On Monday, the Denver City Council unanimously voted to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth. Denver is now the first jurisdiction in the entire state to ban this cruel, archaic “therapy.” Notably, this isn’t the first time lawmakers in the state have tried to ban conversion therapy; it’s actually the fifth.
Sadly, Colorado isn’t wildly outdated compared to the rest of the country. How many states have bans on the practice? Only nine.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, who submitted the proposal, released a statement on the victory, saying:
"Tonight’s vote to ban conversion therapy is our city coming together and saying with one voice that we will never allow our LGBTQ+ youth to be the targets of these dubious practices, and that we are here to support them.”
"Who they are is something to be celebrated, not maligned, and Denver will always be there to lift up our youth and ensure that they have the opportunity to grow up safe, happy and healthy," Hancock continued.
Conversion therapy is deeply harmful to LGBTQ and questioning youth. More than 10 major medical associations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Medical Association, renounce conversion therapy on grounds that one’s sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be (and are not meant to be) “cured” or “fixed.”
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