New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill Aug. 19 banning so-called gay conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, according to ABC News.
Christie had previously said that while he opposes the practice, he did not want the government to interfere with parents' decisions about how to care for their children.
The governor also noted that the American Psychological Association has found that efforts to change a person's sexual orientation can pose "critical health risks including, but not limited to, depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts."
New Jersey is now the second state in the nation, after California, to ban the practice.
Truth Wins Out, a nonprofit organization that fights anti-LGBT extremism, lauded the development. In a statement, Executive Director Wayne Besen said, "New Jersey's LGBT youth are safer today because an abusive practice has been banned that destroys families and shatters lives."