Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American politician and physician serving as the 73rd Governor of Virginia since January 13, 2018. A pediatric neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1984 to 1992. Northam, a member of the Democratic Party, served as the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 prior to winning the governorship against Republican nominee Ed Gillespie in the 2017 election.
Virginia becomes first southern state to ban gay ‘conversion therapy’
gaytimes.co.ukVirginia has became the 20th state (and first in the South) to outlaw gay ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ minors. Governor Ralph Northam, who signed the ban into law on Tuesday (3 March), said in a statement: “Conversion therapy sends the harmful message that there is something wrong with who you are. “This discriminatory practice has been widely discredited in studies and can have lasting effects on our youth, putting them at a greater risk of depression and suicide.
