Tag Archives: ex-gay torture

The Associated Press reports: New Jersey took a step Monday toward legalizing recreational marijuana as lawmakers advanced a measure allowing adults to use cannabis after hours of delay and back-room wrangling over the measure that irritated witnesses and some legislators. Democratic-controlled Assembly and Senate legislative committees advanced the legislation late Monday despite having scheduled a hearing earlier in the day …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: After years of stalling in the Utah Legislature, a bill to strengthen the state’s hate crimes law has now cleared both chambers by commanding margins. Before passing the bill, the House adopted an amendment that added “political expression” to the list of categories that would be protected by the updated hate crimes statue. Rep. Karianne …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A group of young LGBTQ rights activists staged a sit-in outside Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s office over a gutted bill that banned conversion therapy. The changes were so dramatic that HB399’s sponsor, Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, said he could no longer support his own legislation. On Wednesday, he told FOX 13 he …

The Associated Press reports: Supporters of a proposed gay conversion therapy ban for minors in conservative Utah said it was gutted Tuesday by changes that would allow therapists to have some discussion about changing sexual orientation with young patients. The changes approved by GOP lawmakers in committee come after opponents marshalled a strong pushback against the plan that’s similar to …

Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate reports: A bill to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is set to be unveiled in the Utah State Legislature. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told FOX 13 it will not oppose the bill, which could give it a boost on Capitol Hill. The bill is being carried by two Republican lawmakers: …

Via press release from hate group leader Mat Staver: Liberty Counsel filed a petition today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review King v. Christie, a case that upheld a ban on change counsel which the High Court expressly abrogated last year by name. New Jersey passed a law banning licensed mental health professionals from providing and clients from receiving …

From the far-right LifeSiteNews: An Orthodox Jewish psychotherapist in Brooklyn is suing New York City in federal court over its ban on counseling to treat unwanted homosexual attraction or gender confusion, arguing that the law violates the First Amendment’s guaranteed right to free speech. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing Dr. Dovid Schwartz of the Chabad Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Community …

Gay City News reports: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed into law the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and the state’s ban on conversion therapy practiced on minors. Cuomo signed the bills at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan 10 days after they were swiftly approved by the State Legislature. The two measures sailed through the Assembly and …

Via press release from hate group leader Mat Staver: Liberty Counsel filed a federal lawsuit seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against Maryland’s new law which prohibits minors from receiving voluntary counseling from licensed professionals to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion. In Doyle v. Hogan, Liberty Counsel represents Christopher Doyle, a licensed professional counselor in Virginia …

Just in from Wayne Besen’s Truth Wins Out: The nation’s most notorious conversion therapist, David Matheson, has quit the “ex-gay” movement and has announced he is seeking to date men. Matheson is the author and creator of several infamous “ex-gay” programs and bogus studies, as well as the director for the Center for Gender Wholeness. Matheson has been featured in …

The South China Morning Post reports: On a hazy day this week, a convoy of three white trucks is making its way through the streets of Nanjing, in eastern China. They are covered in huge red banners with black lettering that look like billboards from a distance. “Treating a ‘disease’ that doesn’t exist,” reads one. “Chinese classification of mental disorders …

NBC News reports: With a 4.16 GPA and an acceptance letter from Georgetown University, it seemed like the high school valedictorian’s dream would become a reality. But when Seth Owens received his financial aid package from the prestigious school, a different reality set in: The financial aid package had been determined based on the expected contribution of his family, a …

Mediaite reports: Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon says he’s prepared to meet with Vice President Mike Pence following their spat last month during the Winter Games. “Now is the right time,” Rippon said. “You don’t get to make any sort of change if you don’t try to at least try to reach across [the political aisle].” Rippon said he doesn’t …