A demonstrator waves a rainbow flag in front of the US Capitol in Washington on October 11, 2009 as tens of thousands of gay activists marched to demand civil rights, a day after President Barack Obama vowed to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the US military. AFP PHOTO/Maria Belen PEREZ GABILONDO (Photo credit should read Maria Belen Perez Gabilondo/AFP/Getty Images)
Photo: MARIA BELEN PEREZ GABILONDO/2009 AFP
On Sunday, Governor Jerry Brown announced that he’s signed a bill that bans “conversion” therapy for anyone under 18, making California the first state to prohibit the form of psychotherapy. Some conservative groups have argued that the move violates parents’ rights to provide help for gender-confused kids. However, several mainstream mental health organizations in California have denounced the therapies, which Brown says “have no basis in science or medicine and … will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery.”
