California’s gay conversion therapy ban heads to Supreme Court

THE United States Supreme Court has been asked by the Pacific Justice Institute in the past week to review a law banning the use of conversion therapy on LGBTI youth in the state of California.

Otherwise known as California Senate Bill 1172, the ban prohibits licensed medical practitioners such as psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors from attempting to convert LGBTI children to hetero-normative lifestyles.

The appeal to the US Supreme Court was made in response to the Circuit Court of Appeal upholding California’s ban upon reviewing its constitutional standing earlier this year.

The Pacific Justice Institute, which is a conservative religious and parental rights legal practice based in Sacramento, stated upon submitting their petition of certiorari last week that the presence of the law violates free speech and the rights of minors to be cured of their same-sex attraction across California.

“Our Constitution was established to protect the people from renegade lawmakers,” institute president Brad Dacus said.

“This law is a prime example of legislators who care more about politically correct speech than free speech, and more about perks from special interest groups than the rights of children.”

In delivering the verdict earlier this year that prompted the institute’s appeal to the Supreme Court, the justices assigned to the case stated that California had the right to legislate against medical therapies that were considered harmful: “The panel held that under its police power, California has authority to prohibit licensed mental health providers from administering therapies that the legislature has deemed harmful, and the fact that speech may be used to carry out those therapies does not turn the prohibitions of conduct into prohibitions of speech.”

With other states such as New Jersey joining California in banning conversion therapy for LGBTI children with similar legislation last year, it is unknown whether or not the Supreme Court will accept the request for review against California’s ban anytime soon, given that lawsuits against New Jersey’s ban are making their way a different Circuit Court of Appeal.

In the UK, State for Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb has reportedly asked for assurances from the National Health Service that their General Practitioners and other medical staff are not making referrals to gay conversion therapists.

This happened after a 15-member cross-party group of politicians approached him, requesting that a LGBTI conversion therapy ban be introduced in British Parliament.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the demise of LGBTI conversion group Living Waters Australia took place over in the past month.