OKLAHOMA: Sally Kern's "Ex-Gay" Torture Bill Dies Without Coming To A Vote

Via press release from NCLR:

This afternoon, a bill introduced to the Oklahoma State House by Representative Sally Kern that would legalize anti-LGBT therapy died without coming to a vote. The defeat follows months of extensive grassroots organizing by national and state organizations working in coalition to educate parents and families about the ineffective and harmful practices of conversion therapy on LGBT youth.  HB 1598 aimed to legitimize conversion therapy by providing special state protections for practices which have been denounced by every major medical and mental health association in the country, including the American Medical Association and American Psychological Association. The bill is the first of its kind in the United States.  “It is not often that we can say defeating a piece of legislation actually saved lives, but with HB 1598, that is exactly what happened,” said Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director Troy Stevenson. “The fact that this bill would have removed oversight and prohibited state intervention into extreme forms of child abuse was unconscionable. We owe a debt of gratitude to the fair-minded legislators who refused to allow it to even get a vote on the house floor.”

"Ex-gay" torture is banned in California, New Jersey, and DC.