SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A U.S. appeals court has upheld the nation's first-of-its-kind law banning health practitioners from offering psychotherapy aimed at making gay youth straight.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that California's ban on so-called conversion therapy for minors doesn't violate the free speech rights of licensed counselors and patients seeking treatment.
The ban's supporters say the methods therapists use to try to change youngsters' sexual orientations are unethical and ineffective.
New Jersey's governor has signed a similar law that would ban conversion therapy in his state.
California and New Jersey are two of the most populous states in the country.
