California bans gay “cure”

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Created on Friday, 05 October 2012 15:33

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Governor Jerry Brown announced Sunday, Sept. 30 that he signed a bill outlawing the work of any mental health provider to use psychotherapy to turn gay teenagers straight.(Image by Nick Stout/October 5, 2012)

Opinion

By Larrissa Le Vasser

Governor Jerry Brown announced Sunday, Sept. 30, that he had signed a bill that outlaws the work of any mental health provider to use psychotherapy in hopes of turning gay teenagers straight. In a statement Saturday, after the bill was signed, Brown said, "These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery."

The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2013 and is supported by many medical and psychology groups and gay rights advocates. Former patients of the psychotherapy also support the ban and are speaking out by telling their stories about their experience with this controversial therapy, describing the emotional damage it has caused them after being forced to go to ex-gay therapy by their families. The results were unsuccessful as many of the patients found that they could not or did not want to change their sexual orientation.

The "cure" can be very dangerous, as well. It can put many teens at a higher risk of depression and suicide, which is another reason why so many people are against it.

"I like the fact that a law was passed," said Ali Wright, junior at Granite Hills, "if someone is gay, they are gay, therapy cannot change that because that is who they are."

I agree with Ali. I am glad that there is a law prohibiting the gay "cure." It seems to me that patients who go through with the psychotherapy will end up needing even more therapy than before due to the trauma caused by the ex-gay therapy. You cannot force teens who are comfortable with their sexuality to change their sexual orientation; it just does not make sense. Obviously, if people do not want to change, they will not.

“I don’t think there is a “cure” for being gay,” said sophomore Cameron Anderson, “That is just how they are born, they can’t change it. I don’t see why these people are trying to change gay people, they are perfectly fine the way they are and besides they wouldn’t like it if people tried to change them.”

Many people who are homosexual have stated that people can tell from a young age whether they are gay or not, it is not just learned, or brought on by traumatic childhood experiences, like some psychologists suggest. If this is the case, then trying to use therapy to get teens to change their sexual orientation will prove to be a failure.

People these days are too preoccupied with trying to fix what they consider to be wrong in other people. It is a good thing that Gov. Brown chose to sign the bill into law. It will help put a stop, (hopefully) to any more outrageous experiments being put on innocent teens.

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Editor: Hannah Vehrs

Posted by: Briana Keck

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