Birds on the Brain

New Jersey could become the second state in the nation to limit practitioners of “conversion” counseling, a controversial form of psychological therapy that aims to persuade gay people to adopt a heterosexual identity. Assemblyman Timothy J. Eustace (D., Bergen), an openly gay father of two, plans to introduce a bill next week that would outlaw use of the technique on those under 18 years old. “I see it as a form of child abuse,” he said. Being gay “is not an illness, so what are they fixing?” “Conversion” or “reparative” therapy has been discredited by all major mental health organizations, according to the American Psychological Association. Since parents may force their children to undergo the therapy, the state should protect them, Eustace said.