President Barack Obama has expressed support for a petition that calls for a prohibition on 'conversion' therapies that attempt to convert individuals with homosexual tendencies.
On January 3, a petition was published on the White House website calling for the ban of such therapies. The petition cited the case of 17-year-old Leelah Alcorn, a transgender girl, who committed suicide by walking in front of a semi-truck on December 27, 2014.
Before committing suicide, Alcorn published a note on social networking platform Tumblr explaining how she was pulled out from school by her parents and forced to attend 'conversion therapies' in an attempt to have her change her gender identity back to male.
The BBC reports that Valerie Jarrett, a White House advisor, responded to the petition with concern.
"We share your concern about its potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer youth," she said.
"As part of our dedication to protecting America's youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors," Jarrett concluded.
According to the New York Times, US President Barack Obama will not specifically call for the ban of gay conversion therapies. Instead, officials in the White House said that the President is open to conversations with lawmakers on both sides of the debate, but he will support any measures that will prohibit the practice at the state level.
Ms. Jarrett told the New York Times in an interview that the President was "moved" by Ms. Alcorn's story to support the petition.
David Pickup, a licensed family therapist working in California and Texas, argued that parties opposed to the practice are "misconstruing" the work he and his colleagues do in conversion therapy. Although he agrees that minors should not be coerced into attending conversion therapy sessions, the therapist said transgender and homosexual identities could be attributed to "emotional problems or sexual abuse."
Mr Pickup then urged President Obama to "wake up and understand the rights of people who he doesn't know anything about and need his help and need his compassion."
