Ten things to love about heterosexuality

The news coming out of California signals a dark and horrible chapter in American history. One of my favorite friends and heroes is Robert A. J. Gagnon, who published not one but two essays recently in the Federalist. The dangerous law that is surely to pass in California will ban any promotion, sale, or endorsement of “efforts” to change sexual orientation. As Gagnon points out, the language of the bill does not focus on minors or people forced into the therapy, as past laws against so-called “conversion therapy” have (including a 2011 ban on conversion therapy already in place in California). The language of the bill does not affect only licensed medical professionals.

The California law will lead to countless lawsuits. Conservatives, always eager to swallow camels and strain out gnats, are strictly focused on whether the Bible will be banned. The far-reaching, litigious impact of the California law will be enormous far past the domains of religion. It will turn ex-gays into second-class citizens and subject them to massive policing on a scale people can scarcely visualize.