President Obama has backed a WhiteHouse.gov petition, named after Leelah Alcorn, to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth. The petition, named after the 17-year-old transgender teen who committed suicide after visiting Christian conversion therapists at the request of her parents, has gained more than 120,000 signatures. Obama Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett wrote, “As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.” The White House has said that it does not plan on seeking a federal ban on conversion or “reparative” therapy, but, according to The New York Times, the President will “throw his support behind the efforts to ban the practice at the state level” …
