The gay agenda is still pushing hard on the legislative front. Even as a Jacksonville, Fla. bill that would add words “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” to current discrimination laws, a bill is making its way through the California legislature that would outlaw sexual orientation-change therapies for minors.
People Can Change, an international network of men who have changed from gay to straight and others working toward similar change, has voiced its strong opposition to a bill, known as Senate Bill 1172 (SB1172).
Senate Bill 1172 passed the California Senate May 30 on a party-line vote of 23 to 13 and is now scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly on June 26.
“SB1172 is blatant discrimination. It allows and even encourages gay-affirming therapies for minors while banning ‘straight-affirming’ alternatives,” says Rich Wyler, founder and director of People Can Change.
“It disregards the client’s right to self-determination, and tells him that if he is questioning his sexuality, only a gay identity is politically correct. That is as unconscionable as allowing a pregnant minor to receive abortion counseling but banning counseling that offers adoption or single parenting as possible alternatives.
As Wyler sees it, SB1172 embraces the lie that change therapies never work and are often harmful. Proponents of SB1172 believe any anecdotes about alleged harm, he says, but disregard every research study that shows the benefit and effectiveness of these therapies for a great many people.
Wyler speaks from personal experience with sexual orientation-change therapy.
“It saved my life. Before my therapy in Southern California in the 1990s, I was suicidal and on a path of self-destruction due to same-sex attractions that conflicted with my identify, my faith and my life goals,” he says. “Working with a therapist who believed in the possibility of change and who supported me in my goals helped restore my life and my sense of self-worth. It saved my marriage and my family. Today, I am no longer same-sex attracted.”
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