Florida county on verge of banning ‘conversion therapy’ for gender confused kids
Reparative therapy for minors is one step closer to being banned
in some areas of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
An ordinance banning
counseling or treatment for same-sex attraction or gender confusion passed
unanimously last month at a Public Safety and Health Committee hearing. The
regulation now faces a full commission vote, according to
NBC Miami.
“[...] It is shown by data and medical evidence that [conversion
therapy] is dangerous and detrimental,” said Commissioner Sally Heyman, who
introduced the measure in May.
Banning the therapy throughout the county as a first step would
have slowed the process, she said, because in that case the county would have
to go through each municipality’s government. She hopes the ban spurs the other
cities action in issuing a ban.
If the ordinance passes the full commission vote, reparative
therapy for minors would become illegal in unincorporated parts of Miami-Dade
County. Heyman is urging other cities in Miami-Dade County to follow suit.
Miami Beach, Miami, Wilton Manors, West Palm Beach, and Bay Harbor
have all banned reparative therapy.
Reparative therapy, often called conversion
therapy, assists individuals in resisting, acting upon, minimizing, or changing
unwanted same-sex attraction.
LGBT advocates are critical of the practice for its refutation of the premise that
sexual attraction is immutable. A political divide remains within the mental health field
on the therapy.
Several U.S. states and at least one
Canadian province have banned reparative therapy.
Penalties for violating the proposed Miami-Dave therapy ban
include $500 for the first violation and $1000 for subsequent offenses. Each
therapy session with a minor would constitute a violation.
Christian Family Coalition Florida, a local pro-family group,
has established a petition opposing
the reparative therapy ban.
