'Being LGBTQ is not an illness': Record number of states banning conversion therapy
A record number of jurisdictions this year are taking aim at conversion therapy for minors: an attempt to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity through tactics as obvious as hypnosis or as subtle as inducing shame.
Almost 50 bills have been introduced in 24 states targeting conversion therapy, which has been discredited by dozens of medical associations and child-welfare institutions. On Tuesday, 11 of them — including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Counseling Association — released a letter urging states to make such bills a priority.
“Being LGBTQ is not an illness,” said Xavier Persad, legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group. “It is false that being LGBTQ is wrong and a disorder.”...
