California has put forth a first-of-its-kind bill that is being pushed through legislation will seek to restrict parent from attempting to “cure” their minor children’s same-sex attractions. This is a frightening bill that seeks to usurp parental responsibility and authority. The legislation could soon be on the governor’s desk if both state houses can agree on the final language.
“I wanted parents to understand that this therapy is crazy,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, the California Democrat who authored the bill.
The passage of SB 1172 would be the latest in a series of recent actions signaling a widespread condemnation of the practice. Almost all mainstream mental health organizations, from the American Psychiatric Association to the American Psychological Association, have renounced it. The World Health Organization has released a statement saying that such methods “lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being” of patients. Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatrist who published a widely cited study supporting the “gay cure” practice in 2003, recently apologized for his work in the journal where the original paper appeared.
“I believe I owe the gay community an apology,” he wrote.
For more than three decades, one of the leading forces behind the practice of attempting to change sexual orientation was Exodus International, a nonprofit group. In June, the head of Exodus International declared at its annual meeting that there was no cure for homosexuality and that the promise of one offered false hope to gays. Just a few years before, he and his wife had starred in advertisements saying, “Change is possible.”
But part of the problem with reporting like the Huffington Post offered above is that they do not carry over what is being said. Is Exodus International still carrying on its ministry to homosexuals and those that are repentant but face temptation, like all of us do to sin? The answer is a resounding ‘Yes.’ Just read their frequently asked questions page. They have not abandoned the idea that homosexuality is a choice. From their own page, Jeff Buchanan writes,
There’s another sense in Scripture, however, where God’s judgment is made manifest when He withdraws His protecting presence and allows a person (or persons) to live with the consequences of sinful choices. (Romans 1)
Matt McReynolds, a staff attorney with Pacific Justice Institute, a Sacramento-based law office, said,
“[The law] unconstitutionally prohibits speech…violates privacy and personal autonomy rights, intermeddles in theological disputes, clashes with other laws and creates significant unintended consequences.”
“As long as this bill threatens to shame patients and silence counselors, therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, we will vigorously oppose it,” McReynolds said. “We cannot afford to let the state invade the counseling room or doctor’s office to dictate what views on sexuality are acceptable and unacceptable.”
Sponsored by a coalition of gay rights groups led by California Equality the bill was introduced by State Sen. Ted W. Lieu (D-Redondo Beach). Lieu told Fox News his interest in the issue was sparked by a news report he saw on television in 2011.
“The story detailed the harmful impact on vulnerable minors of this kind of supposed reparative therapy,” Lieu said. “So when California Equality approached me about introducing a bill to ban that kind of therapy for minors, I jumped at the chance.”
Lieu also cited studies like the American Psychological Association (APA) 2009 Task Force, which reported SOCE therapy could lead to depression, feelings of shame, self-loathing, drug abuse, high-risk sexual behavior, anger, withdrawal and in some cases, even attempted suicide in minor children, if those same-sex attractions continue to persist.
All sorts of groups have taken aim and blasted the bill. Libertarian and conservative groups, legal groups, and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which is a nationwide conservative mental health provider group have all voiced opposition to this legislation.
The state has so engrained itself in everyday life that it is attempting to further its involvement in the very nucleus of our society, the family. As with anything else, should such legislation be passed in California, it will push into other states as well. Christians and conservatives (yes, one does not equal the other) should be voicing opposition to this legislation and anything that smells like the government wants to tell parents how they can deal with their children in areas like this. Homosexuality is like any other sin. It must be repented of. It doesn’t mean the person is never tempted with it. It just means they need to be called to resist that temptation and do what is right before God.
There is no doubt this is a parent’s rights issue. The jurisdiction of the home has been ordained by God to be governed by parents. Unless there is violence taking place or some sort of proven abuse or neglect the state has no jurisdiction in the home.
We cannot allow liberals to define this one people. Homosexuals are not a minority like an ethnic group. They are a minority of people who have turned from God and as such are in need of believing the gospel and repenting, just like adulterers, liars, thieves and murderers. Parents don’t need to give into the state when the very souls of their children are at stake.
