Now that New Jersey has officially banned clinical efforts to change the sexual orientation of gay youths, the question remains whether courts will uphold the new law.

A similar ban in California remains on hold after a legal challenge by Liberty Counsel, which has pledged to fight the New Jersey ban. Meanwhile, Southern Baptist leaders expressed concerns over the ban's impact on religious liberty.

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Update (July 1): The New Jersey state Senate has passed a ban on reparative therapy for minors, sending the bill to Governor Chris Christie with a veto-proof majority.

The law, which the New Jersey Assembly passed last week, protects minors under 18 years of age from "sexual orientation change efforts" by licensed professionals. Among those who delivered testimonies to the Assembly was LGBT teenager Jacob Rudolph, who stated, "Not only am I an LGBT teen, but … I am not broken, I am not confused. I do not need to be fixed."

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[First published ...

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