CLEVELAND BANS 'EX-GAY' THERAPHY FOR MINORS

Cleveland on Tuesday became the latest Ohio city to ban therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ youth.

Such therapies go by names such as “conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” “sexual orientation change efforts” or “ex-gay therapy.”

Cleveland City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance that prohibits such therapies.

Mayor Justin Bibb, a Democrat, is expected to sign the measure.

Alana Jochum, executive director for LGBTQ rights group Equality Ohio, called such therapies “harmful” and “ineffective.”

“Practices of so-called conversion 'therapy' are not only immoral and ineffective, they are extremely harmful,” Jochum said in a statement. “Our precious youth deserve to feel seen, accepted and loved – and that's exactly what Cleveland has done by passing this ordinance.”

Cleveland has joined other large metro areas in the state in banning conversion therapy, including Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo.

In applauding Cleveland's move, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, noted that such therapies have “been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for decades. Yet, the practice has continued, leading to extremely dangerous mental health consequences for those who have experienced it.”

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG