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"Gay Conversion" Therapy Is Going To The Courts
By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 27, 2012
Modified Nov 29, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 27, 2012
Modified Nov 29, 2012
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The issue of how legitimate "gay conversion" therapy is (or, more likely, isn't) will not be going away anytime soon. Not only is the controversial process—which aims to teach homosexuals to repress their feelings—currently banned for children in California, but today a group of four gay men filed suit in New Jersey charging it with deceptive practices under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.
According to the four men who filed the lawsuit, they were emotionally scarred by one group's promises of inner changes that would never come, as well as the "humiliating techniques that included stripping naked in front of the counselor and beating effigies of their mothers." That they paid through the nose only to be told it was their own fault they just didn't know how quit each other was simply icing on the cake.
The New Jersey suit is just one of a number of legal challenges on both sides of the "gay conversion" argument, and this one also has an interesting religious aspect:
In the spotlight in New Jersey are a counseling center called Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, or Jonah; along with its co-founder, Arthur Goldberg; and an affiliated “life coach,” Alan Downing.
Mr. Goldberg helped found Jonah in 1999, after he finished serving a prison sentence and probation for financial fraud he committed in the 1980s. The group describes itself as “dedicated to educating the worldwide Jewish community about the social, cultural and emotional factors that lead to same-sex attractions,” and says it “works directly with those struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions,” including non-Jews.
While many Orthodox Jews consider homosexual relations to be a violation of divine law, Mr. Goldberg’s group has no official standing within Judaism, and many Jews accept homosexuality. Neither Mr. Goldberg nor Mr. Downing is licensed as a therapist, so they are not subject to censure by professional associations.
The four men suing are looking for financial compensation and the shutting down of Jonah. And they certainly have some sad stories of "treatment" to help their argument. As one recalled to the Times: "It becomes fraudulent, even cruel. To say that if you really want to change you could — that’s an awful thing to tell somebody."
Further, he says he “was encouraged to develop anger and rage toward my parents. The notion that your parents caused this is a horrible lie. They ask you to blame your mother for being loving and wonderful."
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