Sex Orientation Change Banned

Special Report - October 2, 2012
California is now the first state in the nation to ban mental health professionals from engaging in “sexual orientation change” therapy for minors, regardless of the wishes of their parents or the minors themselves. Governor Jerry Brown (D–CA) signed SB 1172, dubbed a “model for the nation” by homosexual advocacy groups, into law on September 29. It had previously passed the California Assembly in August by a vote of 52 to 22, and in the Senate by a vote of 23 to 13. The controversial law prohibits any licensed “mental health provider … from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts … with a patient under 18 years of age,” and specifies that engaging in such efforts will result in a charge of “unprofessional conduct” and “discipline by the provider’s licensing entity.” It defines “sexual orientation change efforts” as “any practices by mental health providers that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation. This includes efforts 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 takes effect in January 2013.

Sponsored by California State Senator Ted Lieu (D), SB 1172 was supported by a number of homosexual advocacy groups, including Equality California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Courage Campaign, and Lambda Legal. It specifically ignores the rights of parents to determine the mental health needs of their own children by specifying that “[u]nder no circumstances shall a mental health provider engage in sexual orientation efforts with a patient under 18 years of age.”

In an interview with the Orange County Register, Sen. Lieu admitted that the purpose of SB 1172 was to limit parental rights. “The attack on parental rights is exactly the whole point of the bill because we don't want to let parents harm their children," he said. "We have these laws to stop parents from hurting their kids. Reparative therapy hurts children, so this bill allows us to stop parents from hurting their children."

While homosexual advocacy groups and their allies claim that sexual change therapy is “dangerous” and ineffective, the lives of thousands of ex-homosexual men and women who have experienced sexual orientation change prove otherwise. In a letter to Sen. Lieu, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (P-FOX) described SB 1172 as “an act of childhood endangerment and an unconstitutional attempt to deny parental rights everywhere, but especially for parents in California.” P-FOX argued that the legislation would “turn California into a nanny state by usurping the civil rights of parents who support their child's right to receive therapy for unwanted same-sex attractions, especially when that child has been sexually molested. This smacks of fascism and ex-gay bashing.”

The letter went on to argue that the SB 1172 endangers “youth by denying their right to receive therapeutic help, promoting homosexual behavior to sexually confused youth, and conveniently ignoring the facts about the psychological and physical health risks of sodomy.”

"This is a horrific bill," said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. "At a time when young people are struggling through adolesence and in dire need of parental direction, for the state to deny these children access to professional help is unconscionable. This law is in direct conflict with parents rights to raise their children as they see fit, and for many, in a manner that is pleasing to God."

Related resources:
Study: Some Can Change Sexual Orientation - August 18, 2009
Report Challenges Change Therapy - August 11, 2009
APA Releases New Homosexuality Brochure - March 24, 2008
Study Finds Homosexuals Can Change - September 17, 2007
About Behavioral Genetics and Homosexuality - FNC - Sep/Oct, 2007.

Copyright © 2012. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.