http://forums.talkingpointsmemo.com/...s-to-guv/36204

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b0836057a23d63

So. How long before all these religious-freedom-laws end up before the Supreme Court? And will their Hobby Lobby decision come back and bite them in the ass?

But where will ignorant parents who want to turn their kids straight through therapy go now?

as someone who's been in the psychiatric system for a long time, this is incredibly serious.

the thing about therapy is not just that it helps you on that level, but a therapist's recommendation is an important part of getting psychiatric medication (if you need it). without that, you'll probably have to get your medication needs from a general practitioner, and most GPs don't know anything about psychology at all (not to insult them or anything, it's just not their area of expertise). this means people either won't get medication when they need it or they'll get the wrong medication. and the first one is bad enough, but the second is even more serious, because certain people have seriously adverse reactions to the wrong medication, to the point of dying. and if you don't have a psychiatrist monitoring you after you get your medication, you might not catch the signs until you're already debilitated.

the other part of this - people are sensitive when they first start going to therapy. it's a major step in their personal emotions. so getting rejected because of your sexuality would be incredibly discouraging both because you were rejected and because you would feel even more alone than you already did. this means that people might give up and stop trying to get help, which could be seriously bad for them.

remember: therapy isn't just talking someone out of sadness. sometimes that's what it is, but it can also be something keeping people with illnesses like schizophrenia stable. it and the medication factor are incredibly important, both to the person and sometimes to others.

this **** might make people die. it's not a personal choice at all.

Well I doubt therapists that would make use of this bill would reject them as clients. After all, they'd be looking to turn gay kids straight. It's the happily-gay that is most likely to be turned away.

You nailed it. Imagine a suicidal teen or even an adult being turned away because of his or her sexuality.. It's just horrible. I can't believe they actually managed to get this bill passed.

This is all so vile.

honestly as a psych student in college this law goes against every moral principle they've tried to give us since the beginning. it's completely disgusting, and i hate that these people even associate with this field.

I can imagine. =/

I'm actually VERY curious about this bill. Did lawmakers come with the proposal for this or was it something therapists have been in favor of (I hope not)?

I can't seem to find any concrete info about this law's history.

"It's just cake!" they said.

there are some pretty messed up therapists around, but most of these types of bills aren't really done with the consensus of the medical community. it's kind of like how climate change deniers aren't backed by scientists - the scientists know they're wrong and don't support them, but they go through with the campaigning anyway.

then again, i'm not sure. and in virginia i've never met a single person in the psychotherapy field that would ever do this even with the experience i have, so maybe that's true in tennessee too even though the DC area isn't really anything like the south