Would Sandusky Welcome a Law That Bans Same-Sex Conversion Therapy?

Liberty Counsel filed a request for an emergency appeal and declarations in support of our appeal late Thursday night, asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block California law SB 1172 which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2013. The law will ban any counsel that seeks to reduce or eliminate same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, or identity.

“If a young boy molested by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky develops severe emotional distress and unwanted same-sex sexual attractions, this law will force the counselor to tell the boy that his feelings are normal and good,” says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “If the counselor seeks to reduce or eliminate the stress caused by his client’s molestation, the counselor will commit an ethical violation. That is child endangerment!”

A 2001 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 46 percent of homosexuals were molested in childhood. Without counseling, these victims often act out the very same sexual behavior used in their molestation. 

“Jerry Sandusky would welcome a law like SB 1172. Minors who are sexually molested will face even more damage when they are told that their unwanted same-sex sexual attractions or behavior are natural and normal. This law is an outrage and it will destroy many lives and wreck the counseling profession,” Staver says.

Staver says the minors Liberty Counsel represents have not and do not want to act on their same-sex attractions. They are greatly benefiting from counseling. If this law goes into effect and there is no emotional help available to these children, he fears they will suffer irreparable harm.

“Without this emergency injunction, the State of California will essentially barge into the private therapy rooms of victimized young people and tell them that their confusion caused by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky abuser is normal and they should pursue their unwanted same-sex sexual attractions and behavior,” Staver says. “This is not only outrageous, it is endangering generations of Americans!”