California is the first state to ban “gay cure” therapy — a form of therapy that attempts to turn gay teens straight. Governor Jerry Brown announced on Sunday that he signed Senate Bill 1172.

The bill prohibits children under 18 from going through “sexual orientation change efforts,” reports NBC News.

The law will go into effect on January 1 and will keep state-licensed therapists from engaging in that practice with minors. Clarissa Filgioun, board president of Equality California, stated during a press release:

“Governor Brown today reaffirmed what medical and mental health organizations have made clear: Efforts to change minors’ sexual orientation are not therapy, they are the relics of prejudice and abuse that have inflicted untold harm on young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians.”

The bill was sponsored by Senator Ted Lieu, who stated that mental-health providers attempting to cure teens of their homosexuality have ended up causing irreparable psychological and emotional harm to their patients. Lieu stated:

“I am deeply honored Governor Brown signed SB 1172. The bill is necessary because children were being psychologically abused by reparative therapists who would try to change the child’s sexual orientation. An entire house of medicine has rejected gay conversion therapy.”

The Daily Mail notes that Democrat Ricardo Lara, who is one of several openly gay legislators championing the bill, urged last month that the California State Assembly stand with “sissy boys” to support the bill. In announcing his support of the bill, Lara stated:

“One of our number one priorities in this house is to protect the next generation of Californians. And some of those are sissy boys. And some of those sissy boys grow up to be Assembly members. And some of those sissy boys need help. And we are here to stand with those sissy boys.”

Republican opponents of the gay cure ban bill say that regulation of the therapy should be a matter for medical boards instead of politicians. They believe that the bill infringes on the rights of parents to make choices they see best for their children.

California Becomes First State To Ban ‘Gay Cure’ Therapy is a post from: The Inquisitr

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?

Gay Conversion Therapy Banned For Youths In California is a post from: The Inquisitr

A bill to ban conversion therapy among teens has passed the California State Senate, a move which means it will now go to the Assembly for approval.

Conversion therapy is the idea that a member of the LGBT community can become straight through the use of a type of psychotherapy. The Huffington Post reports that the bill, called SB1172, passed on Wednesday with a 23-13 vote.

Senator Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrence) stated during the hearing that:

“The entire medical community is opposed to these phony therapies. These non-scientific efforts have led in some cases to patients later committing suicide, as well as severe mental and physical anguish. It’s not just that people are wasting their time and money on these therapies that don’t work, it’s that these therapies are dangerous.”

KMJNOW radio reports that Lieu also stated:

“Reparative therapy has no medical basis. It is also known as gay conversion therapy. It is the misplaced belief that you can convert someone who is gay or lesbian to straight through therapy and the medical community has rejected this. They have said not only is there no medical data, but it can be dangerous.”

According to NBC Bay Area, Psychiatrist Dr. Manuj Nangia at the San Jose Integrative Wellness Center stated that the American Psychiatric Association does not support conversion therapy. She stated that the ban will hopefully, “protect kids from engaging in something that could be potentially harmful to them.” Many people who have undergone this kind of treatment, like Peter Drake of San Francisco, have actually felt worse after going through with it. Drake stated:

“I was so depressed I was suicidal. Where it started to get discouraging was when the therapist told me to play more sports, like gay men don’t play sports. Then I was told to look at pictures of women and try to lust after them.”

NBC Bay Area reports that Dr. Nangia also stated:

“What conversion therapy does is view being gay as a choice, that the individual chooses whether or not to be heterosexual instead of seeing it as a biological phenomenon and for a young person developing their sense of self this approach can be harmful because it encourages them to be something they’re not.”

Gay Conversion Therapy Bill Passes California State Senate is a post from: The Inquisitr