Pennsylvania Lawmakers Seek To Ban Homosexual Conversion Therapy
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It'll be a full-court-press to make Pennsylvania the third state to ban "conversion therapy" for minors. That's a controversial technique to reverse a gay or lesbian child's sexual orientation.
Conversion or reparative therapy has been on the decline for decades since major medical organizations declared that homosexuality is not an illness. California and New Jersey have banned the practice. A Federal appeals court upheld the California ban, so Pennsylvania state senator Anthony Williams, sponsor of a ban bill, hopes to have the practice on the run.
"It is very, very, very aggressive," Williams said. "This is not simply a preacher sitting down and talking to his son and daughter about his perspectives because they will allow to be able to do that. A parent can say whatever perspective they have about one's sexual orientation but what they will no longer have the ability to do is hire someone that will physically intimidate their child, torture their child, punish their child and do it with the sanction of the state."
What conversion therapy is around these days appears to be done in secret.
