DC Latest to Ban Conversion Therapy for Minors

The District of Columbia becomes the third jurisdiction in the country to ban the controversial practice of conversion therapy for minors after Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill into law Monday, LGBT Nation reports.

The new law bans licensed mental health providers in D.C. to engage in efforts to change a patient's sexuality if they are under the age of 18. Proponents of the practice believe conversion therapy can turn gay patients straight despite the fact that the American Psychiatric Association considers conversion therapy harmful.

The D.C. council passed the measure, which was authored by council member Mary M. Cheh, unanimously on Dec. 2.

"This law ensures that mental health practitioners can no longer abuse their power to harm young people and families by propagating the dangerous lie that there is something wrong with being LGBT or that therapy can change their core sexual orientation or gender identity," Samantha Ames, a staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and #BornPerfect Campaign Coordinator, said. "By signing this bill into law, Mayor Gray has taken an important step to protect the health and safety of LGBT youth and to prevent unscrupulous therapists from preying on vulnerable families."

Both California and New Jersey have banned conversion therapy for minors. LGBTQ Nation notes that there have been attempts to overturn the bans in federal court but they have been unsuccessful. Earlier this year, The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a suit challenging California's ban on conversion therapy.