Tag Archives: conversion therapy

Federal Judge Strikes Down Tampa's Ban on Conversion Therapy Ex-Gay Torture

Federal Judge Strikes Down Tampa’s Ban on Conversion Therapy Ex-Gay Torture

A federal judge has struck down Tampa, Florida’s two year ban on the dangerous practice of conversion therapy to minors, a treatment promoted by religious groups as a way to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge William Jung, a Donald Trump appointee ruled that the law can interfere with patient’s rights to privacy, and it may conflict with the rights that parents have in choosing health care for their children.

He also said that the medical boards overseeing mental health licensing already serve as a check for any malpractice.

According to The Tampa Bay Times:

Jung said state medical boards that oversee the licensing of mental health professionals already serve as a check on any malpractice.” Jung also said “no study has come up with a clear picture of whether the practice produces either beneficial or harmful outcomes” and added that Tampa’s ban seemed selective because the city hasn’t put similar scrutiny on “massage therapy, acupuncture, optometry, tattoo parlors and medical labs.

It is apparent that the Florida statutes already provide the City with its desired protection against [sexual orientation change efforts] SOCE. The City and its experts adamantly assert that even non-aversive SOCE violates the prevailing treatment standard of care, and constitutes psychiatric, psychological, and counseling malpractice.

Tampa City Attorney Gina Grimes told the Tampa Bays Times that the judge’s ruling simply showed that the court thinks that states, and not cities, should regulate health care. And it didn’t go into the legality of the city’s banning of the practice.

“The court did not rule on the constitutionality of the city’s ordinance prohibiting conversion therapy. Instead, it found that the states’ health care regulations prevent municipalities from regulating this type of counseling,”

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has a long-standing opposition against the practice of conversion therapy.

The American Psychiatric Association does not believe that same-sex orientation should or needs to be changed, and efforts to do so represent a significant risk of harm by subjecting individuals to forms of treatment which have not been scientifically validated and by undermining self-esteem when sexual orientation fails to change. No credible evidence exists that any mental health intervention can reliably and safely change sexual orientation; nor, from a mental health perspective does sexual orientation need to be changed.”

Evidence has proven that gay conversion therapies increased the risk of negative outcomes, including loss of sexual feeling, anxiety, depression and suicidal feelings. and has led to the deaths of many who have been fortced to undergo it.

You can read Jung’s 50-page opinion HERE

Gay NYC Councilman Corey Johnson Introduces Bill to Repeal Cities Ban On LGBT Conversion Therapy

Gay NYC Councilman Corey Johnson Introduces Bill to Repeal City’s Ban On LGBT Conversion Therapy

New York’s openly gay City Council speaker Corey Johnson has introduced a bill to repeal the city’s ban on LGBT “conversion therapy” in fear that the Supreme Court would overturn it.

Johnson a former blogger who has aspirations to run for NYC mayor told the New York Times that he supports the city ordinance but also fears that it could give “right-wing groups” ammunition to take similar laws down nationwide. This comes after the anti-LGBT hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the ban.”

“Obviously I didn’t want to repeal this,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to be someone who is giving in to these right-wing groups. But the Supreme Court has become conservative; the Second Circuit, which oversees New York, has become more conservative. We think this is the most responsible, prudent course. The sad reality is the courts have changed considerably over the last few years, and we cannot count on them to rule in favor of much-needed protections for the LGBTQ community.

The ADF filed a federal lawsuit in January on behalf of Dr. Dovid Schwartz, a licensed psychotherapist and member of the orthodox Chabad Lubavitch Jewish community.” 

Currently 18 states ban conversion therapy.

Is Johnson right in trying to repeal the ban on the dangerous practice of gay conversion therapy that has harmed and in some cases driven its victims to suicide out of fear of what “might” happen?

Leave your opinions in the comment section below.

Joshua Home Child Abuse

Christian Conversion Therapy Camp Owners Charged W/ Trafficking, Abuse and Forced Labor Of Underage Boys

NBC – KX0N News affiliate reports:

More than a year after boys were removed from a nonprofit in Burnet County, the couple who ran it are facing trafficking charges. A grand jury indicted Gary Wiggins, 49, and his wife Meghann Wiggins, 34, on Trafficking of Persons charges.

They are both accused of “knowingly” trafficking four underage boys and “through force, fraud or coercion” making them “engage in forced labor or services.” The two ran Joshua Home, which officials described as a place that “purports to be a residential home for troubled boys.”

According to the indictment, the trafficking allegedly occurred between May 17, 2018 and July 25, 2018. Eight boys between the ages of 10 and 17 were removed after a multi-agency investigation into allegations of abuse, neglect, labor violations, fraud, licensing violations and human trafficking.

The couple had previously run the Blessed Hope Boys Academy in Robertsdale, Ala., in 2016 which was closed after a 20/20 investigation in which boys who’d been sent there spoke out against the abuse that included forced exercise, solitary confinement, withholding food, and various conversion therapy torture tactics.

One boy Lucas Greenfield who was sent there for being gay told 20/20 Lucas Greenfield whose mother sent him to Blessed Hope because he is gay, told 20/20 that Gary Wiggins regularly beat they boys. “He took off his belt and started swinging,” and told them: “I’m going to get the demon out of you and make you straight.”

The Wiggins’ remain in custody at the Burnet County Jail. They are both being held on $100,000 bond.

VIMEO Bans American Family Association Anti-LGBT Hate Group From Streaming Platform

VIMEO Removes Anti-Gay Church’s Account Over Gay Conversion Therapy Sermons

Video platform VIMEO banned Fairview Baptist Church of Edmond, Oklahoma, after it discovered that videos posted on the church’s channel violated the company’s ban on posting “content that promotes “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts”.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and wish you luck in finding a video hosting platform more suitable to your needs,” wrote Vimeo’s Trust and Safety department. They removed Christian testimonies of people who left LGBT lives. They removed other talks on Scripture.”

In December the extreme right wing website, WND reported, Vimeo abruptly shut down the page of Church United, a “non-profit” in Newport Beach, California, because some content dealt with the issue of counseling people who want to overcome same-sex inclinations.

Hate group leader Mat Staver’s Liberty Counsel is currently attempting to attack laws and ordinances in court that ban or restrict these dangerous and potentially deadly anti-gay conversion therapy programs.

“These counselors provide life-saving counsel to minors who desperately desire to conform their attractions, behaviors, and gender confusion to their sincerely held religious beliefs,” Liberty Counsel said. “The sacred trust between counselors and clients establishes a unique relationship that permits the clients to inform the counselors of their goals and receive counseling consistent with those goals.”

A message to Mat Staver and the Liberty Counsel from Back2Stonewall.com

via GIPHY

via GIPHY



BUSTED: Security Exchange Commission Charges The Mormon Church of Hiding Billions of Dollars

Mormon Church Won’t Oppose Utah’s Gay Conversion Therapy Torture Ban

Salt Lake City’s Fox 13 News :

A bill to ban conversion therapy for LGBT children is set to be unveiled in the Utah State Legislature. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told FOX 13 it will not oppose the bill, which could give it a boost on Capitol Hill.

The bill is being carried by two Republican lawmakers: Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, and Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. The gay rights group Equality Utah has scheduled a news conference on Thursday to discuss the bill.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in the past suggested people can “overcome” homosexual feelings. But the faith now says it does not believe sexual orientation can be changed. The Church also does not support same-sex marriage, but allows gay or lesbian members to remain in their ranks so long as they are celibate.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in the past has done more than just “suggest” that one  could overcome homosexuality.

The Mormon Church has backed and promoted many conversion therapy “camps” and programs some even being held at Brigham Young University that have damaged and pushed gays and lesbians to suicide.

Hate Groups Claim Victory, Praise Evan Lowe For Shelving Anti-Gay Conversion Therapy

Hate Groups Claim Victory, Praise Evan Low For Shelving Anti-Gay Conversion Therapy

Last week we reported about California Assemblyman Evan Low who at the last minute shelved his bill AB 2943 that would outlaw so-called “gay conversion therapy” as a fraudulent practice despite having more than enough vote to pass it after talking “evangelical leaders”. (Lowe is up for re-election in November)

Many extremist “Christians” and anti-LGBT hate groups are claiming this as a victory.

James Dobson – the founder of the first and most vehemently anti-LGBT hate group Focus on the Family – was quick to claim victory after the announcement and praised extremist religious leaders for standing up against the “pro-LGBT legislation”.  

I am very grateful to all of the pastors, counselors and our families in California and across the country who spoke up and made their voices heard. It is incumbent on us to make sure we still have the right to make the best mental-health decisions for our children, our loved ones, and ourselves and that parental rights are protected now and for generations to come.”

California Family Council President Jonathan Keller, were also “grateful: for all the dialogue over the bill that led to its eventual “demise.”

“We are inexpressibly grateful to Assembly member Low for meeting personally with faith leaders over the last several months and sincerely listening to our concerns,” Keller expressed, according to ChurchLeaders.com. “AB 2943 would have tragically limited our ability to offer compassionate support related to sexual orientation and gender identity – and even to preach Jesus’ message of unconditional love and life transformation.”

“Low – who is openly gay said Friday that – after meeting this summer with the faith leaders – he would instead try again next year with a new version of the proposal [that] they could feel more comfortable with.

Coward.

Liberty Counsel Hate Group LIES That Marriage Bill Will Legalize Pedophilia, Polygamy, Incest, “And Other Perversions”

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver: Gay Conversion Therapy Torture is “Overwhelming Effective”

Via press release from the anti-LGBT hate group the Liberty Counsel:

A recent study, Effects of Therapy on Religious Men Who Have Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction, confirms the overwhelming effectiveness of people receiving counseling to reduce or eliminate their unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity.

In this study, more than two-thirds of those who participated in group or professional help had significant heterosexual shifts in sexual attraction, sexual identity, and behavior, and moderate-to-marked decreases in suicidality, depression, substance abuse, and increases in social functioning and self-esteem.

The study’s effectiveness rates for counseling people with unwanted same-sex attraction were comparable to the effectiveness rates of psychotherapy in general for any unwanted issue. Prevalence of help or hindrance, and effect size, were comparable with those for conventional psychotherapy for unrelated mental health issues.

Meta-level study on a wide range of therapies has shown that the average person who received counseling for whatever problem was better off than 70 to 75 percent of the persons who did not receive counseling (Lambert 2011). This current research also strongly refutes claims the American Psychological Association and other organizations have made aimed at discouraging counsel to change unwanted same-sex attractions, behavior, and identity.

The study they cite is from the Catholic Medical Association, which has about only 900 members in the United States and is associated  the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Catholic Medical Association believes that LGBT individuals are not “born that way” and that homosexuality is a sympton caused by an over-protective mother, lack of rough and tumble play (boys), major depression or anxiety, and either/or borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and pathological narcissism.

Meanwhile the legitimate American Medical Association’s  American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry finds no evidence to support the application of any “therapeutic intervention” operating under the premise that a specific sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression is pathological. Furthermore, based on the scientific evidence, the AACAP asserts that such “conversion therapies” (or other interventions imposed with the intent of promoting a particular sexual orientation and/or gender as a preferred outcome) lack scientific credibility and clinical utility. Additionally, there is evidence that such interventions are harmful. As a result, “conversion therapies” should not be part of any behavioral health treatment of children and adolescents.

 1.2 million doctors and medical students belong to the American Medical Association.

Maine's GOP Governor VETOS Gay Conversion Therapy Ban

Maine’s GOP Governor VETOES Gay Conversion Therapy Ban

Via The Portland Press-Herald

Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bill Friday to prohibit state-licensed counselors and therapists from engaging in “conversion therapy” aimed at changing an underage client’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill would allow the state to deny or revoke a professional license to medical or mental health professionals who engage in conversion therapy of minors.

The bill defines conversion therapy as “any practice or course of treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including, but not limited to, any effort to change gender expression or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.” In his veto message, LePage called the bill “bad public policy” because the broad definition could prevent professionals from answering clients’ questions or having conversations with them.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Ryan Fecteau,who is gay, sponsored the bill after he said an administrator at the Catholic university he graduated from in 2014 urged him to seek similar therapy. The Legislature will need to muster two-thirds votes in both chambers to overturn the veto. The conversion therapy bill failed to win two-thirds support in either chamber in earlier votes.

LePage will be term-limited out of office in November.

 

England To Become First Country To Ban Harmful Gay Conversion "Therapy"

England To Become First Country To Ban Harmful Gay Conversion “Therapy”

England plans to become the first country in the world to outlaw “gay conversion therapy” as part of an effort to counter LGBT intolerance and discrimination.

The initiative follows a survey of over 18.000 LGBT people that found 2% of the 108,000 respondents had undergone conversion therapy while 5% had been offered it.

The announcement of the new initiative, coincides with Pride Week in London.

Gay conversion “therapies” which many describe as torture are based on the premise that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender is a mental illness that can be “cured.” But there is no evidence that they work, and the techniques are  discredited. Currently  members of the UK professional bodies for counseling and psychotherapy are prohibited from using such techniques.

Ruth Hunt, chief executive of the British LGBT rights group Stonewall, greeted the government’s pledge as “an important first step” but added that it needs to lead to “tangible change.”

“Some people will be shocked by the findings. But for anyone who is LGBT, or has a family member or friend who is, these results will be sadly recognizable,” she said in a statement.

“Laws have improved and attitudes have changed but our society still treats LGBT people like second-class citizens.”

Anti-Gay History Repeats Itself: Miami-Dade Rejects Ban on Gay Conversion Therapy Torture

 

In 1977, Dade County Florida tried to pass an ordinance that would forbid discrimination, due to sexual orientation. “Christian” Florida Orange Juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant was outraged at this. She said that homosexuals could not reproduce on their own and therefore were trying to push their “lifestyle” as an acceptable alternative to recruit children for their ranks. So she started a campaign called “Save Our Children” to rally support to stop the ordinance from passing. She teamed up with the likes of Jerry Falwell to organize a rebellion against gay rights.

In June of 1977, Anita Bryant’s campaign was successful and the ordinance was repealed by a margin of 69 to 31 percent.

Now today Miami-Dade County Florida has created another footnote for itself in anti-LGBT history  by rejecting a ban on harmful gay conversion therapy for minors saying it’s too intrusive on a family’s right to make decisions for their child.

The Miami Herald reports:

The 4 to 7 vote followed hours of public testimony, most of it from opponents of the proposed ordinance by Commissioner Sally Heyman. Supporters wanted Miami-Dade to join a list of local governments banning the discredited practice of trying to change a child’s sexual orientation, but critics saw the ordinance as so broadly worded that it could ensnare a pastor’s sermon or a parent expressing concerns about a child’s choices on sexual activity.

The spirit of Anita Bryant lives on.