人兽性交

A New Jersey Superior Court judge has ruled misrepresenting homosexuality as a disorder in marketing conversion therapy services violates the state鈥檚 consumer protection laws 鈥� a devastating ruling for the conversion therapy industry, which claims to 鈥渃onvert鈥� people from gay to straight, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced today.

Read the order (笔顿贵).听

The ruling marks the first time a court in the United States has found that homosexuality is not a disease or a disorder and that it is fraudulent for conversion therapists to make such a claim. Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr. found that it 鈥渋s a misrepresentation in violation of [New Jersey鈥檚 Consumer Fraud Act], in advertising or selling conversion therapy services, to describe homosexuality, not as being a normal variation of human sexuality, but as being a mental illness, disease, disorder, or equivalent thereof.鈥�

The ruling is part of the consumer fraud lawsuit filed by the 人兽性交 against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), a New Jersey-based conversion therapy provider. The suit claims the group used deceptive practices to lure plaintiffs into their costly services for gay-to-straight therapy that can cost in excess of $10,000 a year.

人兽性交 Plaintiffs Benjamin Unger and Chaim Levin

鈥淭his ruling is monumental and devastating to the conversion therapy industry,鈥� said David Dinielli, 人兽性交 deputy legal director. 鈥淔or the first time, a court has ruled that it is fraudulent as a matter of law for conversion therapists to tell clients that they have a mental disorder that can be cured. This is the principal lie the conversion therapy industry uses throughout the country to peddle its quackery to vulnerable clients. Gay people don鈥檛 need to be cured, and we are thrilled that the court has recognized this.鈥�

The judge also ruled that JONAH is in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act if it offers specific success statistics for its services when 鈥渃lient outcomes are not tracked and no records of client outcomes are maintained鈥� because 鈥渢here is no factual basis for calculating such statistics.鈥� Evidence at the upcoming trial this summer will show that JONAH has misrepresented that their conversion therapy works based on bogus statistics.

鈥淭he judge鈥檚 determination today that it is a misrepresentation to tell consumers that homosexuality is a disorder is an important step forward in this case and also a victory for showing that conversion therapy proponents lack any valid basis to continue to promote their abusive practices,鈥� said 人兽性交 co-counsel James L. Bromley, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. 鈥淭he harmful myth that gay people are sick or damaged belongs in the dustbin of history.鈥澛�

Conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy, is rejected by all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological and professional counseling organizations. The suit claims JONAH鈥檚 abusive practices included counselors instructing young men to undress and stand naked in a circle with a counselor. They organized group activities in which clients were directed to re-enact past abuse. These violent role-play exercises and 鈥渢herapy鈥� techniques alienated some clients from their families and taught them to blame family members or themselves for being gay.

Just last week, the judge ordered that several of JONAH鈥檚 witnesses 鈥� some of the country鈥檚 most prominent conversion therapy proponents, including well-known supporter Joseph Nicolosi 鈥� are not allowed to testify as defense experts in the upcoming trial. The judge also excluded key conversion therapy supporters Christopher Doyle, James Phelan and John Diggs. Their 鈥渆xpertise鈥� will not be permitted at trial because it is unscientific and rests on the false premise that homosexuality is a disorder.

Nicolosi is a psychologist and author of the book, 鈥淎 Parent鈥檚 Guide To Preventing Homosexuality鈥� and founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which claims homosexuality is caused by psychological trauma or other 鈥渁berrations鈥� experienced in childhood. Doyle is a conversion therapist who leads the International Healing Foundation. Phelan, a frequent spokesman for NARTH, is a previous leader of NARTH鈥檚 Scientific Advisory Committee, which does not produce actual scientific research.

Michael Ferguson, et al., v. JONAH, et al. was filed by the 人兽性交 in November 2012 and co-counsel Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP and Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC on behalf of former JONAH clients and two parents of former clients. The suit also names JONAH鈥檚 founder Arthur Goldberg and counselor Alan Downing as defendants.