APV Press Conference Announcement.
Delegate Patrick Hope of Arlington and the Alliance for Progressive Values will hold a press conference at the General Assembly building in Richmond in the press room at 9am on Monday January 20th to discuss HB1135 which ends the practice of so called conversion therapy on children under the age of 18. For more information contact APV Policy Director Victoria Bragunier at vbragunier@apvonline.org
HB1135 Get’s Coverage in the Local Richmond News.
APV expects action on this bill in the House of Delegates in near future, probably in the next week or two. We’ll have more info as it becomes available.
ALERT: We Need Your Help With Important Legislation!
Are you a survivor of conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE)–sometimes called “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay therapy”–at the hands of a medical or mental health provider? The Alliance for Progressive Values in partnership with Equality Virginia is working in the upcoming Virginia State legislature to put an end to the use of these therapy tactics that have no sound scientific basis and that cause lifelong damage to LGBT people subjected to them. Our bill HB1135 (Del. Hope), to ban the use of conversion therapy on youth in Virginia will go before the 2014 General Assembly. Our bill faces steep opposition in the legislature and we need survivors to share their stories to help advance this important legislation. We are asking our members and the community at large to help us find witnesses that can testify on behalf of the bill. Specifically if you or someone you know was forced into conversion therapy as a minor please contact Victoria Bragunier at 804-517-5206 or vbragunier@apvonline.org
APV Stands Up Against Harmful, Medically Useless “Therapy”
The Alliance for Progressive Values took the lead on helping get this bill before the GA. Victoria Bragunier, Policy Director for APV, said the practice of conversion therapy harkens back to the days of shock treatment and the use of dangerous drugs. Add to that the main stream mental health communities’ acceptance of homosexuality and you’re left with a pseudo science option for an issue that requires no treatment. “With that kind of quackery, it lays open a minefield field abuse for people who don’t have a mental disorder. When you throw into that treatment for children, the vulnerability is dangerous.”
Read the story from GayRVA Here
APV and Delegate Hope are looking for more voices to help defend the bill HB1135. If you are a VA resident who was forced into reparative therapy as a minor, you can reach Del. Hopes Office at (703) 486-1010 or via email patrick.hope@verizon.net or reach out to APV’s Victoria Bragunier at 804-517-5206, or email vbragunier@apvonline.org
Alliance for Progress Values, New Years Fund Drive 2014
We have a very busy year ahead of us at APV, starting with the Virginia General Assembly in January. APV will have a strong presWe have a very busy year ahead of us at APV, starting with the Virginia General Assembly in January.
APV will have a strong presence at this year’s GA, working for sensible gun laws, clean elections, women’s reproductive rights, clean & renewable energy and equality for our LGBTQ friends and family. We are pressing forward this year with legislation that will end the dangerous and medically unsound practice known as “Conversion Therapy” which claims falsely to be able to alter LGBT people into heterosexuals, often in the case of minors, against their wills.
Here in Richmond we’ll continue to stand up for social justice, economic fairness and good government and against the latest plan to put a ballpark in historic Shockoe Bottom.
At the federal level APV will continue to lobby on behalf of protecting Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, protecting the environment and passing common sense gun laws.
We need your help to do this effectively. Can you make a donation today to keep APV’s progressive voice front and center in Richmond and Washington in 2014? Click on the thermometer to make a donation through PayPal or mail it to us at Alliance For Progressive Values, Box 14664 Richmond Va. 23221
