California Gay Laws

On May 8, 2012 I heard that California (CA) may ban Gay teen’s conversion therapy. SB 1172 would only apply to minors and require the parents to sign a release form that states that the counseling is ineffectual and possibly dangerous. Proponents of the law say it’s necessary because the therapy is ineffective and can do harm; the treatments can lead to suicide as young people struggle with the enormous burden of guilt and shame as they continue to struggle with their homosexual desires. The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality called the bill a piece of social engineering masquerading as a solution to a clinical problem. In other words, the association takes the position that banning conversion therapy amounts to social programming (if that’s the case, then isn’t the therapy programming). Conversion therapy gained media attention over the last few years along with a widened interest in the practice. CA’s Exodus International, the world's largest Christian referral network dealing with homosexuality, now steers people to 260 groups across the country, up from about 100 a decade ago. Mainstream mental health organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA), say people should steer clear of conversion therapy; it cited numerous empirically-validated studies which show that efforts to produce the sexual orientation change could lead to depression and suicidal tendencies and stated that no solid evidence exists that such change is possible. Psychiatry used to view homosexuality as a form of mental illness but changed its outlook well over 30 years ago (In 1973 the APA decided to delist homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Opponents of the decision say activists established a committee targeting researchers to ensure perpetual sanctity for the APA action - No research papers would again arise to confirm initial therapy success rates of 30% to 60%; they set peer review standards mandating pre-ordained thesis, approved research designs, suitable human data points and enchanting statistical enhancements; persistent activism enabled ever-present infiltration of academia resulting in social alchemy and psychology and psychiatry chose to abandon scientific rigor in exchange for popular societal and political acclaim). SB1172 passed the CA Senate on May 30 with a 23-13 vote and as of July 30, 2012 it has been sitting in the Assembly (was amended on July 5). The logic of opponents is that a molested boy will be Gay without the therapy; this is as foolish as saying every women raped will become a Lesbian.

On July 14, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 48 (one of 8 school sexual indoctrination laws) which updates the CA Education Code to prohibit discriminatory instruction and materials against certain categories of people from being adopted by the State Board of Education. In other words, the bill ensures that the contributions of Gays and Gay rights are included in school textbooks. However, a group called Stop SB 48 has filed paperwork with the state to start a petition drive for a ballot measure to repeal it and they’ve created a website and a Facebook page. These people want to stop the contributions of people such as Sally Ride, the first US female in space, from entering the history books because she happened to be a Lesbian. 

The California Senate May 31 with a 23-11 vote approved SB 1140 that clarifies the religious freedom of clergy members in California. Senate Bill 1140 reaffirms the separation of church and state and clarifies under state law that no member of clergy will be required to perform a marriage that is contrary to his or her faith. SB 1140 also protects churches from losing their tax-exempt status if they refuse to perform a marriage that is contrary to their faith. On June 19 the General Assembly Judiciary Committee passed SB 1140 with a 7-1 vote. (This bill is similar to SB 906 which passed the Legislature but was vetoed by then-Governor Schwarzenegger because of a provision that has been revised in the current bill).

SB 1476 is an act to amend Sections 3040, 7601, and 7612 of, and to add Section 4052.5 to, the Family Code. The Sacramento Bee’s Jim Sanders wrote July 2, 2012: SB 1476 stemmed from an appellate court case last year involving a child’s biological mother, her same sex partner, and a man who had an affair with the biological mother while she was temporarily separated from her partner. The grassroots consequences of the legislation would be welcomed by anyone who has ever, under any circumstances, had the responsibility of parenting children who legally "belonged" to someone else. SB 1476 which passed the Senate and is now in the Assembly is not meant to expand the definition of who can qualify as a parent but only to eliminate the limit of 2 per child. Leno’s bill; it would apply equally to men or women and to straight or gay couples. Examples of 3 parent relations could include: 1) A family in which a man began dating a woman while she was pregnant, then raised that child with her for 7 years and the youth also had a parental relationship with the biological father; 2) A same sex couple who asked a close male friend to help them conceive and it’s decided that all 3 would raise the child; and 3) A divorce in which the parent and second spouse were the legal parents of a child and the biological (divorced) parent maintained close ties as well.

Religious fanatics are objecting to all of these bills; saying they’re Trojan horses. Now I’ll get back to the point of the federal government and Gay rights.