Pittsburgh becomes first city in Pennsylvania to ban conversion therapy

[DonViejo]

Source: LGBTQ Nation

By Jeff Taylor · Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Pittsburgh City Council has banned conversion therapy for anyone under the age of 18 in a unanimous vote. The move makes the city the first in the state of Pennsylvania to do so and officials say they hope more will follow suit.

Conversion therapy, also sometimes called reparative therapy, is the practice of trying to turn LGB kids straight, or transgender and gender nonconforming children cisgender. The American Psychiatric Association, among other professional organizations and government organizations, including the United States, oppose the practice. It’s illegal in five states and Washington, D.C.

Mayor Bill Peduto said he will sign the legislation. “We join a growing list of cities that have taken these kinds of steps. I suspect more will follow,” said Bruce Kraus, the council president, who introduced the proposal last month with Councilman Dan Gilman.

Gilman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he had heard from concerned citizens who were worried about Mike Pence’s “long-standing” championing of conversion therapy. Pence supported “institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior” during his 2000 congressional campaign.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/12/pittsburgh-becomes-first-city-pennsylvania-ban-conversion-therapy/

[Guilded Lilly]

1. Pittsburgh born and bred. My heart glows.

[arithia]

2. Woo!! Go Pittsburgh!

Good! There are too many religiously affiliated providers in PA that are happy to tell people with different beliefs or lifestyles than the assumed norm (by that institution's standards) that they must adhere to some religiously based concept of "normal" or there is something clinically wrong with them.

Children should be allowed to grow and develop without being subjected to that kind of hateful bullsh*t.

(K Papenfuse, you have big city envy so... get to work XD)

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Philly City Council introduced legislation to do the same

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20161209_Philadelphia_to_consider_banning_controversial_conversion_therapy.html

It will be on the docket when they return in January.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. I just don't know

how one could hand over responsibility for someone's developing identity
to a bunch of psychologists

At that age in my youth, no one ever thought about orientation and probably
couldn't define the term anyway, you were what you were. Constantly
focusing on it, doesn't that nudge it in the wrong direction, an unnatural
direction for that person, and make them self-conscious?

Many a parent tries to make junior a chip off the old block. All that coercion
creates more need for therapy than letting development take its natural
course.

[sarcasmo]

5. Smart to make these moves before Pence has any more power.

[orleans]

6. trump supporters cry boo hoo n/t