FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Urges Governor Chris Christie To Promptly Sign The Bill When It Reaches His Desk
Burlington, Vt. — Truth Wins Out applauded the New Jersey Senate for passing a bill today, by a margin of 28-9, to ban harmful, predatory “ex-gay” therapy for minors. The state assembly adopted the bill on Monday. Truth Wins Out strongly urges Governor Chris Christie to promptly sign the bill, which will make New Jersey the second state, after California, to recognize the threat posed to our youth by discredited, harmful “reparative therapy,” and to codify that recognition into law.
Truth Wins Out has been at the forefront of the fight to protect all LGBT people from the scourge of the “ex-gay” industry. Founding executive director Wayne Besen testified before the assembly on the proven harms of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation:
“New Jersey has taken a monumental step to protect its children this week,” said Besen. “This law is a natural progression for all who want to make sure that kids don’t become lifelong victims of the whims of misguided adults. The damage done by so-called reparative therapy is well documented, and just as we have age of consent laws to protect our kids from the advances of sexual predators, we owe it to them to make sure they don’t fall prey to charlatans in therapist costumes who are simply abusers of a different kind. We applaud the members of the New Jersey Senate for voting based on reason, facts and science, and we urge Governor Christie to sign the bill as soon as possible.”
The New Jersey vote comes during a week that has been truly monumental for the advance of LGBT equality and acceptance. According to Truth Wins Out Associate Director Evan Hurst:
“One week ago, married gay couples were treated as second-class citizens by the federal government, and California was not a marriage equality state. One week ago, Exodus International, with its sordid history of destroying LGBT people and families with harmful, discredited ‘ex-gay’ therapy, was still an organization. Today, Section 3 of DOMA, Proposition 8 and Exodus are history. New Jersey’s historic decision to protect their children by banning ‘ex-gay’ therapy for minors is a natural progression in a nation where the good guys truly are winning, and where the dream of full equality for LGBT people is quickly becoming a reality.”
New Jersey governor Chris Christie has stated that he opposes so-called “reparative therapy,” and Truth Wins Out strongly encourages him to sign this historic bill without hesitation.
Truth Wins Out is a nonprofit organization that fights anti-LGBT extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
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