Columbia Council looks to prohibit conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth
The Columbia City Council has given an initial approval to a measure that would prohibit professional therapists from offering conversion therapy that attempts to change the sexual orientation of minors in the LGBTQ community.
Council passed a first reading on the item on Tuesday, with final approval likely to be considered later this month. Tuesday’s vote was unanimous.
As outlined in the would-be ordinance, conversion therapy — sometimes referred to as reparative therapy or ex-gay therapy — is considered a “treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.” Essentially it is an attempt, through therapy, to change someone’s sexual orientation from gay, lesbian or bisexual to straight.
The city’s definition of conversion therapy would not include counseling that provides support and assistance to a person undergoing gender transition.
The ordinance would make it unlawful “for any provider to provide conversion therapy or reparative therapy to a minor within city limits if the provider receives compensation for such services.” The penalty would be civil, not criminal, and would carry a $500 fine.
A number of medical organizations, including the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, have taken positions against conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth.
“These interventions are provided under the false premise that homosexuality and gender diverse identities are pathological,” the American Academy and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry said on its website. “They are not; the absence of pathology means there is no need for conversion or any other like intervention.”
Longtime Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, a candidate for mayor this year, sponsored the city’s conversion therapy ban ordinance. She noted a prohibition on conversion therapy for minors is recommended by the national Human Rights Commission and leading LGBTQ organizations.
“We felt like this was very important as we talk about equality within the city,” Devine told The State. “It’s not just racial equality, it cuts across all lines. We wanted to move forward with this.”
To date, 20 states and Washington, DC, have banned conversion therapy for minors. Dozens of cities and counties across the nation have come out against the practice as well. For instance, Lincoln, Nebraska, banned conversion therapy for youth in February, and Lexington, Kentucky, is on the verge of prohibiting it. Other nations have also banned conversion therapy for youth, including Germany.
But youth conversion therapy bans haven’t always seen smooth sailing on the local government level. In November 2020, a federal appeals court struck down a pair of youth conversion therapy bans in Florida, one in the city of Boca Raton and another in Palm Beach County. According to a report from NBC News, the court agreed with two therapists who said their rights to free speech had been violated.
