Support state ban on gay conversion therapy

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What if you’re a deeply religious, socially conservative man or woman, and you have a son or daughter who, at age 15, says he or she is gay or transgender? What if you love your child with all your heart and believe that she will suffer eternal damnation for entering a same-sex relationship or living as a boy when she was “born” a girl?

This is where religious belief and scientific evidence collide, and the fallout has been disastrous for countless young people. Thousands of parents have subjected their gay or transgender children to “conversion therapy” in an attempt to set them “straight.” On the face of it, the practice may seem rational, but it is rooted in ignorance — the belief that being gay or transgender is a choice rather than the way someone is born. According to legions of sociologists, psychologists and medical doctors, forcing a child into so-called reparative therapy can lead to psychological damage and tragic consequences, including suicide.

President Obama spoke about this issue last week, urging a nationwide ban on conversion therapy for minors and greater acceptance of gender diversity. Because legislation on the federal level is all but impossible to achieve, it is up to the states to protect the rights of the LGBT community, especially minors. Last summer, New York’s Assembly passed legislation prohibiting the use of conversion therapy on minors by a vote of 86-28, but Senate leaders let the legislative session end without voting on the measure.

Only California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have actually passed bans on the debunked practice. It is as if our legislators are dragging their heels on a law that would prevent the burning of witches, another practice fueled by ignorant religious belief.

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