Governor bans use of “conversion therapy” on LGBTQ+ minors in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday banned the use of “conversion therapy” on minors in Kentucky, calling his executive order a necessary step to protect children from a widely discredited practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.

The governor used his executive powers after Republicans who control the state legislature repeatedly blocked efforts to pass a law banning the practice. Beshear said he would no longer wait for others to “do the right thing.”

“My faith teaches me that all children are children of God,” Beshear said during the signing ceremony at the Kentucky Capitol. “And where practices endanger and even harm these children, we must act. The practice of so-called 'conversion therapy' harms our children.”

It was the latest action in a national debate on conversion therapy and the rights of LGBTQ+ children and their families.

The event in Kentucky sparked a lot of emotion. Mental health and LGBTQ+ rights activists cheered the governor, but as he prepared to sign the ban, someone nearby shouted, “This is a rejection of affirmation therapy!” Supporters drowned out the protest.

Among those in attendance was Zach Meiners, a 34-year-old filmmaker who said he wanted to spare young people the pain and hurt he suffered as a teenager during his four years of therapy, which he said caused him “anxiety and depression that I still don't understand how to deal with.”

“I can tell you firsthand how devastating it can be to a person's mental health,” Meiners said in an interview. “And I consider myself very lucky to be a survivor.”

Republican Rep. Killian Timoney shook Beshear's hand after the signing and expressed support for the ban. But another Republican lawmaker, Rep. Josh Calloway, said the governor had defied the will of the Legislature, which is not scheduled to reconvene until January.

“We are the legislative body, and laws should be made by the people,” Calloway said.

The Family Foundation, a socially conservative group in Kentucky, said Beshear's order violates parents' rights and suppresses the expression of religious beliefs, calling the ban an “unlawful measure” and hinting at the possibility of a legal challenge.

“This order, like previous failed legislative efforts, aims to promote false LGBTQ ideologies and prevent Christian counselors, therapists and pastors from helping children struggling with confusion about their sexual orientation or gender identity,” David Walls, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

The ban “violates the First Amendment,” says Daniel Schmid, an attorney at Liberty Counsel, an organization that describes itself as a Christian church.

Beshear expected such attacks and said that with his action he did not want to “impose an ideology on anyone” but “simply stop a so-called 'therapy' that the medical community says is wrong and is harming our children.”

Democratic Rep. Lisa Willner, who pushed for a legal ban, called the order “a huge step forward for the safety and mental health of so many young Kentuckians.”

The order also makes it illegal to use state or federal funds to perform this therapy on minors and empowers licensing boards to take disciplinary action against professionals found to have performed conversion therapy on minors.

Such therapy has fallen into disrepute and is rejected by the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, among others, on the grounds that studies show that it leads to an increased risk of suicide and depression.

Nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia prohibit conversion therapy on minors, Beshear's office said. In Kentucky, 21% of LGBTQ youth reported being threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy, according to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth.

There are now efforts across the country to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ children and to enforce gender and sexuality restrictions in education, youth sports and medicine.

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group, called conversion therapy “not just snake oil, but snake venom.”

Four years ago, Beshear became Kentucky's first governor to attend the annual gay rights rally at the Statehouse when the legislature is in session. Last year, Republicans used transgender issues to attack Beshear, citing his veto of a bill banning young transgender people from accessing gender-affirming health care. Beshear said the bill undermined parents' rights to make medical decisions for their children. Republican lawmakers overrode the veto, but Beshear was re-elected later that year by a comfortable margin.

On Wednesday, Beshear said he would not stop pushing lawmakers to include the ban on conversion therapy in state law.

“This is not about politics at all,” the governor said. “And for me, it's not even about gender or sexuality. It's about protecting our youth from an inhumane practice that harms them.”

Hartman said the governor sent a clear message to Kentucky's LGBTQ+ youth and their families: “You are perfect just the way you are.”