Breaking: Oregon Passes Ban On ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy

Lawmakers in Oregon just passed a bill that would ban harmful and dangerous “ex-gay” therapy for minors. Will the governor sign it?

Lawmakers in the Oregon Senate by a wide majority just passed a bill banning the practice of ex-gay therapy on minors. The vote was 21-8. The Oregon House also passed the same bill, in March, by a strong margin: 41-18. The legislation now heads to Democratic Governor Kate Brown’s desk.

So called “ex-gay,” “reparative,” or “conversion” therapies falsely claim to change a patient’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. It also is practiced on transgender people, with no success either.

The therapy has been denounced by nearly every major medical organization in the U.S., and by many worldwide. Aside from being wholly unnecessary, it has been deemed both ineffective and harmful, and can lead to suicide. Often, practitioners claim to perform these gruesome acts in conjunction with religious counseling, and opponents claim bans violate the First Amendment.

Lawsuits against the bans have been lost by opponents every time, with one New Jersey judge stating the practice of ex-gay therapy is actually “fraud.”

If Gov. Brown signs the bill into law, Oregon would join California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. in protecting LGBTQ youth and teens.

“This is an important step in protecting LGBTQ youth,” said Nancy Haque, co-director of Basic Rights Oregon, said in a statement via email. “The harms caused by conversion therapy are very real and we must do everything we possibly can as a state to prevent the loss of even one child. I commend the Senate for its strong support of this bill.”

In April, President Barack Obama called for a nationwide ban at the state level on ex-gay therapy.

The President’s announcement came in response to a petition posted on the White House’s website, calling for the enactment of Leelah’s Law, named for Leelah Alcorn, the transgender teen who killed herself after posting, in heart-wrenching detail, the rejection she lived with from her parents, and how they sent her to Christian therapists who tried to change her. 

“My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year,” Leelah wrote. “I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s fucked up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

 

Image by Daniel Gonzales via Flickr and a CC license