In a major victory for LGBTQ+ children, Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear banned the use of conversion therapy on minors in the state on Wednesday. The practice is widely considered dangerous in the medical community and has been banned in 22 states and Washington, D.C.
Beshear used his executive powers to overturn the Republican majority in a Legislature that had blocked repeated attempts to enact laws banning the practice.
“My faith tells me that all children are God’s children,” Beshear said at the executive order signing ceremony. “We must take action when practices endanger or even harm these children. The practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ harms our children.
like to meet someone actually Take care of the kids!
Beshear’s ban comes amid a nationwide attack on existing protections against the practice.
The ban has some bipartisan support. Republican state Rep. Killian Timoney expressed support for the ban and shook Beshear’s hand at the signing ceremony.
But it has also drawn attacks from the right. The Family Foundation, a socially conservative group in Kentucky, called Beshear’s order an “unlawful act,” claiming he went above and beyond the law and trampled on parents’ rights.
“This order joins previous failed legislative efforts that seek to promote false LGBTQ ideologies and prevent Christian counselors, therapists and pastors from helping those affected by sexual orientation or gender identity,” David Walls, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. Confused and struggling children.
Beshear, however, said his actions “do not impose an ideology on anyone,” but “simply stop a so-called ‘therapy’ that the medical community believes is wrong and harms our children. “
The medical community generally agrees on conversion therapy: It’s really bad.
Both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association oppose the use of conversion therapy.
The organizations cite studies showing it leads to an increase in suicide and depression. A UCLA study looking specifically at lesbian, gay and bisexual people found that people who underwent conversion therapy were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide.
Experts such as the United Nations’ Victor Madrigal-Borloz have even said the practice “amounts to torture.”
LGBTQ+ children face increasing adversity every day as legislators continue to introduce laws that attack the community’s hard-won rights.
That’s why it’s so important for LGBTQ+ kids to have legislators like Beshear standing up for their rights.
In 2020, Beshear became the first Kentucky governor to attend the statehouse’s annual gay rights rally. He also faced criticism from conservatives last year for vetoing a bill that would have prevented transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care.
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said the governor’s order makes it clear to the state’s LGBTQ+ children that “you are perfect the way you are.”
We couldn’t agree more.
