As reported by AP, in California on Saturday Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB No. 1172, a bill that prohibits mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts (so-called reparative therapy) with a patient under 18 years of age. The new law applies only to licensed therapists, not clergy who advise young people. But it will impact licensed Christian psychotherapists who counsel teenage clients. Two Christian legal groups, the California-based Pacific Justice Institute and Florida-based Liberty Counsel have announced that they will file federal lawsuits challenging the law's constitutionality.
UPDATE: The full text of the complaint in Liberty Counsel's lawsuit, Pickup v. Brown, (ED CA, filed 10/4/2012) is available online, while ABC News reports on details of the Pacific Justice Institute's suit.
