Ninth Circuit Upholds California Conversion Therapy Ban

California's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has upheld a new law banning change therapy, which is used to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction, CBN News reports. The law was supposed to take effect at the beginning of the year, but has been on hold pending an upper court ruling. That ruling came Thursday when the 9th Circuit ruled the ban does not violate therapists' free speech rights. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a similar measure last week. Liberty Counsel, which filed the case on behalf of minors receiving the therapy, was outraged by the ruling. "California has no compelling or empirical reason to justify banning change therapy, especially when the client seeks such counsel," Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver said. "Legislators and judges in the state of 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." Liberty Counsel says it may file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court.