A day after Governor Christie
said he was undecided on whether to sign a bill that would ban “gay
conversion therapy” for minors in New Jersey, his likely Democratic
challenger called on him to outlaw the practice in the state.
Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, a sponsor of the bill
that would prohibit parents from sending their children to conversion
therapy to cure them of homosexuality, said she was disappointed that
Christie didn’t call for a ban when he was asked about the bill at an
event on Wednesday.
Christie’s office responded to Buono’s remarks by
issuing a statement emphasizing that the governor “does not believe in
conversion therapy,” and is undecided only on whether he supports the
bill, which is moving
through the state Senate.
The Senate Health Committee approved the measure at a
hearing Monday, sending it to the full Senate for a vote. Witnesses at
the hearing described brutal attempts to “convert” them from gay to
straight. But supporters of conversion therapy said they want to
maintain the right of parents to send their children for such
treatments.
Asked about the bill on Wednesday, Christie said he
didn’t know much about the practice and that he wouldn’t take a position
on the bill until it gets to his desk because measures often change as
they work their way through the Legislature. He also said he wanted to
talk to proponents and opponents of the measure.
“Generally, philosophically on bills that restrict
parents’ ability to make decisions on how to care for their children,
I’m generally a skeptic of those bills,” he said. “Now there can always
be exceptions to those rules, and this bill could be one of them.”
Buono’s campaign seized on his comments, raising the
issue in a conference call with reporters on Thursday and in an email
seeking campaign contributions.
“The whole premise of having gay conversion therapy is
based on the long-discredited belief that homosexuality is a form of a
mental disorder that can be cured,” she said during the call. “That our
governor would dignify that with the response that he gave is just
shocking to me.”
Source : North Jersey
