Bans On Conversion Therapy For Minors Spreading Across Country
By Lauren Gilger
Published: Thursday, August 3, 2017 - 2:56pm
Updated: Thursday, August 3, 2017 - 3:46pm
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This week, Pima County joined 9 states, the District of Columbia and 24 municipalities around the country in banning paid sexual orientation conversion therapy of minors.
Conversion therapy is the attempt to use psychological techniques to change someone from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. It's been widely discredited by medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association as ineffective and, often, harmful.
What does this vote mean in Pima County?
The resolution is specific in banning the therapy for minors for a fee, and it means that anyone who is found to be using conversion therapy in the county can be fined $2,500 for each offense.
But Pima County is far from the only jurisdiction to do this. For more on that, we speak with Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.