Ask Governor Brown to Protect LGBT Young People from Dangerous Psychological Abuse
August 30, 2012
Dear ,
The California State Assembly made history this week by passing a landmark bill that will ban psychological abuse inflicted on LGBT young people by deceitful mental health professionals who falsely claim to be able change their sexual orientation or gender expression.
Senate Bill 1172—authored by Senator Ted Lieu—will stop mental health professionals from harming young people with this dangerous practice, but only if Governor Brown signs it into law.
And this is where we need your help.
You can end this practice—which causes long-lasting depression and has far too often resulted in young people taking their lives—by telling the governor that you want him to protect young people by signing the bill into law.
No other young person should ever be shamed by a mental health professional into thinking that who they are is bad, and you can help protect them by calling or emailing the governor now.
Opponents of equality have already launched a well-funded attack on the bill, spreading deceptive fictions that all stem from the idea that being LGBT is a disease in need of a cure. We've all seen how their fringe attacks have hurt us in the past, and we can't let that happen again.
Tell the governor that LGBT youth do not need to be "cured," and that SB 1172 will stop deceitful practitioners of this psychological abuse. (Email sample text is at the bottom of this email. On the governor’s contact page, click on “Consumer Affairs Issues/Concerns” in the dropdown menu, and follow directions to send your email.)
After you have reached out to the governor, please share this email with family and friends, asking them to get behind this bill and contact the governor for his support.
We can’t turn our backs on young people, especially when all we need to do is pick up the phone or send an email to ask the governor to sign SB 1172 into law.
Can you help?
In solidarity,
Dear Governor Brown,
I am writing to you today to ask that you sign Senate Bill 1172 by Senator Ted Lieu, which would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young people from psychological abuse inflicted on them by deceitful mental health professionals who falsely claim to be able change their sexual orientation or gender expression.
This abusive practice causes serious harm to LGBT youth, including depression, shame, decreased self-esteem, social withdrawal, substance abuse, and suicide.
Leading medical and mental health organizations have issued warnings that there is no credible evidence that any type of psychotherapy can change a person’s sexual orientation and that efforts to do so may cause serious and lasting harm. And yet, every day, unscrupulous therapists in California continue to mislead parents and to subject youth to this dangerous practice.
Too many young people have taken their own lives or suffered lifelong harm after being told, falsely, by a therapist or counselor that who they are is wrong, sick or the result of personal or moral failure.
We must ensure that no young person is subjected to this damaging and discredited practice.
Please sign SB 1172.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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Call the Governor and Urge Him to Protect LGBT Young People from Psychological Abuse
Please, pick up the phone and call the Governor’s office right now. Follow the prompts to support SB 1172 (Lieu).
1. Dial 916.445.2841
2. Press 1 to continue in English.
3. Press 6 to speak with a representative of Governor Jerry Brown's office.
4. Voice your support for SB 1172, the bill banning dangerous psychological abuse of minors.
And/or email the governor using the sample text at the bottom of this email. On his contact page, click on “Consumer Affairs Issues/Concerns” in the dropdown menu, and follow directions to send your email.
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