Equality California: SCOTUS Rejection of Conversion Therapy Case is Good News

Los Angeles – May 1, 2017 In response to today's announcement from the U.S. Supreme Court that it will not hear Welch v. Brown, a case challenging California's ban on so-called "conversion therapy" on the grounds that it violates constitutional religious freedom protections, Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement:

"Today's announcement is good news for thousands of LGBT youth nationwide, especially in states that do not yet ban so-called 'conversion therapy.' Homosexuality is not a condition that needs curing. However, we do know that the practice of trying to change sexual orientation not only doesn't work, but puts vulnerable LGBT young people at risk of depression, substance abuse, homelessness and suicide. It flies in the face of a consensus of respected health organizations – including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other groups – that efforts to change a young person's sexual orientation are harmful. Even so, thousands of LGBT youth are forced to submit to such programs across the country every year and thousands of 'therapists' are more than willing to take their money."

Equality California sponsored California's SB 1172, authored by then State Senator Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles), and now is now working to pass his Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2017 in Congress to ban conversion therapy across the country.

Equality California is the nation's largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.org