Christian conservative Mat Staver has
declared state bans on therapies that attempt to change a minor's
sexuality from gay to straight “an assault on God almighty.”
Staver's organization, Liberty Counsel,
has sued to block bans in California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.
(Related: DC
Mayor Vincent Gray signs bill banning “ex-gay” therapy to
minors.)
Staver discussed the litigation during
the group's Faith and Freedom radio program, where he said that such
bans are part of a “direct assault” on God.
“These whole issues of homosexuality
is a direct assault on gender, on family, on marriage,” Staver
said. “As a policy matter, if you were to sanction
homosexuality in the law, you are sanctioning harmful activity to
individuals. It is patently unhealthy, both physically and mentally
... We cannot recreate the natural created order and assume that
there are no consequences; there are consequences to children.”
“So Liberty Counsel is involved in
these strategic areas, these areas of assault against the family,
against gender, against marriage and family; they are an assault
against the very foundation of our society, they are an assault
against God Almighty and his created order. This is an assault
against all of the Judeo-Christian values that we hold near and dear
and that's why we must be involved in these cases, we must win these
cases.”
Judges have so far been unsympathetic
to the group's arguments.