Tag: conversion therapy

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Ohio: Toledo Bans So-Called “Conversion Therapy”

By a unanimous vote, the Toledo City Council has approved a ban on so-called “conversion” or “ex-gay” therapy within the city limits, AND added gender identity to it’s list of protected classes.

According to the Toledo Blade, the proposed legislation, which states “no mental health provider shall engage in sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts with any person,” would make it a misdemeanor of the fourth degree to provide the therapy. Each day in violation would be a separate offense — each with a maximum fine of $250.

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Vermont Becomes 8th State To Outlaw “Ex-Gay” Torture

Vermont becomes the 8th state in the U.S. to outlaw so-called “conversion therapy for young LGBTs.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed Senate Bill 132 into law, making Vermont the eighth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Washington D.C., and Cincinnati—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of “conversion therapy.”

Senate Bill 132, which protects LGBTQ youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through practices that are linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide, was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives in April. The law will go into effect July 1, 2016.

“We are thrilled that Vermont has joined the rapidly growing number of states leading the way to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy,” said the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Youth Policy Counsel Carolyn Reyes. “Vermont families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain. Most importantly, Vermont children can now rest easy in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or coerced to undergo dangerous and discredited treatments to try to change who they are. Today brings us one step closer to the day when all LGBTQ youth know they were born perfect.”

Said HRC President Chad Griffin: “No young person should be subjected to this extremely harmful and discredited practice, which medical professionals agree not only doesn’t work, but can also have life-threatening consequences. It is nothing short of child abuse. We thank Governor Shumlin and the Vermont State Legislature for prioritizing the well-being and safety of our nation’s youth, and remain committed to working with our partners to ensure that this quackery is banned from coast to coast.”

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New Jersey: “Ex-Gay” Therapy Loses In Court

A New Jersey jury found a “life coach” and a non-profit group called JONAH guilty of consumer fraud in the first court case in the country to address the practice of so-called “ex-gay” or “conversion” therapy.

From NJ.com:

The jury concluded that Arthur Goldberg and Elaine Berk, the founders of Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing in Jersey City and life coach Alan Downing to whom JONAH referred patients, “engaged in unconscionable commercial practices” and misrepresented their services.

The verdict requires JONAH and Downing to refund thousands of dollars paid by former clients Michael Ferguson, Benjamin Unger, Sheldon Bruck, Chaim Levin, and parents Jo Bruck and Bella Levin for the individual and group counseling sessions and the “journey into manhood” weekends in the woods.

But the victory has broader implications. The national civil rights legal advocacy group Southern Poverty Law Center filed the case to take a stand against conversion therapy — a frequent target of public criticism since the passage of same-sex marriage laws and other LGBT legal protections.

In 2013, New Jersey joined California by outlawing licensed therapists from providing the therapy to minors. Oregon and Washington D.C. followed.

The “therapy” included such activities as beating a pillow with a tennis racket as if the pillow were the patient’s mother; undressing in front of the practitioners; and touching themselves to express their “manhood.”

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Illinois: Chicago Sun-Times Op-Ed Urges Ban On “Ex-Gay” Therapy

The Chicago Sun-Times, in an editorial today, urged state legislators to finish the job and pass current legislation that would ban so-called “ex-gay” or “conversion” therapy.

And in no uncertain terms.

Being gay is not an illness. It requires no cure.

And anybody who practices “conversion therapy,” purporting to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, is a quack, engaged in medical malpractice. Conversion therapy does not work. On this, the scientific and medical consensus is strong. It can only do harm.

We urge the Illinois Senate to support a measure, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, and Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, that would bar mental health workers from engaging in treatments designed to change the sexual orientation of minors.

The bill passed in the House on Tuesday by a vote of 68 to 43. Biss tells us he is “optimistic” it will pass in the Senate as well, next week, but he’s still rounding up the votes. Conversion therapy is one of those issues on which there are not really two opposing credible views, and to claim otherwise is to create a false equivalency.

On the one side are defenders of the practice, their views usually grounded in religious belief, who can cite no credible evidence.

On the other side is the full weight of America’s mainstream medical and mental health communities, who come armed with facts.

The cure does not work, and nobody needs curing.

(h/t JMG)

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Illinois: State House Approves Ban on “Ex-Gay” Therapy For Minors

Let’s hear it for Illinois!

By a vote of 68 to 43, state legislators approved legislation that would ban so-called “ex-gay” therapy for minors.

Sixty-one Democrats and seven Republicans voted to protect young LGBTs from the harmful effects of what many have termed “conversion torture” which attempts to “fix” something that isn’t broken.

“Ending conversion therapy is our top priority in the legislature right now. Trying to change the unchangeable, our innate sexual orientation and gender identity, should not be attempted because it risks the health of LGBT youth,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.

The bill now heads to the Illinois state Senate.

Illinois would join Oregon, California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia in protecting LGBT minors from “conversion therapy.”

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Rep. Ted Lieu Introduces Federal Bill To Ban “Ex-Gay” Therapy

In light of the fact that so-called “ex-gay” conversion therapy is not only harmful to people but also completely ineffective at “curing” homosexuality, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has introduced federal legislation that would effectively ban the practice in the US.

Lieu said during a news conference that he introduced the measure, the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, because medical and psychological experts say conversion therapy is only not ineffective, but also potentially harms individuals who endure it.

“We know that being gay or lesbian is not a medical condition that needs a cure,” Lieu said. “Love doesn’t need a cure. That’s what the bill is about.”

Under the legislation, conversion therapy would be classified as fraud under the Federal Trade Commission Act. If the legislation were signed into law, the Federal Trade Commission could enforce the bill at its discretion and private citizens could bring lawsuits against those who practice “ex-gay” therapy.

“What the bill will do is outlaw conversion therapy by saying that you cannot advertise that you’re doing conversion therapy, you cannot say that it works, you cannot promote it and you cannot profit off of it,” Lieu said.

California, New Jersey and D.C. have already passed laws barring “ex-gay” conversion therapy for minors, with Oregon’s legislation now headed to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

Lieu’s bill differs from state laws, however, in a few ways.

One, the federal bill would prohibit “ex-gay” therapy for everyone – not just minors.

Second, practitioners would be barred from charging for providing the “therapy.” The vast majority of folks who do this kind of “therapy” are for profit; thus, most would stop if they couldn’t make money from the practice of the harmful “therapy.” Plus, supporters of the bill say this doesn’t infringe on First Amendment liberties.

Finally, the federal bill bans “conversion” therapy for not only sexual orientation, but gender identity as well.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has signed on as an original sponsor of the bill.

“Conversion therapy is abusive, destructive, discredited, and has no place in any medical practice,” Pelosi said in a statement. “This legislation will stop conversion therapy peddlers from committing these fraudulent and hateful acts against LGBT children and adults. Being LGBT is not an error to be corrected.”

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Oregon Bans “Ex-Gay” Therapy For LGBT Youth

Via press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

Today, the Oregon State Senate passed HB 2307, a bill that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the State House on March 17 and is now heading to the desk of Governor Kate Brown who is expected to sign it into law. When signed into law, Oregon will become the fourth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia—to pass legislation protecting LGBT youth from the serious harms caused by these practices, which have been linked to substance abuse, serious depression, and even suicide.

HRC and NCLR have partnered with state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation to end this dangerous practice, including laws passed in California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia. In August of 2013, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s ban which was signed into law by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown in 2012. On Monday May 4, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to upheld New Jersey’s ban which was signed into law by Republican Governor Chris Christie in August of 2013. NCLR attorneys have assisted in the defense of every state bill to date.

More at NCLR.org.

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The White House Staffers Speak Out Against “Ex-Gay” Therapy

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

In the aftermath of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn’s suicide, a petition was created calling for the White House to speak out against so-called “ex-gay” therapy for minors. The petition garnered over 120,000 signatures.

On Wednesday, President Obama issued a statement in support of banning “conversion” therapies for minors.

Now, the While House has released a video featuring staffers talking on the very important subject.

Watch below:

Jay Davis, Advisor for Digital Strategy and Engagement, Environmental Protection Agency
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White House Announces President Obama Will Support Banning “Ex-Gay” Therapy For Minors

In a response to a petition begun in the aftermath of 17 year-old transgender Leelah Alcorn’s suicide, the White House has announced tonight that President Obama supports efforts to ban the use of so-called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy” for minors. Leelah left behind a suicide note describing how her parents forced her into what has become known as “conversion” torture.

This sad incident brought national attention to the practice of “conversion” or “reparative” therapy, which can do intense damage to LGBT folks.

In a statement that was to be posted on Wednesday evening alongside a WhiteHouse.gov petition begun in honor of Ms. Alcorn, Mr. Obama condemned the psychiatric practice, sometimes called “conversion” or “reparative” therapy, which is supported by some socially conservative organizations and religious doctors. The petition has received more than 120,000 signatures in three months.

“We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer youth,” the statement, written by Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, says, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times. “As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.”

In an interview on Wednesday, Ms. Jarrett said Mr. Obama was moved by the story of Ms. Alcorn’s suicide. But she said the problem went far beyond her.

“It was tragic, but I will tell you, unfortunately she has a lot of company,” Ms. Jarrett said. “It’s not the story of one young person. It is the story of countless young people who have been subjected to this.”

Bolding is mine.

The article goes on to say that while President Obama isn’t prepared to call for a federal law against “ex-gay” therapy (although he’s open to the idea), he will support banning the practice at state levels as has been done in California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

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Oregon: State House Passes Ban On “Ex-Gay” Therapy For Minors

By a vote of 41-18, the Oregon House has approved legislation that would ban so-called “ex-gay” or “conversion” therapy that purports to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of young people.

The bill would make it illegal for social workers or licensed mental health professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists to practice what’s called conversion therapy on children younger than 18.

Laws banning the therapy have passed in New Jersey, California and Washington, D.C. Advocates say bills have been introduced in about two dozen more states.

Rep. Rob Nosse, a Portland Democrat, said the therapy has been widely discredited. He said the therapy can often lead to depression or anxiety in youths.

Psychology experts have called the practice “harmful” and “dangerous.”

The bill now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate.