In response to a WhiteHouse.gov petition urging the banning of 'conversion' therapy for LGBTQ+ youth, the Obama Administration said it is calling for an end to the practice, adding that young people should be "valued for who they are, no matter what they look like, where they're from, the gender with which they identify, or who they love."
White House officials told The New York Times the president will support efforts to ban the practice at the state level. The petition was started in honor of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen who posted a suicide note to Tumblr and then died after walking out in front of a semi-truck. Alcorn, the petition says, was forced to attend conversion therapy by her family and was isolated from her friends at school. "Therapists that engage in the attempt to brainwash or reverse any child's gender identity or sexual orientation are seriously unethical and legislation is needed to end such practices that are resulting in LGBTQ+ deaths," the petition states.
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