New Jersey Governor bans Gay Conversion Therapy

Jojy Cheriyan MD;MPH-August 21,2013

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a legislation that bars licensed therapists from trying to convert gay teenagers to straight (heterosexual). As a conservative catholic and staunch opponent of gay marriage, he vetoed the bill to legalize gay marriage last year. On Monday (August 19, 2013) before signing the Conversion Therapy Ban he said that he was doing it reluctantly and still had concerns. Several months ago he expressed his concern about the success of gay conversion therapy when the American Psychological Association published its findings that gay conversion therapy (also called reparative therapy) could cause mental health issues and substance abuse among teenagers who were born with homosexual orientation.

Governor Christie said, "I believe that exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate. Based upon this analysis, I sign this bill into law.”

By contrast, his decision to sign the bill banning gay conversion therapy could alienate some Christian conservatives who believe that being gay is a choice and a sin.

Pope Francis recently expressed his concern over homosexuality saying he could not judge a person born with homosexual orientation, but any homosexual act was a sin. Pope also reiterated, in his first encyclical, the position of the Catholic church that marriage could only be between a man and a woman for the procreation and the nurturing of children.

California is the only state that has attempted a ban on gay conversion therapy but in December 2012 a three-judge panel of a U.S. appeals court blocked the ban, which was scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013. Since then, no other states have enacted similar legislation.
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