Tag Archives: ex-gay torture

Metro Weekly reports: A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Vimeo is immune under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 Internet law dealing with private blocking and screening of potentially offensive material. As a result, the company cannot be sued for removing videos that violated its policies regarding what type of …

The Texas Tribune report: State Rep. Celia Israel [photo], filed House Bill 560, which would penalize state-licensed counselors and therapists who engage in conversion therapy with children. She has filed a similar version of the bill every session since her first in 2015, and the bill was debated in a public hearing for the first time during the last session. …

CBS News reports: Conversion therapy is currently still legal in Indiana, the home state of Vice President Mike Pence, who has long been criticized for his anti-LGBTQ positions. But this week, state legislators formally introduced a bill to ban the discredited “therapy” for minors. Democratic State Senator J.D. Ford has authored Senate Bill 32, which would prohibit mental health counselors …

The American Independent reports: On Tuesday, the White House released a list of people to be appointed by Donald Trump to “key posts” in the administration. Among them is Marcus Bachmann, who runs a Christian counseling clinic in Minnesota that carries out so-called conversion therapy, an unproven and widely rejected practice through which LGBTQ people are told that their orientation …

The Hill reports: More than 370 international spiritual leaders this week called for a global ban on LGBTQ “conversion” therapy, a practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Hundreds of spiritual leaders signed a declaration that calls for a prohibition of conversion therapy, criminalization of people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit today reversed a lower court ruling and struck down local Palm Beach County. Florida, and City of Boca Raton ordinances banning so-called conversion therapy on minors. Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings issued the following statement: “The City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County joined …

Michael Brown writes for Charisma News: Why does Facebook treat gays unfairly? Why does it put them in a special class, telling them they must remain gay, even if they want to change? Why does Facebook suppress the stories of those who have changed—and are much happier for it—rather than give them the space to choose for themselves? You might …

Via email from hate group leader Tony Perkins: Try to access the Facebook page for Restored Hope Network (RHN), and all you will see is the ominous message, “This Page Isn’t Available. The link may be broken, or the page may have been removed.” Facebook’s ax came down on RHN with no advance notice, and no explanation. Restored Hope Network …

It’s not a perfect ban, but for Alaska, it’s something. The Anchorage Daily News reports: The Anchorage Assembly on Wednesday passed a ban on “conversion therapy,” making illegal the practice of trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The practice has been widely condemned by medical professionals and counselors. The move drew criticism from some religious institutions …

Reuters reports: Mexico City’s regional congress on Friday approved a bill to criminalize gay conversion therapy, in a step hailed as a major victory for Mexico’s gay and lesbian community. Methods applied by proponents of conversion therapy to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity have ranged from psychological counseling to religious instruction and even electroshock therapy. The practice …

Forbes reports: Barclays has closed the bank account of a U.K. Christian charity the Core Issues Trust, who offer LGBT conversion therapy, says, Premier Christian News. It follows criticism from LGBT activists, who say the bank – the lead sponsor of Pride in London for several years – was hypocritical. They argued supporting LGBT people with one hand while giving …

The Christian Post reports: A professional psychotherapist who specializes in counseling those with unwanted same-sex attraction has denounced a recent social media ban on posts promoting “conversion therapy.” Recently, Instagram and its owner, Facebook, announced that they were going to ban content that promoted the controversial practice of sexual orientation change efforts therapy, or what critics call “conversion therapy.” Christopher …

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: Everyone is entitled to information, Facebook has argued. Except, maybe, people struggling with their sexuality. Mark Zuckerberg’s platform, along with its subsidiary Instagram, may be trying to keep those hurting users from getting the information they’re looking for. Other platforms have been more proactive. “A Twitter spokesman said their platform already …

Agence France-Presse reports: Facebook on Friday said it is banning content that promotes “conversion therapy,” which is based on the unfounded notion that gays can change their sexual orientation through psychological or spiritual intervention. Facebook and its image-centric social network Instagram are updating policies to require removal of content that directly promotes conversion therapy when such posts are flagged by …

NBC News reports: Hope for Wholeness, a prominent ex-gay ministry that boasts one of the most expansive networks of conversion therapy offerings in the United States, is disbanding. The Spartanburg, South Carolina-based organization, founded in 1999 as Truth Ministries, told members in an email Monday and obtained by NBC News that Hope for Wholeness would be closing its operations, citing …

Axios reports: For the past six months, top Trump campaign officials, reporting to Jared Kushner, have been working on a radical overhaul of the Republican Party platform. The Trump campaign’s Bill Stepien has been leading the process, working with campaign colleagues and the Republican National Committee. As with all significant campaign matters, they’ve been reporting back to Kushner. Kushner told …

Agence France-Presse reports: Albania’s psychologists have banned so-called “conversion therapy”, which tries to change the sexual orientation of young LGBT people, a move hailed on Saturday by the country’s rights groups. The decision by Albania’s order of psychologists on Friday is “significantly important for LGBTI adolescents”, the gay rights association Pink Embassy said in a statement. All registered therapists in …

Pink News reports: On Thursday evening, May 7, the Bundestag passed a law which completely bans any so-called “therapy” that aims to change the sexual orientation of minors, and the crime will carry a prison sentence of up to one year. According to Badische, conservative German health minister Jens Spahn [photo] stressed: “Homosexuality is not a disease. Therefore the term …

CTV News reports: Justice Minister David Lametti has added another bill to the government’s agenda, tabling new amendments to the Criminal Code, to impose a ban on conversion therapy. The legislation — a campaign promise and evolution on the government’s position last parliament — is proposing to prohibit religious counselling seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, …

The Washington Post reports: Gov. Ralph Northam has signed a bill banning conversion therapy for minors, the first LGBT rights measure to reach the Democrat’s desk this year. Virginia will become the 20th state — and the first in the South — to outlaw the therapy, a widely discredited practice that purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender …