Barack Obama calls for an end to homosexuals ‘conversion’ therapies

In a note posted online before her death, Alcorn wrote about being forced to undergo conversion therapy by her parents.

Obama said young people must be given the right to choose and live safely regardless of sexual orientation.

“Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let’s say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he’s held as long as he can remember,” Obama said in a statement yesterday.

“What happens next depends on him, his family, as well as his friends and his teachers and his community. But it also depends on us — on the kind of society we engender, the kind of future we build.”

The online petition has received more than 120,000 signatures in the past three months.

Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to Obama said the therapy, also called “reparative” treatment, are morally and medically damaging.

“The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on young people, is neither medically nor ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm,” Jarrett said in a statement.

“As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.”

Obama has been a vocal supporter of  gay rights, both on US soil and abroad and is the first US president to come out in support of same-sex marriage.