Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed a measure into law that bans licensed health care providers from conducting gay conversion therapy on minors.

So-called reparative therapy has been discredited by every major medical association and has been associated with increased risk of depression and suicide. Sen. Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) called it "a dangerous practice that relies on shame."

Support came from both sides of the aisle, with Republican Sen. Heather Somers saying conversion therapy is based on the "false assumption" there's something wrong with people who aren't heterosexual.

Governor Malloy, a Democrat, said he was happy to see Connecticut leading on the issue. It joins California, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and New Mexico, which signed a ban into law last month.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a minister’s challenge to California's ban. Reverend Donald Welch, a minister and family therapist, claimed the law infringed his religious freedom.