Gay conversion therapy banned in state of California

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
10/2/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

'Gay reparation therapy' has 'no basis in science or medicine,

Governor Jerry Brown Monday made California the first U.S. state to ban a form of therapy designed to change the sexual orientation of minors. Brown denounced "reparative therapy" as having "no basis in science or medicine, and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery," Brown said on his Twitter feed. Signing the bill into law over the weekend, the action drew support from gay rights groups.

Under the law, doctors cannot provide therapy that seeks 'to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.' The law will come into force on January 1.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Doctors will now be barred from performing the so-called therapy which some experts say can cause psychological harm to youngsters, including driving them to having suicidal thoughts.

"This bill bans non-scientific 'therapies' that have driven young people to depression and suicide," Brown added.

Under the law, doctors cannot provide therapy that seeks "to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex." The law will come into force on January 1.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender (LGBT) rights groups were quick to praise the governor.

"Thank you @JerryBrownGov for signing #SB1172 into law and protecting #LGBT youth from psychological abuse!" tweeted The Trevor Project, which provides suicide prevention services to the LGBT community.

"LGBT youth will now be protected from a practice that has not only been debunked as junk science, but has been proven to have drastically negative effects on their well-being" said its head, Chad Griffin.

"We commend Gov. Brown for putting children first, and call on all states to take California's lead on this issue," he added.

There are other experts who disagree, considering such therapies as possibly helpful in some instances.

Exodus International, a ministry which reaches out to people in the homosexual lifestyle who do not want to remain there, has announced that it will no longer practice conversion therapy.

Exodus International President Alan Chambers addressed the crowd at the 37th annual Freedom Conference recently shared why the organization will no longer use reparative therapy to help those who struggle with same-sex attraction, and will use a model that focuses more on discipleship instead.

Chambers told The Christian Post that reparative therapy, which seeks to change Same Sex Attraction through activities like counseling and prayer, could set the person seeking therapy up for failure by giving him or her unrealistic expectations.

"As the president of Exodus International and, even more than that, as a Christian leader who is out in front of people all the time, it is my responsibility to lead honestly and transparently and to share with people that, just because you become a Christian,...your struggles don't always go away," he said. "You don't get to a place where you're never going to be tempted again."

Chambers says anyone who still believes in reparative therapy will still be able to minister with Exodus, but the organization will no longer formally supports such an approach.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Governor Brown, California, gay conversion, reparative therapy

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Murms
8 months ago
Basically this ban is saying reparative therapy is useless and detrimental to anyone who tries it, A person cannot change their sexual orientation. However, I recently saw a television program that was using reparative therapy in our prison systems to rehabiltate pedophiles. It was extensive therapy to retrain and repress the pedophile from being attracted to children. If the Governer feels it is ineffective and quackery, then why is it acceptable to use in our prison systems? If their claims are true, then we need to stop claiming that pedophiles can be rehabilitated and stop releasing them.
Murms
don Roberto
8 months ago
Dennis, how is this showing anyone to be "mean?"

It's quite simple: there is no scientific basis for reparative "therapy." It's banned the same way a government would ban any other dangerous, scientifically invalid procedure. People who promote this "therapy" are simply quacks, out to fleece people who have been told their romantic / sexual orientation can be "cured."
Dennis
8 months ago
Gov Jerry Brown. That says it all.

These LBGT groups keep showing themselves as being some of the meanest people on earth. Very sad.
DLL
8 months ago
There is nothing wrong with seeking treatment if one is disturbed to be a homosexual. There is something wrong with forcing someone who is homosexual to have treatment. That is simply unethical medically. No one who wants to be treated because of a self perceived homosexual conflict,that they see as an individual problem,should ever be denied available treatment. That also is unethical. The government has no business to call psychology quackery. If someone's heterosexual or homosexual behavior is detrimental to others around them there is no doubt that psychological treatment can be of immense help. We must as a duty to each other,not allow,ignorant politicians to dictate a scientific practice as quackery by any judicial decree. No one homo or heterosexual is served well by poor politics and governmental or judicial partisan judgements and decrees.
abey
8 months ago
Law which is blind, cannot distinguish between the flesh & the Spirit, like the Poster boy not able to Recognize what is called the "Cry of Sodom", the cry which is to God against him, 'cause he knows not the truth since there is no truth in him & to this the spirit seeks the truth against his delusional poster, in short he sets himself against his own life- to the state of California where in was first injected the poison of the new age beliefs.

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