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Op-Ed: Florida County Must Pay $100K To Therapists After Sexual Orientation Therapy Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

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Boca Raton
The city of Boca Raton has been ordered to pay a combined $75,000 in damages to two therapists, while the county has been ordered to pay $100,000 for passing bans on therapy for minors seeking help with unwanted same-sex attraction, reported an article in The Christian Post. Photo credit ShutterStock.com, licensed.

PORTSMOUTH, OH – Once again, militant elected officials and radical LBGTQ individuals tried to push their own views down the throat of therapists that adhered to therapeutic treatments for minors confused about sexual orientation and gender ideology.  

Therefore, the city of Boca Raton has been ordered to pay a combined $75,000 in damages to two therapists, while the county has been ordered to pay $100,000 for passing bans on therapy for minors seeking help with unwanted same-sex attraction, reported an article in The Christian Post.  

In a final judgment, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg ordered Boca Raton to pay plaintiff Dr. Robert Otto $50,000 in damages and Dr. Julie Hamilton $25,000 in damages. 

The district court ordered Palm Beach County to pay Otto a total of $50,000 in damages and also pay Hamilton the sum of $50,000 for damages. 

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals previously struck down the city and county ordinances and found that these laws were both content and viewpoint based and violate the First Amendment right to free speech.  

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver, whose organization represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the order sets a “precedent that minors who are struggling with gender confusion can get the help they need from counselors who are free from political censorship,” the article continues.  

Background: 

In 2017, Boca Raton and Palm Beach County passed measures to ban sexual orientation change efforts therapy — also known as “reparative therapy” or “conversion therapy” — for minors. 

Otto and Hamilton, both licensed marriage and family therapists, filed a lawsuit against the local municipalities, arguing that their therapy was not harmful but rather voluntary and centered less on changing the client and more on reducing unwanted same-sex attraction. 

Circuit Judge Barbara Martin, a Barack Obama appointee, authored the dissenting opinion, concluding that the controversial therapy did not deserve First Amendment protections. 

“In sum, under binding Supreme Court precedents, conversion therapy consisting entirely of speech cannot be prohibited without some degree of First Amendment scrutiny,” wrote Circuit Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain. 

As a result of these victories, counselors in Florida, Alabama and Georgia are free to help their minor clients.  

Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia ban sexual orientation change efforts therapy for minors, with California being the first state to pass such a law.  

 In my professional opinion, sexual orientation and gender confusion issues can produce distress, anxiety, and depression for adolescents in reference to sexuality. Therefore, minors should be able to attend therapy to work through unwanted same-sex attractions and unwanted transgender thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. 

Dr. Paul McHugh, psychiatrist and Director of the Department of Behavioral Science at Johns Hopkins Hospital challenged psychiatry colleagues who were performing transitioning surgeries on adults to conduct follow-up research to sex-change operations. A Comprehensive 30-year study in 2011, concluding that patients who undergo sex reassignment surgery are at higher risk for suicide, attempted suicide, and criminal behavior. 

These are the leading doctors who are performing therapies and surgeries on minors and promoting trans philosophy at conferences:  

  • Michelle Forcier, MD Hasbro Children’s Hospital Providence, RI  
  • Ilana Sherer, MD Sutter Health Dublin, CA  
  • Norman Spack, MD Children’s Hospital Boston, MA  
  • Johanna Olson-Kennedy, MD Keck School of Medicine University of SoCal 

Malevolent medical or psychological associations: The following professional associations have embraced the harmful transgender cult movement for minors:  

  • American Academy of Pediatrics 
  • American Medical Association 
  • The Endocrine Society 
  • The American Psychiatric Association 
  • The American Psychological Association 
  • The American Counseling Association 

My questions: Is it medical malpractice to promote unscientific transgenderism that denies biology, anatomy, physiology, genetics? Should congress demand an investigation into these medical giants?  

2023 is the year for challenging the bellicose LGBTQ indoctrination of minors.  

Rational, reasonable, and responsible citizens must continue to speak out to defend and protect minors against unwanted same sex-attraction and harmful gender ideology. 

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