Anti-Gay Therapy Soon To be Outlawed In California

From the San Francisco Chronicle: Mental health professionals in California would be barred from practicing therapy to attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors under a bill that passed the Senate Thursday afternoon and whose fate now rests with Gov. Jerry Brown
The first-of-its-kind bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars the so-called “reparative therapy” for a person under 18 years old, even if that person’s parent or guardian consents to or asks for it.
Lieu and other Democrats who supported the measure called the therapy, which is supported by backers of the “ex-gay” movement, “child abuse.”
“These attempts are quackery and this kind of psychological abuse of children must stop,” Lieu said.
The bill had previously been heard by the Senate, so there was little debate, but it evoked impassioned speeches by both supporters and opponents in the Assembly earlier in the week. Republicans opposed the measure, saying it was an affront to a parent’s ability to decide what is best for his or her child.
Reparative therapy has been shown to have either no effect or is linked to negative impacts like depression in those who have undergone it, according to various studies on the practice.  http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/08/30/legislature-sends-ex-gay-therapy-ban-to-gov-brown/
To be honest, I don't know if this kind of therapy works or not- I'm sure both sides of the issue have their strong views, just like this writer of this article who clearly shows his bias.
However, I have a problem with lawmakers deciding which therapies should be law and which ones should be criminalized.  I think there are many therapies in psychotherapy that are frauds, but it is not my place nor the place of lawmakers to decide if these therapies should be outlawed.
My guess is that this bill, if fought in Federal courts, will be found to be unconstitutional since it will be found to a violation of freedom of speech.
I'm just glad California has solved all of it's budget and pension problems, it's unemployment problems, it's poverty and foreclosure problems and it's crime problem.