Equality California Press Release - June 30, 2014
(Los Angeles)—Today, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to
review a 2013 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit upholding California’s Senate Bill 1172, a law that
prohibits licensed counselors and therapists from engaging in dangerous
practices to try to change the sexual orientation or gender expression
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. Known as
“conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” “ex-gay therapy,” or “sexual
orientation change efforts,” the practices have been condemned by
medical and mental health organizations across the country because they
are known to lead to extreme depression and suicide.
The Supreme Court’s decision today clears the way for enforcement of
California’s law—signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September 2012 and the
first of its kind in the nation—that provides that state-licensed
therapists who engage in the prohibited practices with minor patients
may be subject to professional discipline by California licensing
authorities. The constitutionality of the California law was challenged
in October 2012 in two lawsuits filed by anti-LGBT groups, primarily
representing therapists who engage in the prohibited practices. In the
fall of 2012, Equality California filed a successful motion to intervene
in one of the lawsuits to defend the law alongside California Attorney
General Kamala Harris, who represents the State of California
defendants. Equality California is represented by the National Center
for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson
LLP.
On August 29, 2013, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals unanimously upheld the law, ruling that the plaintiffs in two
legal challenges could not succeed on their claim that the law infringes
the free speech rights of therapists who wish to engage in these
dangerous and long-discredited practices.
The full Ninth Circuit court declined to further review that decision,
and the plaintiffs in the two lawsuits then asked the Supreme Court to
review the cases. The Supreme Court denied those requests today, meaning
that the Ninth Circuit panel’s decision upholding the law will be the
final decision on the plaintiffs’ free-speech claims and the California
law may be enforced.
Senate Bill 1172 was authored by Senator Ted Lieu and sponsored by NCLR,
Equality California, Gaylesta, Courage Campaign, Lambda Legal, and
Mental Health America of Northern California, and supported by dozens of
organizations, including the California Psychological Association, the
California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and
the California Division of the American Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy.
NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter said: “This life-saving law has
cleared the final hurdle and will now protect California youth from
harmful practices that have been rejected by all leading medical and
mental health organizations. This important legislation will permanently
improve the health and well-being of California’s most vulnerable LGBT
young people. We look forward to more states joining California and New
Jersey in preventing state-licensed therapists from engaging in
discredited practices that offer no health benefits and put LGBT youth
at risk of severe harm, including depression and suicide.”
Added Equality California Executive Director-Elect Rick Zbur: “The
Supreme Court’s decision to let Senate Bill 1172 protect our LGBT youth
is a major step forward for California and our nation. We are proud to
live in the first state to protect young people from the lifelong damage
caused by these horrific practices. We thank Sen. Ted Lieu for
authoring this bill, Speaker Emeritus John A. Pérez for his bold
leadership in helping to get the law passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown for
signing it into law.”
NCLR recently launched #BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy,
a national effort aimed at protecting LGBT kids from conversion therapy
and ending the practice across the country in five years.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization in California. For more
than a decade, Equality California has strategically moved California
from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people to a state with some of the most
comprehensive human rights protections in the nation. Equality
California has partnered with legislators to successfully sponsor 96
pieces of pro-equality legislation. EQCA continues to advance equality
through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and
community empowerment. www.eqca.org
www.eqca.org
