California’s conversion therapy ban has been place on hold after a federal judge issue a temporary injunction on the matter. The “gay cure” therapy claims it can help turn a homosexual person straight.

The gay cure bill in California was the first of its kind in the United States, according to CNN. The ban on conversion therapy was reportedly intended to prevent minors from being subjected to the controversial style of treatment, The Jewish Daily Forward notes. Prior to the federal injunction, the ban would have gone into effect on January 1.

US District Judge William Shubb ruled on Monday that the ban could offend the First Amendment rights of therapists to share their views about homosexuality. Three individuals field a federal suit to argue that the gay cure ban as unconstitutional.

In November, four gay men who participated in the gay cure therapy filed a civil lawsuit in against the counseling group offering the treatment in New Jersey. According to court documents, the men claim they were deceived and cited the Consumer Fraud Act in the lawsuit.

A statement on the American Psychological Association website has this to say about conversion therapy:

“To date, there has been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation, sometimes called reparative or conversion therapy, is safe or effective. Furthermore, it seems likely that the promotion of change therapies reinforces stereotypes and contributes to a negative climate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons.”

Reparative therapy treatment techniques detailed in the New Jersey lawsuit allegedly include instructing patients to strip in group sessions, intimate cuddling with members of the same sex, visiting bath houses to be with nude a father figures, ben galled gay slurs, and beating an effigy of their mothers with a tennis racket.

California’s Gay Cure Therapy Ban Put On Hold is a post from: The Inquisitr

Gay cure reparative therapy advocates that appeared on The Dr. Oz Show angered gay advocacy groups. GLAAD and related groups complained about the Wednesday episode of the show that offered a forum that included supporters of reparative therapy techniques.

The Dr. Oz Show episode included appearance from People Can Change, a pro-reparative therapy group. Individuals from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality were also included in the forum. Members of the group have clashed with representatives of the medical establishment on the gay cure issues in the past, according to Radar Online.

GLAAD President Herndon Graddick claims that Dr. Oz was wrong to indirectly tout a theory that Graddick’s considers to have been proven both dangerous and ineffective by the medical establishment. Graddick also had this to say about the reparative therapy gay cure discussion on The Dr. Oz Show:

“That line of thinking is outdated, ultimately harmful, and in modern media, should be treated like lobotomies or medical mercury.”

Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network Executive Director Dr. Eliza Byard stated that Dr. Oz should have used a more cautious approach to giving a national stage to the reparative therapy movement. Dr. Byard feels the gay cure idea has been “consistently repudiated as harmful to youth.”

The Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gay group released this statement about the reparative therapy gay cure segment:

“Although the show also featured guests who condemned the idea and practice of reparative therapy, Dr. Oz himself never weighed in and the audience was misled to believe that there are actual experts on both sides of this issue.”

Reparative Therapy Discussion On ‘Dr. Oz Show’ Angered Gay Advocates 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