Judge Blocks Gay Therapy Ban

For California legislation, it's one step forward, two steps back. U.S. District Judge William Shubb ruled Monday that California cannot enforce a new ban on “gay conversion” therapy, which aims to convert the sexual orientation of minors. The new law, SB 1172, could inhibit the First Amendment rights of therapists who oppose homosexuality, according to Shubb. The ban on conversion therapy was one of the signature laws passed in the previous legislative session, with Brown claiming the practice belongs in the “dustbin of quackery.” The law was set to take effect in January.