Wednesday, August 24, 2016
|
Charlie Butts (OneNewsNow.com)
The fight to legally allow counseling for youths troubled by same-gender attractions could go to the U.S. Supreme Court again.
Pacific Justice Institute has filed a federal lawsuit against a bill approved by California lawmakers that forbids counseling for the children.
A federal court and an appeals court have upheld the law, which PJI attorney Brad Dacus alleges violates the First Amendment.
"It is highly ironic" Dacus says, "that this decision should come one day after Johns Hopkins University's release of a detailed study and analysis of the fact that sexual orientation is nowhere in the DNA. It is not genetic and in fact is influenced by social and environmental factors including potentially proper counseling."
The 9th Circuit is also ignoring parental rights in determining how they want to raise their children, Dacus says, which includes protecting their mental health.
Dacus plans to ask the full 9th Circuit to rehear the appeal, and if that fails he plans to petition the Supreme Court.
New Jersey has a law similar to the California statute but the Supreme Court declined to hear that case.