MN House Passes Bill Banning Conversion Therapy

On Wednesday, the Minnesota House Human Services Policy Committee passed a bill which bans conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth and vulnerable adults.

@glaad defines conversion therapy as “any attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”

“We absolutely must move past this idea that queer people can choose their sexuality and gender identity and let them show up as their full, authentic, glorious selves,” stated Rep. @athenaforhouse Athena Hollins (Dem.), the bill’s lead author.

“This bill seeks to prevent children, teens, and young adults from being coerced into treatments which are ineffective and lead to depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, self-harm and suicide.”

According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, “698,000 LGBT adults (ages 18-59) in the U.S. have received conversion therapy, including about 350,000 LGBT adults who were subjected to the practice as adolescents.” Furthermore, “16,000 LGBT youth (ages 13-17) will receive conversion therapy from a licensed health care professional before they reach the age of 18 in the 32 states that currently do not ban the practice.”

#conversiontherapy #lgbtq #loveislove #mn #minnesota #twincities #stpaul #queer #religion #law #politics #fyi #fyp #news #publicmedia #media