Seattle City Council bans ‘conversion therapy’ for gay youngsters
Mon., Aug. 1, 2016
SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council has unanimously passed an ordinance to bar the practice of conversion therapy to try to make gay young people straight.
Seattlepi.com reported the measure proposed by council member M. Lorena Gonzalez passed Monday afternoon.
It will punish licensed medical or mental-health professionals with fines up to $1,000 for using the form of talk therapy for minors to ‘treat’ same-sex attractions. It will also put into effect misdemeanor charges for advertising the service.
Five states and the District of Columbia have taken steps to ban mental-health counselors from engaging in the practice with minors. Cincinnati, Ohio, and Miami Beach, Florida, have also banned it.
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