Last week of November 2016 a county lawmaker from New York introduces introduced a piece of legislation that will ban conversion shock therapy for homosexual children in the future. The proposed bill is called the, The Prevention of Emotional Neglect and Childhood Endangerment (PENCE) law was created by Patrick Burke of Erie County legislator. The proposed law would only affect Burke’s county. It is hoped by Burke that if his bill passes in the Legislature of Erie County it would have a ripple effect.
Conversion Therapy (a term used to describe a variety of psychological and spiritual methods for treating or counseling lgbtq individuals, counseling that uses psychological, spiritual or physical methods to try to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity) Also known as "ex-gay therapy," is currently recognized by a list of major medical associations as harmful and ineffective. It has been criticized by liberal, academics, policymakers, and LGBT groups for a long a time now. Conversion Therapy includes electroshock therapy which was used to treat a range of mental illnesses in the past. It is currently banned in these states: New Jersey, California, Oregon, Illinois and Vermont, and in the District of Columbia.
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, a national LGBT youth organization, for 15 years had been supporting to bad conversion therapy and praised the proposed bill in an interview with NBC OUT. Despite the many renowned organizations like the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association, The national GOP continues to stand by it. According to NBC OUT "APA has long recognized that so-called reparative therapy is not a scientifically validated treatment and can, in fact, undermine self-esteem and be hazardous," American Psychiatric Association President Renee Binder said in a February statement after Gov. Cuomo's executive action.
Gay Conversion Therapy