Why I am Leaving California
(one reason)
I have written
extensively against the evil law, SB 1172, passed in California last year
that denies children access to reparative therapy for treatment of unwanted
same-sex attraction or gender identity disorder. The wickedness has spread, most recently
being signed into law by New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Last week on Catholic Answers, when
the show was hosting Fr. Paul Check, the president of Courage, an apostolate that reaches out to
people with same-sex attraction, there was a call from a wonderful mother whose
young son, whom at times has expressed a possible vocation to the priesthood,
told her he thought he might be homosexual.
This was clearly an unwanted struggle for the child.
Fr. Check, an expert on this sort of
thing, gave wonderful advice. Among
other things, he that as the young man was just entering adolescence, his
comfort with masculinity and sexuality was still developing and very fluid.
It got me thinking, though. If this young man (for whom I ask all to
pray) lived in California and found these unwanted feelings deepening, he would
have no recourse to professionals that could help him understand, deal with, or
even overcome them. I suspect that if
his family wanted to professionally treat his thoughts of a religious vocation,
on the other hand, they would get no pushback from the state.
This post is not about homosexuality
or same-sex attraction; it is about freedom, parental rights, and the needs of
our children. Catholics with children,
like me, who live in California, find ourselves in a very dangerous
situation. We do not have the right to
get our children the help they may desperately want and need for one of
adolescence’s most challenging phases.
I am praying that the courts restore
reason and justice on this issue, but if they don’t, I intend to raise my sons
somewhere else. It is a choice more and
more parents must prayerfully consider.
