Urban County Council right to try to ban conversion therapy. Kentucky should follow.
A little more than two decades ago, Fayette County made history when it became the first county in Kentucky to adopt an inclusive fairness ordinance. That milestone for our LGBTQ citizens further validated the fact that our community is welcoming, caring and at the forefront of positive change.
We have the chance in the next few weeks to once again be a statewide leader, this time by becoming the first county to ban conversion therapy for our LGBTQ youth. This barbaric practice is torture, pure and simple, and it has driven many to commit suicide and caused many more to suffer from depression and drug addiction.
As members of our county’s legislative delegation, we are proud to support the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council as it moves toward banning this “therapy” for anyone under 18. If all goes as expected, this goal will become a reality in early May.
Two other communities – Louisville and Covington – have already taken this step over the last year, and work continues to enact a statewide ban. This year’s attempt could be found in House Bill 19 and Senate Bill 30, and those serving at least a portion of Fayette County accounted for one-fourth of the 36 total sponsors.
Regrettably, neither bill was even assigned to committee, much less voted on. It was a topic during a legislative committee meeting last summer, which was positive, but this will be the fifth legislative session where House and Senate leaders have once again given tacit approval to a practice that should never have been allowed.
Despite this setback, we must now focus on making sure that 2022 is the year where Kentucky joins 20 other states – including Virginia and Illinois – and nearly 90 communities across the country that have conversion-therapy bans in place.
The American Medical Association is among the national groups opposed to this type of therapy, and at the statewide level, those joining them include the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition and Kentucky Youth Advocates. Polling indicates a majority of Kentuckians back this ban for minors as well.
Locally, we want to thank Councilmembers Liz Sheehan and Susan Lamb and Mayor Linda Gorton for their work to make the LGBTQ Youth Mental Health Protection Ordinance law here in our community.
It means so much to see other organizations add their support, from Arbor Youth Services to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington and Fayette County Public Schools. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, which is poised to play a significant role in enforcing this ordinance, deserves considerable credit, too, for its advocacy.
It’s estimated there are nearly 60 conversion-therapy providers in Kentucky, and seven are located in Fayette County.
The ordinance now before the Urban County Council will put a stop to those licensed individuals who seek to change or repress a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This legislation will not have an effect on those helping someone undergo a gender transition or who otherwise needs counseling, and it likewise will not affect religious-based therapists as long as they are not licensed for this work by the state.
Kentucky has made some significant strides for our LGBTQ citizens since Lexington adopted its fairness ordinance in 1999, but so much more work remains to be done. Raising public awareness is an important facet of that, and so is adopting local ordinances like the one set to be enacted here.
With its passage, our youth will better know they are loved and accepted for whom they are, and it will give them a better chance to have the kind of life we all want, one where we are happy and free.
Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson represents the 88th district, which includes Fayette County. It was signed by the following members of the Fayette delegation: Rep. Kelly Flood, Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, Rep. George Brown, Rep. Susan Westrom, and state Senator Reggie Thomas.