forced to go to this ex gay therapy BS.
ttyl and sorry bout the mix up..
Brad
10.
brad | October 2, 2012 at 11:49 am
Wow i do NOTICE i got thumbs down here too!?? yeah nice…i am FOR GAY MARRIAGE and against ex gay therapy….people, relax. Wow
11.
brad | October 2, 2012 at 11:55 am
I am a PROUD supporter of gay rights and to receive thumbs down for stading up for the gays? or for an innocently written post? I donate ALOT of my MONEY to stop Prop 8. WOW thanks alot
12.
Derek Williams | October 2, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Brad, I read your post and the follow up comments, and speaking for myself, I can't see any problem with anything you said. At least from me, you got one 'thumbs up'.
Thanks for your support of equality, and for your condemnation of 'ex-gay therapy'.
13.
brad | October 2, 2012 at 12:37 pm
thanks Derek..but i guess i need to relax….lol
Thanks for the comment and thumbs up:)
What makes me sad are teens forced to attend ex gay therapy. Such harm can result for sure!
ttyl
14.
Mike in Baltimore | October 2, 2012 at 1:30 pm
I was one who gave you a thumb down, precisely because you closed your first post with, "Now lets move on to things that matter like EQUALITY!~"
Most people don't have to undergo a corneal transplant – I have two in my future (at a total cost of up to $20,000 EACH). I search for information on the procedures available, but most people don't need to. My (half-)sister doesn't have the eye disease I have, but she is still interested in much of the news and research on it. She does NOT consider it as something that is of no import, and thus isn't concerned about it for her personally, but is concerned about it on a different level of concern. And that is NOT how you came across with that "Now lets move on. . . ." comment.
You made a bad choice of words in that initial post?
No, just an indication that you apparently are of the opinion that if it doesn't affect you, personally, you really don't care about it, and in fact, consider it not worth anyone bothering about. The same attitude that many of the supporters of Prop H8 and DOMA have – marriage equality doesn't affect them, but they think it does, so they are against it.
As I've stated before (but some won't agree), words have meanings, and sometimes the meaning for some words is NOT what many think it is.
15.
Derek Williams | October 2, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Mike, may I suggest you are analysing the underbelly out of our supporters? Brad has made it abundantly clear that he supports the banning of Ex Gay Therapy. He has also made it abundantly clear that he supports Marriage Equality.
Frankly I don't care too much whether he supports one slightly more than the other or vice versa, the fact is he supports both, and I believe unequivocally. He never said, nor even implied that he "really doesn't care" about banning Ex Gay Therapy. On the contrary, he went to the trouble to write a comment on this page supporting the ban!
He isn't even gay, yet he supports us and our campaign, both morally and financially.
I really think it is vastly more productive to pick fights with our enemies, i.e, people who actually support the practice of Ex Gay Therapy and who are against Marriage Equality, than it is to nitpick the munitiae of semantics with someone who is obviously our friend. That is at least if he still wants to be after getting such a telling off.
By all means thumbs down all my comments if they offend you.
16.
brad | October 2, 2012 at 7:26 pm
"No, just an indication that you apparently are of the opinion that if it doesn't affect you, personally, you really don't care about it,"
WOW, you are so far off base it is sad. And then go on to say i am the SAME as the Pro 8 folk mentality??
MY wording MIKE, may have been misinterpreted, by you, BUT what you think it meant and what i meant are two ENTIRELY different things.
Btw i DIDNT give you the thumbs down!
Just relax ok…i am straight, from Canada and i come on here EVERY day and i support gay equality morally and financially!
Peace
17.
Mike in Baltimore | October 2, 2012 at 11:37 pm
Actually, what I stated was, ". . . you apparently are of the opinion that if it doesn't affect you, personally, you really don't care about it, and in fact, consider it not worth anyone bothering about. The same attitude that many of the supporters of Prop H8 and DOMA have. . . .", not the summary you gave.
I didn't state that you have the same mentality, but apparently the same opinion, IMO. There is a difference, if you didn't know. Many people can arrive at the same type of opinion by different methods and routes, just as it is possible to get from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon by a multitude of methods and routes.
And Derek? As my housemate stated to me (facetiously), "Words have meaning?"
18.
brad | October 3, 2012 at 9:19 am
FINE leave it alone. I am against ex gay therapy and all for gay marriage. Good?
I do care about it and i DONT have the same opinion as "they" do.
Please forgive me then for the mix up!
Done
19.
brad | October 3, 2012 at 9:21 am
Btw Mike, it DOES affect me. I have a gay brother who lives in Toronto and MANY gay married friends who i support fully.
You really judged and judged wrong
20.
gaydownloads | October 9, 2012 at 2:45 pm
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