Gay therapy ban shows bright future for acceptance

Christopher McKnight, Staff Writer

The New Jersey ban on gay conversion therapy is a great indicator of the modern, more accepting world that we are moving towards today.

For years, certain religious groups and old school, hard headed, politicians have been doing everything in their power to keep homosexuals on the outskirts. With this law now firmly in place in two states, the power and influence that they once had is now slowly but surely dwindling away.

Gay conversion therapy is a service for teenagers, or the parents of teens, who think their child is confused about their sexual orientation and needs to be converted back into the “right” state of mind. Techniques used in these services consist of electroshock therapy, social skills training, and group interventions, as stated on the Princeton University website, www.princeton.edu.

So in short, these people believe that homesexuality is a mental illness that can be forced into the direction of mainstream acceptability through rigorous and harsh peer pressure, drugs, and a little bit of electricity. This just shows how ignorant people still are.

Thankfully, there are people like Republican Gov. Chris Christie who are here to balance out that ignorance. He understands that the world is changing.

The mindsets and the social perception of much of the United States are evolving into a more accepting and logical point of view. More and more people believe that as long as you are motivated, educated, and here to succeed, then you should be able to live the American dream of equal rights no matter what sexual preference you have.

Gov. Christie understands that there has to be political actions taken to better suit majority of Americans who support social equality. There will always be those fundamentalist and right-winged conservatists, but not everyone can be happy. So if politicians keep true to their word of serving the American people, as Gov. Christie has, then the majority opinion should always be their priority.

The action of banning gay conversion therapy might be a small one, but there has been an enormous shockwave sent across the entire country that is, once again, making people think about the ever changing mindset of the American people and how outcasting people who are attracted to the same sex is just plain dumb.

It is time to understand that love is love, and if you just stay out of other peoples’ business, then their type of love will never hurt you.