Seattle City Council Unanimously Bans Ex-Gay Torture

Via press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

Today, Seattle City Council unanimously voted to protect LGBTQ youth in the city from conversion therapy, making Seattle the 10th jurisdiction—along with California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Vermont, Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, and Miami Beach, FL—to protect youth from this dangerous practice.

Today’s 9-0 vote protects LGBTQ youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity through practices that are linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide. Providers who violate the ordinance will be fined $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for each additional offense.

“We are grateful for the leadership of Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez in protecting LGBTQ youth and their families from the deceptive and harmful practice of conversion therapy,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Youth Policy Counsel Carolyn Reyes. “Today, Seattle has taken a bold step to save children’s lives, and its children have received a clear message that they were born perfect.”