Conversion Therapy Ban Introduced in U.S. Senate

A bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy nationwide has been introduced into the U.S. Senate.  Get ready for a lot of bleating by and sheets of flying spittle from Christofascists who believe that their "religious freedom" includes the right to subject their LGBT children to psychological - and sometimes physical - abuse in the form of "ex-gay" conversion therapy.  Flocking to their banner will be countless Republicans, especially in the House of Representatives only too happy to shamelessly prostitute themselves to the anti-science, anti-knowledge knuckle draggers.  These individuals are only too happy to sacrifice the lives of LGBT youth for their own short term political gain.  A piece in The Advocate looks at the bill's introduction.  Here are article highlights: 

A companion bill to the House's Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act — an effort to ban LGBT "conversion therapy" introduced last year by California congressman Ted Lieu — was introduced in the Senate on Thursday.

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Patty Murray, of New Jersey and Washington State, respectively, are behind the Senate's version of the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act. If passed into law, the bill would consider all efforts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity an "unfair or deceptive act or practice" under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Such efforts, sometimes called "reparative" or "ex-gay" therapy, have been denounced as ineffective and harmful by every major medical and mental health organization in the United States. 

Considering so-called reparative therapy a form of "medical malpractice," the FTC would be tasked with monitoring and ending such practices nationwide. The bill's House version would allow private citizens to file federal lawsuits against any practitioners engaging in "conversion therapy" and charging money for their services. 

The federal effort to ban "ex-gay" services follows in the wake of several states making the practice illegal, including New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and California. The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act would go further than the bans in these states by banning the practice in its entirety, where the statewide bans only prohibit licensed therapists from using the debunked practice on minors.

The damaging effects of so-called conversion therapy garnered national attention in 2014, when the suicide note of 17-year-old Ohio trans girl, Leelah Alcorn, went viral, detailing the harm she suffered under the “Christian” therapist she was sent to by her parents to “cure” her of being transgender. A petition on the government’s We the People platform calling for a nationwide ban, to be called “Leelah’s Law,” garnered more than 100,000 signatures, prompting a response from the White House where the administration expressed its “concern” over the use of the discredited treatment. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a public statement condemning the practice. 

This February, a coalition of LGBT groups filed a groundbreaking federal complaint with the FTC, alleging that practictioners of so-called conversion therapy were guilty of fraud. 

New Jersey Supreme Court: Same-Sex Couples Can Begin Marrying on Monday

 

Senator elect Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie

First Oregon ruled that it will recognize same sex marriages legally performed in other states where gay marriage is legal.  Now the New Jersey Supreme Court has rejected Governor Chris Christie's request that a stay be issued to block gay marriages from proceeding based on a lower state court ruling.  While there is always the possibility that the New Jersey Supreme Court could find against gay marriage, the fact that it is allowing same sex marriages to commence on Monday suggests that this likelihood is remote.  The folks at NOM and FRC and similar anti-gay hate groups must be truly shrieking and howling.   BuzzFeed has details.  Here are highlights:

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Friday denied Gov. Chris Christie’s request to put a marriage equality ruling on hold while the state high court considers the appeal of a lower-court ruling in support of marriage equality. 

The unanimous decision denying the Christie administration’s request for a stay means same-sex couples can begin marrying in the Garden State on October 21.

Senator-elect and Newark Mayor Cory Booker is among those local officials planning to officiate same-sex couples’ weddings at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

The decision does not end the matter in the state, as the state Supreme Court previously announced it will be hearing a full appeal of the merits of the case, in which trial Judge Mary Jacobson found that New Jersey could not deny same-sex couples marriage licenses, in January 2014.

In the meantime, however, the court is allowing Jacobson’s ruling to go into effect, in part, because “the state has not shown a reasonable probability or likelihood of success on the merits,” Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote for the court.

The case was brought in 2011 by Garden State Equality and several same-sex couples with legal representation by Lambda Legal. It argues that, following on federal recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages, the civil unions started in New Jersey after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that same-sex couples be given the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex married couples are no longer sufficient at meeting the court’s order.

In deciding whether to issue a stay, courts look to the likelihood that an appeal will succeed, along with whether the party seeking the stay will face “irreparable harm” if a stay is not granted, whether balancing the hardship to parties whether a stay is issued or not weighs in favor of granting a stay and whether the public interest weighs in favor of a stay.

The court held that Christie administration failed to show it would prevail on any of those factors and, as such, “the trial court’s order dated September 27, 2013 remains in full force and effect.”

Because allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Jersey only to take the right away after it hears the appeal would be particularly jarring to couples, the court likely only would refuse a stay if it considered the final outcome of the case to be a foregone conclusion. The opinion Friday comes close to saying as much.

As for Christie's motivation in seeking an appeal, it's pretty obvious.  He wants to run for president in 2016 and if he had not opposed the lower court ruling, it would have been used to bludgeon him in the GOP primaries.  Christie's big worry should be not that he loses the appeal, but rather that the Christofascists see through his actions.

EV Commonwealth Dinner 2013

The boyfriend and I attended the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner last night and we had a wonderful time.  A photo of some of our group is set out above.The event was sold out (1,000 attendees) and one of our good friends, Gregory Smith was honored as an "Outstanding Virginia" for the work his has done over the years (more on this below).  One thing that was amazing is that each year the number of political types who attend increases although as yet no Republican apparently dares attend for fear of facing the wrath of the viciously anti-gay theocrats at The Family Foundation, the de facto ruler of the Republican Party of Virginia.

Early in the evening I was surprised when someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around and it was U. S. Senator Mark Warner who had stopped by our table to say "hello."  Democrat nominee for governor, Terry McAuliffe was also in attendance as were other Democrat candidates for elected office in this years November elections for the General Assembly and state wide office.

The key note speaker was Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker - and U.S. Senate who gave a rousing talk on why he supports equality for all Americans.   Would that more people, especially among Republicans and the "godly Christian" crowd could see the common humanity in all of us.  The Richmond Times Dispatch has details on the political aspects of the event and Warner and McAuliffe's support for LGBT rights and marriage here. 

More Hampton Roads Attendees

Here's the EV write up on our friend Gregg Smith:

In 1987, Maryland -born Gregg Smith ended up in Norfolk, Virginia, after serving in the Navy as an officer and a helicopter pilot. Like so many promising service members, his military career was cut short by his sexuality. Unlike many, though, he was treated with respect and not pressured to inform on fellow sailors. This allowed him to leave feeling proud of his service and, incidentally, surprised Randy Shilts, who interviewed Gregg for his book Conduct Unbecoming about anti-gay witch hunts in the military.

Without regret, Gregg immediately took a position with the financial planning company Ameriprise. He soon found that he had joined a progressive company. Not only was his gayness never an issue, the company encouraged him to join with peers across the country to develop LGBT-centered marketing strategies.

Now a Certified Financial Planner and franchise owner, Gregg has developed seminars and workshops specifically for clients in same-sex partnerships. “The company lets me run my shop the way I want,” he says. Running the shop his way includes supporting local HIV-AIDS service organizations, pride events, and sponsoring tables for EV’s Commonwealth Dinner.

He has hosted and participated in many fundraisers supporting local organizations, as well. In addition, he has personally invested in these causes, plus the Human Rights Campaign Fund and the Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network’s campaign to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and he supports LGBT-friendly political candidates. Gregg gives generously of his time as well, having served in board and officer roles in local HIV-AIDS service organizations almost continuously since 1993.

Although busy with his charitable activities, Gregg makes time for an activity he has enjoyed since his Navy days—flying—and spending time with other flyers. When not piloting a single-engine Cessna 182, he is busy supporting the National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA), where he has served in leadership roles since 2004. He combines both activities when he flies his plane to various NGPA events. The NGPA has been instrumental in helping airlines craft LGBT-friendly policies and countering the homophobia that sometimes occurs when pilots get together.

Part of Gregg’s work for the NGPA involves addressing the needs of young pilots and pilots in training. The organization gives out substantial grants to students, gay and straight, who, as part of the application process, write an essay about their aspirations and their support of LGBT causes. A sign of the times is the fact that the group’s membership now includes 20-30 active duty service members, who are perfectly happy to have their names included in the membership roster. “We’ll see a lot more of that in the future,” Gregg says.

Here in Virginia we have elections every year and this year it will be critical to see that Ken Cuccinelli and other GOP anti-gay, anti-minority and anti-women extremists are defeated.   EV will help mobilize needed efforts to keep these extremists  from dragging Virginia backward in time.