Pennsylvania lawmaker: Gay conversion therapy 'about punishment,' not treatment

Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims (D) announced on Wednesday that he had joined with state Rep. Gerald Mullery (D) to introduce a bill to ban LGBT "reparative therapy" because the practice was science fiction and was more "about punishment" than treatment.

At a press conference at the Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia, Sims predicted that Pennsylvania would be the third state -- after California and New Jersey -- to ban the dangerous practice of using the conversion therapy on minors.

"This is not science, it's science fiction," he explained. "This is not about treatment, it is about punishment. And it's certainly not about creating better children and better environments that feel respected and feel protected."

"Unfortunately, this is about preying on the fears of parents more often than not," Sim continued. "The American Medical Association said 40 years ago this year -- longer than I've been alive -- that homosexuality was not a medical condition that needed to be cured. And unfortunately in the last 40 years, we have seen a number of people claiming to be mental health practitioners preying on parents and preying on children."

"And it is long, long, long past the time when we needed to step up as a state and protect the most vulnerable among us, and that's our children."

Sims noted that Pennsylvania's political climate was highly partisan, but he was hopeful the bill could become law.

"This isn't about Republicans or Democrats, this isn't about civil rights so much as it is about medicine and about data," he said. "And what we know is that this is quack science."

Watch this video from the Pennsylvania House Democrats, broadcast Sept. 18, 2013.

(h/t: Joe My God)