Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear banned the use of “conversion therapy” on minors in Kentucky on Wednesday, calling his executive order a necessary step to protect children from a widely discredited practice that tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.
The governor used his executive powers after Republicans who control the state legislature repeatedly blocked efforts to enact a state law banning the practice. Beshear said he would no longer wait for others to "do what’s right.”
“My faith teaches me that all children are children of God," Beshear said during the signing ceremony at the Kentucky Capitol. "And where practices are endangering and even harming those children, we must act. The practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ hurts our children.”
It was the latest action in a national debate over conversion therapy and the rights of LGBTQ+ children and their families.
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The Kentucky event stirred many emotions. Activists for mental health and LGBTQ+ rights cheered the governor, but as he prepared to sign the ban, someone nearby shouted, “This is a denial of affirmation therapy!” Supporters drowned out the protest.
Among those in attendance was Zach Meiners, a 34-year-old filmmaker who said he wants young people to be spared the anguish and harm he endured during four years of therapy as a teenager, which caused him “anxiety and depression in ways that I’m still unraveling.”
“I can speak firsthand to how devastating it can be to someone’s mental health," Meiners said in an interview. "And I consider myself very lucky to be a survivor.”
Republican state Rep. Killian Timoney shook Beshear's hand after the signing, and expressed support for the ban. But another GOP lawmaker, state Rep. Josh Calloway, said the governor had defied the will of the legislature, which isn't scheduled to reconvene until January.
“We are the lawmaking body, and laws should be made by people’s representatives,” Calloway said.
The Family Foundation, a socially conservative group in Kentucky, said Beshear's order tramples on the rights of parents and suppresses religious expression. It referred to the ban as an “unlawful action,” perhaps signaling a legal challenge.
“This order, like previous failed legislative efforts, is designed to promote false LGBTQ ideologies and muzzle Christian counselors, therapists and pastors from helping children struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity confusion,” David Walls, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
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The ban runs “roughshod over the First Amendment,” said Daniel Schmid, a legal executive with Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as a Christian ministry.
Anticipating such attacks, Beshear said his action “does not force an ideology on anybody” but "simply stops a so-called ‘therapy’ that the medical community says is wrong and hurts our children.”
Democratic state Rep. Lisa Willner, who promoted a legislative ban, called the order “a great step forward for the safety and mental health of so many young Kentuckians.”
The order also makes it illegal to use state or federal funds to provide the therapy on minors, and authorizes licensing boards to discipline professionals found to have practiced conversion therapy on minors.
Such therapy has been discredited and is opposed by, among others, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, citing research that shows it leads to increased risk of suicide and depression.
Nearly half the states and the District of Columbia prohibit conversion therapy on minors, Beshear's office said. In Kentucky, 21% of LGBTQ young people reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy, according to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people.
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Meanwhile, efforts are spreading across the country to curb the rights of LGBTQ+ kids and impose restrictions on gender and sexuality in classrooms, youth sports and medicine.
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group, referred to conversion therapy as "not just snake oil but snake venom.”
Four years ago, Beshear became the first Kentucky governor to participate in the annual gay-rights rally at the statehouse when the legislature is in session. Last year, Republicans used transgender issues to attack Beshear, pointing to his veto of legislation banning transgender young people from having access to gender-affirming health care. Beshear said the measure eroded parental rights to make medical decisions for their children. GOP lawmakers overrode the veto, but Beshear won re-election later that year by a comfortable margin.
On Wednesday, Beshear said he won't stop urging legislators to put the ban on conversion therapy into state law.
“It is not about politics at all,” the governor said. "And to me, it’s not even about gender or sexuality. It’s about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that hurts them.”
Hartman said the governor sent a clear message to Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ youth and their families: "You are perfect as you are.”
