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Sara Gilbert: ‘It’s more important to let go of the idea that you have a son, than to lose your child’

On Dec. 29, Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen from Ohio, stepped into the path of an oncoming semi truck on a interstate highway, leaving behind a suicide note describing having felt “like a girl trapped in a boy’s body” since she was four, and how her parents pushed her into conversion therapy and Christian counseling.

Recently, “The Talk” discusses teen suicide:

“I would just say to people out there who have different beliefs … just think it’s more important to let go of the idea that you have a son, than to lose your child,” says openly gay co-host Sara Gilbert.

Watch:

The Youth Suicide Prevention Program reports that over 50 percent of transgender youths have attempted to commit suicide at least once before reaching the age of 20.

Grieving Mother Says “Gay Conversion Therapy Killed My Son”

Linda and her husband, Rob, at Ryan’s gravestone.

When Linda Robertson’s son, Ryan, came out to her over instant messenger when he was 12, she was “completely shocked.”

It was November 2001. Linda was on the computer in her home office when she received an instant message from Ryan, who was on the computer in his bedroom.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Yes, I am listening,” Linda replied.

“I am gay,” Ryan said.

At first, Linda wasn’t sure how to respond.

“[My] only brother had come out to us several years before, and we adored him. But Ryan? He was unafraid of anything, tough as nails, and ALL boy,” Robertson writes on her blog justbecausehebreathes.com. “We had not seen this coming, and the emotion that overwhelmed us, kept us awake at night and, sadly, influenced all of our reactions over the next six years, was FEAR.”

Linda and her husband, Rob, gave Ryan an ultimatum: “Basically, we told our son that he had to choose between Jesus and his sexuality.”

For the next several years, Ryan was forced to attend weekly “reparative therapy meetings” with the family’s pastor. He grew depressed, even suicidal. Finally, after six years, he hit his breaking point. Just before his 18th birthday, Ryan ran away from home.

“He decided to throw out his Bible and his faith at the same time, and to try searching for what he desperately wanted — peace — another way,” his mother says. “And the way he chose to try first was drugs.”

An Ex-Gay Therapist Was No Match For This Amazing Harvard Law School Student

Stories don’t usually start with, “Harvard University outed me.” This one does. When Scott Blair took the LSATs and checked a box on his Harvard application that he was gay, the university gay law student group called his mother’s house. She asked the reason for the call, and they told her, “Well, he’s gay and applied and we’d really like him to come.”

She confronted Scott about the call in the car soon thereafter. “Did you save the contact information?” he appropriately asked her. “No, I was hoping you were lying to them to get into a better law school,” she replied. The time had come to be totally honest, and Scott told her that no, he wasn’t lying.

“I almost want to drive this car into a tree,” said Scott’s mother. “Can you let me out of the car first and then you can go ahead?” he answered like a true lawyer-to-be.

His parents ended up joining a “Parents and Friend of Ex-Gays” group in New Jersey, even though Scott was comfortable with who he is. “That is the opposite of the group you are supposed to be joining right now,” he tried reasoning with them.

But reason rarely matters in the unfortunate world of ex-gays. His parents asked Scott to meet with one of the group’s leaders, to “understand what the homosexual lifestyle is about.” To humor them, he agreed.

By the time Scott met with him, it was the summer of his second year of law school. Harvard Law School. Scott was already a clever young man, but armed with two years of legal argumentative training, the guy didn’t stand a chance.

First, the counselor started with the “there is no gay gene” schtick. “Every study that’s reported to find a gay gene has been authored by gays,” he continued.

Scotts response: “I have no idea what studies you’re talking about, but sexuality is very complex. Everything that humans do is very complex. All a gene does is control the expression of a protein. I would be extremely shocked if one gene could control anything like that.”

The counselor looked at Scott with confused bewilderment, never having received such an answer. His next move was to pry into Scott’s upbringing –specifically his parents’ divorce. He told Scott that many people who are angry at their mothers following a divorce are “turned off” to women.

“So if I was angry at my mother, that would make me gay, but you also asked me how I felt about my father. My guess is what you’re going to say is that if I was angry at my father, that would make me want to seek the company of other men.”

The ex-gay counselor said yes, that can be the case as well. 

“Isn’t that sort of contradictory? No matter which one of my parents I hate — which I don’t — that made me gay.”

Next the counselor moved the conversation to the subject of homosexuality leading to the fall of civilizations, referencing the Roman Empire.

Except Scott is a history buff with a special interest in the Romans. “The Roman Empire only fell after it became Christian,” he told the therapist.

“Well they weren’t really Christian in any sense of the word that we would use today.”

“Saint Augustine was one of the most famous Christian theologists ever, and according to what you’re telling me, he wasn’t actually a Christian.”

“Well, you know, they were very Catholic.”

“You realize my mother is Catholic, right?”

“Well, thank you for your time,” he eventually told Scott, leaving the room.

In an interview with I’m From Driftwood, Scott reflects on the experience:

“It’s actually hard not to feel a little sorry for him, because he was gay before he ‘changed,’ and he claims that he realized homosexuality was immoral in the 80’s when he saw a lot of his friends dying from AIDS, and it’s hard to mock somebody for that.

“I would tell any kid who has to go see an ex-gay therapist or somebody that’s telling them that it’s wrong to be gay that they are smarter than somebody who thinks that and they are better than somebody who thinks that. And frankly any argument that somebody uses to support changing who you are is very, very bad. And very dumb. 30 second of thought will show you why it’s wrong.”

If we ever need a lawyer, we’re calling Scott.

See the whole interview here:

U.N. COMMITTEE MEMBERS FIND USE OF CONVERSION THERAPY 'TROUBLING'

The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) finds the discredited practice of conversion therapy used on LGBT youth in the U.S. cause for concern as reported in a press release today from the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Leaders from the NCLR testified before the committee and the U.S. State Department asking the U.S. government to address the use of the archaic practice.

Notable CAT members Sabtyabhoosun Gupt Domah of Mauritius, Jens Modvig of Denmark and Sapana Pradhan Malla of Nepal repeatedly questioned U.S. Department of State representatives why conversion therapy is still considered a viable treatment for LGBT youth despite receiving condemnation from every major, reputable medical organization and is a treatment that is clearly known to lead to depression and suicide in its "patients." NCLR's Samantha Ames, a campaign coordinator behind NCLR's #BornPerfect campaign who testified before the U.N. Committee yesterday on the issue, praised the committee for addressing the issue.

Said Ames:

"Today, for the first time, a United Nations committee recognized that conversion therapy is an issue of international human rights. We are incredibly grateful to the Committee Against Torture for raising up the voices of conversion therapy survivors, and ensuring their suffering is finally being vindicated. Today was a historic day for LGBT people in the United States and around the world. There is no going back."

NCLR’s #BornPerfect campaign is a national effort aimed at ending conversion therapy within the next five years by introducing and passing laws across the country to protect LGBT youth, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety and raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these unsanctioned and dangerous practices. California introduced a bill banning conversion therapy in 2012 that was later challenged this year by therapy practitioners. However, the U.S. Supreme Court later upheld California's bill banning the controversial therapy.

#BornPerfect

Even as the LGBT community enjoys huge gains in understanding and acceptance. Even as we have key leaders from every sector and across every spectrum supporting our full equality and rejecting rank bigotry. Even as we seem closer than ever to winning the freedom to marry nationwide, a persistent and longstanding threat has reemerged.

You have likely heard or read a chorus of anti-LGBT voices in the last few weeks supporting so-called “conversion therapy,” the vile practice used by some unethical counselors and therapists to try to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Texas Republican Party recently officially endorsed this dangerous practice which has been condemned by every major medical organization in the country, saying “we recognize the legitimacy and value of counseling which offers reparative therapy and treatment to patients who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle. No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.”

Days later, Mathew Staver, an ardent opponent of LGBT equality, told a congressional committee in Washington, D.C. that attempts to protect youth from this dangerous practice “represent one of the greatest assaults on children and families that has arisen in recent times” and, in a blatant lie, said that mental health professionals could “successfully reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors or identity.”

Then, former Texas Governor and Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Perry equated being LGBT to alcoholism, saying “I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.”

For more than 20 years, NCLR has diligently worked to end conversion therapy, especially for LGBT youth. We know the practice—which often includes the use of shame and verbal abuse—does untold damage. We know it is dangerous and wholly discredited. We know sexual orientation and gender identity cannot and should not be changed. We are committed once and for all to ending conversion therapy, ensuring that every LGBT person knows they were born perfect.

But recent statements by the Texas GOP and others over the past few weeks make clear that the vocal minority of anti-LGBT advocates who profit from this destructive practice will not go quietly. These statements are not just random comments or events. This is a coordinated effort to reassert the legitimacy of this fully discredited practice and to resurrect the fraud that sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed. 

Conversion therapy’s vicious assault on human dignity is on the ropes—but it is essential that we finish the job. Over the last two years, NCLR has played a pivotal role in passing and successfully defending laws protecting LGBT children from these practices in California and New Jersey. State legislators and policymakers across the country have seen the damage this quackery inflicts on young people and taken action to stop it. We are now working closely with legislators and state leaders in several states to pass laws similar to those in California and New Jersey.

To support our multi-pronged effort to end conversion therapy in the next five years, we have launched #BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy.

We have seen firsthand the damage done by this dehumanizing and shaming practice. We’ve heard Sam Brinton share the lasting trauma from a doctor who used ice and hot coils to associate images of men with pain. We’ve heard Ryan Kendall testify about turning himself over to social services at 16 rather than be forced to continue the conversion therapy that was driving him to the brink of suicide. We’ve heard Deb Cuny recount the heartbreaking struggle to suppress her attraction to women by spending her teenage years being prayed over and even exorcised in an attempt to keep her family intact and fulfill her dream of becoming a minister.

Those who traffic in these practices have now joined forces with anti-LGBT lawmakers and fringe organizations to defend them. We do not intend to let them win.

For every Sam, or Ryan, or Deb, there are countless others who have endured this practice and live with the scars. They may survive and even thrive, but they never forget. And too many get lost along the way. Conversion therapy is a dangerous fraud. We intend to end it.

To join us, get the facts, and take action in your state, visit www.NCLRights.org/BornPerfect.

LGBT Center Head Claims Rape at Hands of 'Gay Cure' Counselor

Jeff White  (Source:NCLR Facebook Page)

A man who has grown into healthy self-acceptance and prominence in the LGBT community as the head of an LGBT center in Mississippi says that his journey included a nightmarish detour into "reparative therapy" counseling that used sexual assault as a means of attempting to turn him straight.

Jeff White, 32, says that as a high school student in the 1990s he endured repeated episodes of same-sex rape that the perpetrator claimed would help him embrace heterosexuality. White claims that the abuse continued over a three-year period.

The alleged assaults took place when White was a teenager living in Walls, Mississippi. White was a student at Bethel Baptist School at the time of the alleged sexual assaults, which he claims were carried out by a teacher named Steven Barnes.

The church to which White's parents entrusted their gay son ran the school. When White came out to his parents in 1996, he says, their response was to turn him over to the church's "conversion therapy" program.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights issued an Aug. 27 press release in which it announced that the NCLR "helped file a complaint with the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department on behalf of" White.

"After more than a decade of emotional turmoil, White heard about NCLR's #BornPerfect campaign to end conversion therapy in five years," the release stated. "He found the courage to come forward because he wants to ensure that what happened to him will not happen to other children and to raise awareness about the dangers of attempting to change someone's sexual orientation."

"After growing older and witnessing so many who are still harmed by the church and by efforts to correct homosexuality through traumatic and damaging tactics like the ones used against me, I finally realized that it is my duty to stand up against those who have harmed me," White was quoted in the release.

"By speaking out against the wrongdoings that were committed within the walls of Bethel Baptist School, I hope to shed light on the darkness that is so easily hidden within the church, and to help ensure that no one else suffers the pain that I had to endure."

In an Aug. 27 article, the Washington Blade reported on Bethel Baptist School.

"'Character and patriotism are taught in the classroom,' reads a description of the school on the Bethel Baptist Church's website," The Blade reported. "'The curriculum is Bible based and every student is taught the truths of God's word.'"

According to White, the older man's sexual assaults were rationalized as a form of aversion therapy. "He would rape me because I was gay and because it would make me hate men and make me change," the Blade quoted White as saying.

White went on to become the executive director of Mississippi's premiere LGBT center, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Rainbow Center, the release noted. Barnes, meantime, rose to the position of Assistant Pastor at Bethel Baptist Church.

"NCLR is joined in this case by Hawkins & Gibson, PLLC, a law firm with a long history fighting for the rights of children abused by adults in positions of authority, including members of the clergy," the press release said.

The NCLR was instrumental in seeing laws passed in California and New Jersey banning so-called "conversion therapy" programs targeting minors.

Reputable members of the psychiatric community have decried such programs as ineffectual and potentially quite damaging to sexual minorities who are subjected to their attempts to "cure" them. A growing body of scientific evidence supports the position that homosexuality is not a pathological condition, but is rather a normal part of naturally occurring variance in sexual orientation.

Hate Group Family Research Council Exploits Robin Williams' Suicide To Promote 'Ex-Gay' Therapy

With a shameless lack of compassion, anti-gay hate group Family Research Council (FRC) has used the death of Robin Williams to promote “ex-gay” therapy, reports On Top Magazine.

In a blog post published on Monday, Peter Sprigg, FRC’s senior fellow for policy studies, compared Williams' struggles with addiction and depression to people struggling with their sexual orientation. 

Comparing “ex-gay” therapy with addiction rehab, Sprigg asks why “socially liberal political activists” are not also trying to ban both:

“I ask the question because such activists are trying to ban a form of mental health treatment – not drug and alcohol rehabilitation, but 'sexual orientation change efforts' (SOCE), also known as 'sexual reorientation therapy.' Such therapy involves assisting people with unwanted same-sex attractions to overcome them. 

“Whatever the motivation [for “ex-gay” therapy], there are those who have simply made a choice to walk away from the homosexual lifestyle, without clinical help – much like how Robin Williams simply stopped using drugs and alcohol in the 1980’s. Others have sought professional help, perhaps at the urging of family members, in the form of 'sexual reorientation therapy' – much like when Williams entered a formal alcohol rehab program in 2006. Whether simply through personal development, religious counseling, or with the help of a licensed or unlicensed counselor, thousands (if not millions) of people have experienced significant changes in one or more of the elements of their sexual orientation (attractions, behavior, or self-identification).”

Back in July, Sprigg said that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act represents a "direct assault on moral values," and is actually just an effort to legislate the "immorality of those who accept homosexual conduct."

Michigan Democrat Adam Zemke Introduces Bill To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy in the State

New legislation has been introduced by Michigan Democrat Rep. Adam Zemke which aims to ban gay conversion therapy for minors in the state, reports mlive.com.

Zemke hopes Michigan can join California and New Jersey in banning “ex-gay” therapy for under-18s. Efforts to introduce bans on conversion therapy in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania andNew York state have been blocked or stalled.

Zemke said:

"The evidence shows you cannot change sexual orientation, so the legislation was kind of a no-brainer. We want to make sure children cannot be exposed to situations that are emotionally harmful to them because of their parents' beliefs or desires to try to change their orientation."

In 2009, the American Psychological Association said that attempts to change sexual orientation are ineffective and can have harmful side effects including depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety.

Zemke has had positive support from some Republicans. However, Republican Rep. Gail Haines, chair of the House Health Policy Committee, said that new laws intervening in the relationship between parents and their children "seems unnecessary."

The “ex-gay” movement has had a number of recent setbacks. Last week, Duane Youngblood was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenager. Yesterday, we reported that Yvette Cantu Schneider, one of the most vocal and best known representatives of the ex-gay movement, announced that she no longer wishes to identify with anti-gay groups.

‘Kidnapped for Christ’ Review: Come Because You’re Gay, Stay For Jesus

Kidnapped for Christ is a heart-wrenching story, both anger-inducing and redemptive, about ordinary teens abducted from home and sent to the Caribbean for pricey religious fixes.

The summer before David’s senior year of high school, two strangers showed up at his Colorado home, and as his parents declared their love for him, the two men wrapped a belt around the 17-year-old’s waist and shoved him into the backseat of a car. They drove David to an airport, dragged him through security, down the terminal, and boarded a flight to Miami.

Once there, the honors student learned where he was being taken, that his parents had signed him up for an undetermined length of stay at Escuela Caribe, a Dominican Republic-based Christian behavioral modification school for “troubled” teenagers started in 1971 by Gordon Blossom, a former “juvenile delinquent” who became a pastor. The reason David’s parents sent their son to the Caribbean for pricey offshore come-to-Jesus treatment was that he’d recently told them that he was gay.

David’s experience at Escuela Caribe, along with the experiences of Beth and Tai, two other American teenagers abducted from their homes and taken to the DR for religious fixes, is the focus of Kidnapped for Christ, an award-winning documentary directed by Kate Logan and executive-produced by Tom DeSanto, Lance Bass, and Mike Manning, that premiered Thursday on Showtime (available On Demand until September 3, 2014). Funded by online campaigns atKickstarter and IndieGogo, Kidnapped for Christ made its film festival debut in January at Park City, Utah’s Slamdance Film Festival and took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Much of Kidnapped for Christ was filmed in 2006. At the time, Logan was a film student at the evangelical liberal arts school, Biola University, and a self-professing devout Christian. After hearing about the New Horizons Youth Ministries campus (Gordon Blossom’s NHYM operated in four locations, including a campus in Canada, two campuses in the Dominican Republic, and a U.S. campus in Marion, Indiana), Logan was granted a six-week, almost-all-access pass to interview students, talk to staff, and film many of the daily activities at Escuela Caribe.

Initially, unaware that the school was considered by many to be dangerous and abusive (alleged offenses range from mental, emotional, and spiritual manipulations to sexual and physical abuses), the up-and-coming director says she had no intentions of filming an exposé. But soon, upon meeting and interviewing David and some of the other students, and witnessing the harsh tactics used by the counselors to control teenagers and maintain a fear-driven environment—some tactics that Logan believed were abusive—her filmmaking intentions began to change. In the beginning, the staff at Escuela Caribe trusted Logan, openly answering her inquiries about the ministry’s practices and goals and allowing her to film most on-campus activities; however, a week or two into her stay, when Logan’s camera started showing up at inopportune times—for instance, once her camera appeared while a staff member disciplined a student—her access on campus was limited, her interviews with students monitored, and her personal housing moved to an off-campus facility.

Gay Teen Suicide More Likely After Religious Counseling

A new report links faith counseling and teen suicide  (Source:onlinelibrary.wiley.com)

So much for ’let go and let God.’ 

A new study shows that gay youth who are counseled by a religious leader were more likely to attempt suicide than those who sought no treatment at all. 

Gay Star News reports that The Williams Institute has found that while youth who received therapy from a medical professional fared about the same as those who talked to no one at all, those who sought help from religious leaders were found to have a higher risk of suicide. 

"The findings are troubling because seeking treatment is a recommended suicide prevention strategy and this study results show no more positive effect for people who sought treatment," said co-author Ilan Meyer, a senior scholar of public policy at the institute that released the study, "The Role of Help-Seeking in Preventing Suicide Attempts Among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals."

"More troubling is the finding that individuals who sought religious or spiritual treatment had higher odds of later attempting suicide than those who did not seek treatment at all," added Meyer. "More studies are needed to assess the efficacy of treatment for LGB people with suicidal ideation in preventing future suicide attempts. But, even without further study, public health officials and health service providers ought to ensure that LGB individuals who seek mental health treatment, whether it is in medical or religious settings, receive competent mental health services that is relevant to their needs."

No counseling is better than religious counseling  (Source:Thinkstock)

The study reinforces findings touted in the fall of 2010, when Care 2 reported that The Public Religion Research Council found that the condemnation of gay people by religious leaders contributed to their high rate of suicide.

At that time, CNN reported that two out of three Americans believed gays committed suicide at least partly because of religions messages, where most said were negative.

During that same time period, Religious Right groups were reported on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s HateWatch as saying that gay youth committed suicide because gay rights advocates eager to "recruit" them and convince them that homosexuality was normal bullied them to "prevent them from condemning homosexuality, creating an intolerable level of emotional stress, leading to tragedy."

"They’re trying to get this brainwashing into students of all ages, even starting in elementary school, and what they’re urging them to do is self-declare as homosexuals before they are mature enough to make any sort of rational decision about sexual matters," said Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. "So I’m suggesting that adults that pressure these students to declare a disordered sexual preference when they’re too young to know better, that they share some culpability for those who take their lives."

NCLR Launches Nationwide Campaign to Protect LGBT Youth from Harmful ‘Reparative Therapy’

Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) launched #BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy – an initiative that seeks to eliminate the practice of so-called “ex-gay” or “reparative” therapy through increased public awareness and the passage of laws across the country to protect LGBT kids from the serious harm caused by these practices.

“The time is long overdue to stop the severe harms being inflicted on young LGBT children and their families by these dangerous practices,” said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. “These practices have been thoroughly discredited by every major mental health organization, and yet, every day, unethical therapists continue to abuse their professional authority to deceive parents and wreck the lives of youth who deserve nothing but support.”

The campaign also includes facts about conversion therapy and its harm, information about related legislation and legal cases across the country, as well as survivor stories and support networks.

As a Texan watching our state's GOP enshrine reparative therapy into its party platform while our governor likens homosexuality to alcoholism, I can't think of a better time to push forward the message to LGBT youth that they are perfect just the way they are. 

More on the NCLR campaign here.

New York Senate Blocks Bills to Ban Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors and Protect Trans People

The New York Senate has blocked two bills passed by the Assembly last week — one banning gay conversion therapy for minors, as well as the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA).

The Empire State Pride Agenda reacts:

There is no good reason why two bills critically important to the lives of LGBT New Yorkers did not pass in the Senate this session. The Senate Leadership failed us today by not bringing these life-saving bills to the floor for a vote.

Without GENDA New York remains behind more than one third of the country that already provides protections for transgender individuals. By not passing the bill to protect LGBT youth from conversion efforts, our youth remain vulnerable to harm at the hands of quack therapists.

The failure of the Senate Leadership to bring these bills to the floor for a vote leaves thousands of transgender New Yorkers vulnerable to discrimination where we work and where we live. And children are left susceptible to dangerous and discredited conversion efforts in the offices of so-called therapists licensed by the State of New York.

We will not give up. We will hold our elected officials accountable for their failure yet again to protect LGBT New Yorkers.

Senator Brad Hoylman, the gay conversion therapy bill's sponsor, reacted:

“It's bitterly disappointing that the State Senate bowed to partisan politics and failed to protect our kids in New York from so-called 'conversion therapy,' which considers homosexuality a sickness that needs to be cured. This bill had the votes to pass the Senate, virtually unanimous support from mental health professionals, and was modeled after legislation passed with bi-partisan support in California and New Jersey, where it was signed by Republican Governor Chris Christie.

The bottom line is until we change the leadership of the State Senate, New Yorkers can continue to expect forward-thinking bills to stall. Add conversion therapy to the pile of failed progressive initiatives in the Senate, which includes a decent minimum wage, codifying a woman's right to choose, the DREAM Act, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, and others. I want to thank Governor Cuomo, my co-sponsors Assembly Member Deborah Glick and Senator Mike Gianaris, my supportive Senate colleagues from both parties, the Empire State Pride Agenda, and the scores of individuals who shared their deeply personal stories about their experiences with sexual orientation change efforts. I will continue to work with all of them to outlaw this practice.”

CNBC Host Rips Rick Perry, Says His Remarks on Gays Are Offensive

CNBC Squawk Box host Joe Kernan ripped Texas Governor Rick Perry for his remarks comparing homosexuality to alcoholism in a segment that aired Monday morning.

Said Kernan:

"In terms of comparing it to alcoholism, that's what got all the play, and i don't -- I have a really high bar for what I would take offense to, but that would exceed the bar for me on being an offensive comment. I don't think gay marriage leads to cirrhosis of the liver or domestic violence or DWIs. I don't see how that's similar."

Perry tried to turn the argument to his feeling that states should have rights to legislate as they please, but Kernan wasn't allowing him to get away:

“But in terms of changing the behavior of someone...you wouldn’t think that someone who’s heterosexual, that you couldn’t change them into a homosexual, or someone who is homosexual, you don’t think that there should be therapy to try to change them into a heterosexual?”

When Perry tries to argue that it's an issue that should be left "to the psychologists and the doctors," Kernan replies:

"The psychologists they've already weighed in. they've dismissed the idea that sexual orientation is a mental disorder and they've told their mental health professionals to avoid telling clients that you can change your sexual orientation..."

Finally, Kernan says:

"It just seems like the Republican Party is going to be forever behind the curve on this issue.”

Perry adds:

"I don't necessarily condone that lifestyle. I don't condemn it either. We're all children of God...The fact is that people will decide where they want to live if Washington will respect the 10th amendment and I think that will make America substantially happier and allow people to decide how they want to live and under what rules and regulations."

New York State Assembly Passes Ban on Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors

The New York State Assembly has passed a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors, the AP reports:

On Monday the Democratic-led Assembly passed the ban 86 to 28. It would prohibit licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health practitioners and physicians from using conversion therapy on anyone under 18. Clergy would not be included.

The bill now goes to the state senate. Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he is ready to sign it.

Said Senator Brad Hoylman, sponsor of the ban in the state senate, following the bill's passage:

”Today's passage of A.6983-B in the New York State Assembly is a major step towards banning so-called conversion ’therapy‘ on LGBT youth by licensed mental health professionals. Being an LGBT young person isn't an illness that needs to be cured. Thanks to the leadership of Assembly Member Glick and Speaker Silver, we're one step closer to joining New Jersey and California in protecting our kids from being subject to this dangerous practice and their parents from being victims of a proven scam. 

"Banning conservation therapy is a nonpartisan issue that should receive full consideration by my colleagues."

Bill Banning Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors Passes Washington House in 94-4 Vote

Washington's House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban 'gay conversion therapy' for minors, the AP reports:

House Bill 2451, which passed on a 94-4 vote, would make it an act of unprofessional conduct to try to change the sexual orientation of a patient under 18. That would include efforts to change behaviors, gender expressions or to reduce sexual or romantic attractions toward people of the same sex. The lawmakers who opposed the measure were: Reps. Mark Hargrove, R-Covington; Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick; Jason Overstreet, R-Lynden; and Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe.

Parents Sue NJ for Right to Put Son Through Gay Conversion Therapy

New Jersey's ban on gay conversion therapy--signed into law by New Jersey's Republican anti-marriage equality governor, Chris Christie just a little over two months ago--is facing a new lawsuit filed by a couple arguing that their constitutional rights are being infringed upon since they cannot pursue treatment for their 15-year-old son.  The AP reports:

The suit filed in federal court in Camden on Friday is at least the second to attack the law. A separate suit that names two licensed therapists among its plaintiffs awaits a judge's ruling, said Demetrios Stratis, an attorney involved in both cases.
The unidentified New Jersey couple claim in their suit that the law violates their rights to free speech and freedom of religion, as well as their 14th Amendment right to equal protection, by "denying minors the opportunity to pursue a particular course of action that can help them address the conflicts between their religious and moral values and same-sex attractions, behaviors or identity."

The new lawsuit argues that the couple's son has "unwanted gender identity disorder and unwanted same-sex attractions:"

"John Doe has a sincerely held religious belief and conviction that homosexuality is wrong and immoral, and he wanted to address that value conflict because his unwanted same-sex attractions and gender confusion are contrary to the fundamental religious values that he holds," the lawsuit contends.

The suit seeks a preliminary injunction that would halt the law.  A federal judge will decide whether to impose such an order by December 2.
Just hours after Chris Christie signed the gay conversion bill into law in late August, the Liberty Counsel, an anti-gay conservative group, followed through on earlier threats to challenge the legislation in court.  Oral arguments were heard in that case in early October.

Calif Court Upholds 1st Ban on Gay-to-Straight Therapy

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld the nation’s first-of-its-kind law in California prohibiting health practitioners from offering psychotherapy aimed at making gay youth straight.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the state’s ban on so-called conversion therapy for minors doesn’t violate the free speech rights of licensed counselors and patients seeking treatment.

The activities of pastors and lay counselors who are unlicensed but provide such therapy through church programs would not be covered under the law.

The case before the appeals court was brought by professionals who practice sexual-orientation change therapy, two families who say their teenage sons benefited from it, and a national association of Christian mental health counselors. They argued the ban infringes on their free speech and freedom of association and religious rights. The counselors also argue it jeopardizes their livelihoods.

However, in a 3-0 ruling, the court panel held that California has the power to prohibit licensed mental health providers from administering therapies deemed harmful, and the fact that speech may be used to carry out those therapies does not turn such bans into prohibitions of speech.

The law says therapists and counselors who treat minors with methods designed to eliminate or reduce their same-sex attractions would be engaging in unprofessional conduct and subject to discipline by state licensing boards.

Supporters, including Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris, say the ban is necessary to protect children from a coercive practice that can put them at increased risk of suicide. They also say the therapy’s efficacy has been questioned or rejected by every major mental health professional association.

The law was supposed to take effect at the beginning of the year but was put on hold pending the 9th Circuit’s ruling. Thursday’s ruling reverses the injunction.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a similar law that would also outlaw conversion therapy in his state.

Liberty Counsel Will Sue Over New Jersey ‘Ex-Gay’ Ban

Predictably, after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a historic bill protecting children from the fraud and psychological destruction of “ex-gay” therapy, the Liberty Counsel has announced that they will sue:

“The New Jersey governor is putting himself in every counseling room, dictating what kind of counseling clients can receive,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “This bill provides a slippery slope of government infringing upon the First Amendment rights of counselors to provide, and patients to receive, counseling consistent with their religious beliefs.”
“This bill is so broad that parents would be prohibited from seeking help for their son who developed unwanted same-sex attractions after being molested by the likes of Jerry Sandusky. Counselors would only be allowed to affirm these unwanted feelings as good and normal. This is absurd and dangerous. This law would inflict serious damage to children, parents, and counselors,” said Staver.
A3371 prohibits only one viewpoint regarding change counseling and, therefore, constitutes viewpoint discrimination. No viewpoint-based restriction on private speech has ever been upheld. The Supreme Court ruled that “the First Amendment forbids the government to regulate speech in ways that favor some viewpoints or ideas at the expense of others.”
Gov. Christie has reportedly said that he is siding with the “experts,” referring to the American Psychological Association’s 2009 Task Force Report cited by the legislature in support of the law. But that Task Force Report specifically states that there is evidence of benefit of such counseling, and any such reports to the contrary were only anecdotal. The Report also states that there is no research – none – regarding the effects of change therapy involving minors. “How can you ban counseling to minors where there is no evidence of harm to minors. Indeed, there is no research on minors at all. This law is politically, not scientifically, motivated,” said Staver.