Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims announced Tuesday that he would
back a bill in the House that seeks to ban therapies which attempt to
alter a minor's sexual orientation from gay to straight.
“This isn't about Republicans or Democrats,” said Sims, an
openly gay Democrat from Philadelphia. “This isn't about civil
rights so much as it is about medicine and about data. And what we
know is that this is quack science.”
“Almost four decades of science and medicine that says if you
are LGBTQ, just like me, that there is nothing wrong with you, that
you are not broken, you don't need to be fixed and you don't need to
have a diagnosis, and that being LGBT, like so many other
characteristics in your life, some days will be a blessing and some
days will be a burden, but is not something that needs to be fixed or
can be fixed and you are just fine the way you are,” Sims told
reporters during a press conference announcing the pending House
bill, Metro
reported.
Sims was joined Tuesday by Senator Anthony Williams, who
introduced a companion bill in the Senate in April.
“I am not of gay descent, but trust me, I understand what it
means to be an outcast,” said Williams, an African-American
Democrat. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
California last year approved a similar bill, though opponents
have sued to block its start. Lawmakers in New Jersey followed
California's lead this year. New York and Massachusetts lawmakers
are also debating the issue.
(Related: Federal
appeals court unanimously upholds California's “ex-gay” therapy
ban.)