Even though few people are paying attention, tomorrow, Tuesday, July 17, 2007 will be remembered as one of the most historic days in gay history. The American Psychological Association (APA) is embarking on the first review of its 10-year-old policy on counseling gays and lesbians.

The current policy, adopted in 1997, opposes any counseling that treats homosexuality as a mental illness, but does not explicitly denounce reparative or conversion therapy. At long last this may change and a ban may actually be imposed.

Coincidentally, this July is also the 70th Anniversary of the beginning of Germany's gay cleansing program when in response to new laws mandating conversion therapy for homosexuals, a nationwide hunt for queers was undertaken. Untold thousands of gay men were arrested by the Nazis. What followed was weeks and months of "protective custody" and transfers to mental asylums for "curative treatment" and eventual sentencing to concentration camps.

New documents recently released from German government archives have confirmed that under the American occupation, many gay men were still wearing their pink triangle patches on their prison uniforms as late as 1946-- because American-controlled courts had upheld the Nazi-era convictions for "unnatural behavior," despite the fact that all other Nazi-persecution convictions were dropped. Some gay men were still in prison (under the American occupation) in the early 1950s.

These same new documents also show that 54,000 gay men died at the hands of the Nazis in Germany, 7,000 of them in Nazi death camps.



In no way am i suggesting that such a horror could occur here, but it's worth noting the historical significance of this month and the horrible history and heritage of reparative and conversion therapy. It's also worth noting the American treatment of German queers through the 1950s.

And here we are, some 60 years beyond the foul days of German gay conversion therapy and the American "debate" continues. Meanwhile in Germany, Berlin and Hamburg have openly gay mayors and same sex civil unions are legal.

In my view, anything short of a ban on reparative therapy would be criminal and a bloody stain on the history of the Hippocratic Oath and the practice of American health care. And even more importantly, a ban on what could be--and should be--labeled a harmful and dangerous practice will lay important groundwork for a number of extraordinary and badly needed changes.

If the APA does in fact ban reparative or conversion therapy, we will at long last have a solid legal argument for shutting down such groups as Exodus International and Homosexuals Anonymous. This will also mean that under standard and existing malpractice laws, psychologists and therapists who continue to advocate and practice such therapy would be subject to license revocation, hefty fines and even imprisonment.

The Associated Press reports "one of the [APA] task force members, New York City psychiatrist Jack Drescher, said that conservatives don't acknowledge the harm that might be caused when a gay patient--even voluntarily--undergoes therapy to suppress or change sexual orientation.

"Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, said that reparative therapy had been particularly harmful for young gays whose parents insisted on trying to change their sexual orientation."

As a result of an APA ban, law enforcement officers would have no choice but to enforce child abuse laws against parents who force their children into what would be an unlawful and banned pseudo-mental health practice.

And last, but not at all least, an official APA ban would effectively provide the first official support by a major and respected scientific body that sexual orientation is nature, not nurture.

Of course, evangelical Christian groups have been pressuring the APA with a holy fury, demanding that the scientific body back off from condemning reparative therapy as psychologically harmful. The evangelicals are deeply concerned that the APA will conclude that "therapists" and "counselors" whose practices are informed by religion rather than science are guilty of malpractice, likely exacerbating the unhealthy condition of depressed and self-destructive patients and even guilty of emotional, psychological and sometimes physical abuse of children. (such as beatings, isolation, imprisonment and painful aversion therapy.)

Most Americans will pay little attention to this process as it plays out partly because they won't care but also because they simply don't appreciate the big picture. This "debate" is the latest chapter in an historic battle between science and superstition. Of course, organized advocates of superstition refer to it as religion, but the main difference between this brand of religion and superstition is tax exemption. If one man fears black cats, he's a superstitious fool, but if he forms an organization of many people who fear black cats, he can qualify for tax exempt status in these United States.

One would expect that in the most evolved secular democracy on earth and in history (theoretically that would be us), this debate would have long ago been put down like a rabid dog. After all, we no longer live in a world where headstrong women are burned as witches and men who believe the earth is round are imprisoned. We even fought a very bloody war just about 150 years ago to end the enslavement of human beings according to the dictates of the Bible.

Modern nations respect universal human and civil rights defined by democratic principles and the science-based knowledge (not belief) that all human beings are equal and entitled to equal protection under constitutional law.

In reality, of course, certain American fundamentalist religious leaders and groups would take us back to the days when medical research was considered blasphemous and the devil's work.

Self-proclaimed conservative religious leaders are pressuring the APA to show "respect "for religious commitments of clients who have unwanted same-sex desires. This is crap. While I find it difficult to challenge the right of consenting adults to do harm to themselves--like holding a prayer meeting in a pit of rattlesnakes-- I do have serious issues when children are involved. When fundamentalists kidnap gay kids and subject them to the horrors of conversion therapy, wire their penises with electrodes and conduct barbaric aversion therapy in the name of some supernatural being, our federal and state governments must stop shrugging their shoulders in the name of religious freedom. An APA ban will allow and even compel them to do so.

Furthermore, these deeply disturbed and deluded fundamentalists have successfully convinced the media that we're dealing with competing "theories." Meddling with a human being's mental health based on religious beliefs in not a theory, it's an act of barbarism.

The Christian Post reports that "Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a noted expert in sexuality counseling," in partnership with Focus on the Family has petitioned the APA in anticipation of tomorrow's meeting. "While commending the APA for acting to develop ethical and helpful procedures to assist persons with same-sex attractions, we are writing to express some concern that the mission of the task force may not recognize same-sex attracted persons who also have solid and unwavering religious commitments which lead them to avoid homosexual behavior.

"We strongly believe that psychologists can offer a valuable service if they respect the religious commitments of their clients to the same degree that they respect sexual orientation diversity."

Once again, I say "crap."

Scores of religious leaders representing various denominations, churches, universities, and organizations as well as individual professionals signed on to the letter expressing concerns and offering suggestions, including the expansion of the current task force and the formation of a new and separate one that would provide recommendations for psychologists who respect religious identity.

Crap.

"We're concerned," said Carrie Gordon Earll of Focus on the Family, according to The Associated Press. "The APA does not have a good track record of listening to other views."

Clinton Anderson, director of the APA's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Office, insisted the panel would base its findings on scientific research, not ideology, according to AP.

"We cannot take into account what are fundamentally negative religious perceptions of homosexuality – they don't fit into our world view," said Anderson, defending the decision to reject certain conservative nominees to the task force.

In response, Throckmorton argued, "If by this, he (Anderson) means the APA cannot accommodate religious views which object to homosexual behavior, then he is setting the APA up as a judge of religious beliefs. In contrast, the religious coalition who signed the letter to APA wants the APA in its policies and guidance to respect religious diversity in the same way they do sexual identity diversity."

Crap.

"We encourage safe and ethical practices that allow clients to live according to their religious values," the June 29 letter stated. "We believe that psychologists should assist clients to develop lives they value, even if that means they decline to identify as homosexual."

Well, as long as we're on the subject of God, let us pray that when the APA is done with it's work, it brings the same science and legal-based warning, enforcement and punishment to bear on reparative therapy that it would on any obvious case of medical malpractice and child abuse.

An APA ban will send a strong message to the courts and law enforcement authorities: stupidity is an irresponsible and often dangerous choice, sexual orientation is not and when you market or impose pseudo-therapies that do nothing but rationalize stupidity and in fact do harm to the mental health of individuals, you should be treated like any other con artist or drug dealer who breaks the law.