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DENVER, CO — The country’s first openly-gay governor has signed a bill that bans the controversial “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ minors in his state. Colorado became the 18th state to ban the practice, which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation.
Conversion therapy has been widely discredited by medical and mental health professionals and organizations. The American Medical Association calls the practice “unethical” and says it’s not based on any medical or scientific evidence. The American Psychiatric Association states that those who undergo the so-called “therapy” face “significant risk of harm.”
“Being gay is not a mental illness and it does not need to be fixed,” said Steve Fenberg, Colorado’s senate majority leader. “After sponsoring this bill for the past three years, I’m proud this will be the year we put an end to this harmful and deceptive practice.”
New Jersey became the first U.S. state to ban the practice in 2013, followed by California the same year. This year, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts outlawed conversion therapy, and Maine enacted a ban on the practice last week.
The Human Rights Campaign said research shows the practice can “pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior.”
Polis also signed another historic Colorado bill last week, which makes it easier for transgender people to change their birth certificates without surgery, a court order or a doctor’s note. The bill was named Jude’s Law, to honor a 13-year-old transgender student, Jude, who testified in support of the bill.
Daniel Ramos, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado, said support for both bills came from across the political spectrum.
“With legislation that impacts youth, transgender, and non-binary Coloradans, One Colorado championed bills for some of the most vulnerable in our community to improve the everyday lives of LGBTQ Coloradans,” Ramos said. “The strong bipartisan support of both of these bills further demonstrates that LGBTQ equality should be a nonpartisan issue, and we applaud the Republicans who stood with our community.”
Under Colorado’s new ban, any medical or mental health professional who practices conversion therapy can lose their license. Religious leaders who hold medical licenses cannot offer the service as a medical professional.
More than 600,000 people in the country have received conversion therapy at some point in their lives, according to a 2018 study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.
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