Catholic Congresswoman panders to homosexual activists introduces intrusive resolution condemning sexual reparative therapy
November 29, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A U.S. congresswoman is calling on Congress to denounce therapies designed to help clients overcome unwanted same-sex attraction.
California Rep. Jackie Speier said her “Stop Harming Our Kids” resolution will “bring us some reality checks” about sexuality.
Rep. Jackie Speier
The non-binding resolution condemns so-called sexual reparative therapy, and urges states to introduce laws similar to one passed in California that bans the therapy for minors.
“Let’s get this straight,” Speier said at a press conference announcing the resolution. “Being gay, lesbian [or] transgender is not a disease to be cured or a mental health issue to be treated.”
Speier, who is Catholic, condemned reparative therapy as “quackery” and said “we should not be supporting it with taxpayer dollars.”
The congresswoman was joined at the press conference by two men who said they underwent reparative therapy and were harmed by the experience.
Speier’s resolution comes at the same time as a legal challenge is ongoing against the California law, SB1172. On Friday a federal court will hear arguments about whether the court should issue a preliminary injunction to block the law.
The law is set to go into effect on January 1, 2013.
Opponents of the law argue that it comes between clients and their therapists, preventing clients from receiving the therapy they choose.
“Banning change therapy harms children, stresses families, and places counselors in a catch-22, because they will be forced to violate their licensing ethical codes,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel is representing a number of clients who are challenging the California law in court. These include counselors who perform the therapy, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), and several parents and their children who say they have benefited from the therapy.
“This law forces counselors to overrule their clients who choose to prioritize their religious or moral values above unwanted same-sex sexual attractions,” Staver said, describing the law as “intrusive.”
Another group that opposes the law is Parents and Friends of Ex-gay (PFOX), who say that their experience shows that sexual orientation can clearly be changed in some cases. PFOX has said that the California law “smacks of fascism and ex-gay bashing.”
Reparative therapy is increasingly being targeted by homsexual activist organizations and their allies on the Left.
This week the Southern Poverty Law Center announced a lawsuit against Jews Offering New Alternatives of Healing (JONAH) for consumer fraud. SPLC alleges that the therapy offered by JONAH does not work.
