List of U.S. jurisdictions banning conversion therapy


This is a list of jurisdictions in the United States banning conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity using psychological or spiritual interventions. A total of 20 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 74 municipalities, mostly in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota, have enacted bans on the discredited practice, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment. The District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction whose ban also applies to adults.

States

Territories

Counties, municipalities and communities

School boards

Bans on conversion therapy funding

On August 3, 2019, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an executive order banning any state funding of conversion therapy on minors.

Pending legislation

State-level legislation

As of May 2020, bills to ban conversion therapy on minors have been introduced or are pending in the legislatures of Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania,

Local legislation

Conversion therapy bans on minors are proposed or pending in Sarasota, Florida; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Appleton, Wisconsin.

Federal legislation

The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, which would ban conversion therapy nationwide, has been introduced in the 114th United States Congress and the 115th United States Congress by Rep. Ted Lieu, who had authored the California bill while state senator.

Failed legislation

Minnesota

On April 25, 2019, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to incorporate HF 12, which would ban conversion therapy on minors, into the omnibus health and human services finance bill HF 2414 by a vote of 72–53. On April 30, 2019, the Minnesota Senate voted to strike the section by a vote of 34–30. The original bill, HF 12, remains active in the Minnesota Legislature.

Medical, psychological and psychiatric organizations

Despite the lack of federal legislation regarding bans on conversion therapy, such therapy has been banned by numerous therapy organizations operating in the U.S. It has been banned by the American Psychiatric Association since 1998. In 2009, conversion therapy was also rebuked by the American Psychological Association. Others include the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and many more. Organizations such as GLAAD and Human Rights Campaign have acknowledged that several other psychiatric and psychological organizations in the United States have rejected the practice of conversion therapy as well.

Resolutions and proclamations

As of April 2020, eleven cities/counties have passed non-binding resolutions or proclamations declaring opposition to conversion therapy. These are Edgewater, Colorado; Westminster, Colorado; Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Worcester, Massachusetts; Columbia, Missouri; Suffolk County, New York; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Appleton, Wisconsin; Eau Claire County, Wisconsin; and Shorewood, Wisconsin.