California Senate Approves Bill Banning Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors

The California state Senate voted last week to ban parents from seeking professional counseling for their children with the goal of preventing them from becoming homosexual, CNSNews.com reports. SB 1172 states that "under no circumstances shall a patient under 18 years of age undergo sexual orientation change efforts, regardless of the willingness of a patient's parent, guardian, conservator or other person to authorize such efforts." Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute said: "Sexual activities and sexual preference, especially in the case of children, can be modified and changed. It is ethically wrong to prohibit parents from seeking and receiving professional assistance to help their own children with serious problems like this. The way to protect young people from suicide is to tell them their innate worth and their personal responsibility to make healthy choices, not tell them they have no choice, which depresses individuals struggling with sexual identity." Randy Thomasson, president of the pro-family group SaveCalifornia.com, added that the bill would "withhold emotional, mental and physical help from a child who has been raped or molested, who, as a result of this physical and emotional exploitation, is confused about his or her sexual identity."