Pa. lawmakers to target gay 'conversion' therapy
Posted: September 18, 2013 - 4:24am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Some state Democratic lawmakers want to bar Pennsylvania mental-health providers from trying to change the sexual orientation of gay minors.
Reps. Brian Sims of Philadelphia and Gerald Mullery of Luzerne County said Tuesday they plan to introduce a bipartisan bill to bar gay "conversion" therapy for minors. Sen. Anthony Williams of Philadelphia recently introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
Sims is the first openly gay candidate elected to the Legislature. New Jersey's Republican governor and Democratic-controlled Legislature recently banned the practice and California has passed a similar law.
Mullery says conversion therapy amounts to medical and parental bullying that can lead to low self-esteem and even suicide.