Gay Conversion Therapy Banned For Youths In California

California will no longer allow therapy sessions that aim to reverse homosexuality in minors.

Reuters reports that California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill today that would end gay conversion therapy, or reparative therapy, which aims to turn LGBT teens straight. According to the bill, the practice has no medical backing and may be psychologically damaging.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said:

“LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) 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.”

The bill’s sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, confirmed that Brown had signed the bill. Brown has not made an announcement about the bill yet.

Lieu said:

“If anyone had any doubts such practices were evil, they need only listen to accounts of victims who went through this abusive practice.”

Ryan Kendall, who experienced the controversial therapy first hand, told legislators:

“As a young teen, the anti-gay practice of so-called conversion therapy destroyed my life and tore apart my family.”

The bill would ban efforts to reverse the sexual orientation of people under the age of 18. Reuters reports that California will be the first state to enact such a law. The ban will go into effect on January 1st.

Do you think California made the right decision by banning conversion therapy?