CALIFORNIA: Liberty Counsel Appeals Loss Over Bill That Bans "Ex-Gay" Torture

As expected, the Liberty Counsel has filed an en banc appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court, demanding that the full Court reconsider the slap down given them by a three-judge panel of the same Court in their bid to block California's ban on the "ex-gay" torture of minors.

Mathew Staver, chief counsel of Liberty Counsel, said the minors he represents “do not want to act on same-sex attractions, nor do they want to engage in such behavior.” “They are greatly benefiting from this counseling. Their grades have gone up, their self-esteem has improved, and their relationships at home are much improved,” he said  Staver said legislators and judges in California “have essentially barged into the private therapy rooms of victimized young people and told them that their confusion, caused by the likes of a Jerry Sandusky abuser, is normal and they should pursue their unwanted and dangerous same-sex sexual attractions and behavior, regardless of whether those minors desire their religious beliefs to trump their unwanted attractions.”  The petition for rehearing notes that the circuit court judges had found that the California law banned treatment but not speech, which poses a conflict. Licensed counselors who are not medical doctors can help their clients only through speech, the petition contends.

Liberty Counsel has vowed to take the case to the US Supreme Court if necessary.