Senator Wiener’s Bill To Strengthen California’s Conversion Therapy Ban Heads To The Governor
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on Colorado’s ban on youth conversion therapy, the California Legislature passed Senator Wiener’s bill to protect survivors of conversion therapy.
SACRAMENTO – SAN FRANCISCO – In a vote of 27-9, the Senate passed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) SB 934, legislation to protect Californians from conversion therapy by strengthening California’s conversion therapy ban. The bill heads next to the Governor, who must sign by September 30.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court cast legal doubt on state bans on youth conversion therapy — a form of psychological torture. The decision created legal risk for California’s conversion therapy ban, and opponents of the law have declared they will file suit against California imminently.
“Like every child, LGBTQ youth deserve to know there is nothing wrong or broken about them. While this extremist Supreme Court is trying to strip that promise away, California is reaffirming it today,” said Senator Wiener. “Conversion therapy is psychological torture, and every major medical association has declared it to be quackery. The assault on state conversion therapy bans is part and parcel of MAGA’s push to erase LGBTQ people from existence, and I’m grateful to my colleagues in the Legislature for having our backs.”
Conversion therapy — the made up notion that you can convert a gay or trans person into being not gay or trans — was debunked long ago, and is now condemned by every major medical association as dangerous and ineffective. Survivors of conversion therapy often experience profound feelings of shame and trauma, which research shows leads to depression and suicidality. Processing and healing from the trauma of conversion therapy is a deeply personal journey that often takes survivors years and years to complete.
In 2012, California passed SB 1172, becoming the first state to prohibit medical practitioners from engaging in attempts to direct a minor towards a predetermined sexual orientation. Twenty-four other states followed suit, but those protections have now been struck down or cast in extreme legal doubt following the Supreme Court’s extremist interpretation of the First Amendment that values ideology over the lives of LGBTQ youth.
SB 934 strengthens the state’s conversion therapy ban by implementing Supreme Court guidance.
SB 934 is sponsored by Equality California, Lambda Legal, National Center for LGBTQ Rights, the California LGBTQ Legislative Caucus, -the Trevor Project, and Trans Family Support Services.
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