Delaware Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBTQ Youth

Delaware has officially banned ‘Gay Conversion Therapy’ for ‘LGBTQ youth’. The controversial and abusive therapy that is considered by all mainstream social workers and scientists as ‘pseudoscience’ and child endangerment for LGBTQ youth.

The bill, SB 65, signed into law on Monday by Delaware Governor John Carney (D), defines Gay Conversion therapy or “reparative therapy” as “any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity … including any effort to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender.”

“Conversion therapy is pseudoscience and child endangerment, plain and simple,” said State Rep. Debra Heffernan (D-Bellefonte) who spoke with the Delaware Public Media upon passage of Bill SB 65.

“All Delawareans, including Delaware children, deserve to be respected for who they are, and I was proud to sign Senate Bill 65 into law today,” Carney tweeted on Monday. “Discredited practices like conversion therapy have no place in Delaware.”

The new law makes Delaware the 14th state in addition to Washington, D.C., that has banned minors from receiving the abusive therapy known as Gay Conversion from being practiced within their states.

Let us not forget that other states including New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Mexico and Hawaii, have all outlawed conversion therapy for minors.

The national Human Rights Campaign press secretary Sarah McBride, was overjoyed over the passage of the bill SB 65 in a statement released to the press.

“Today’s signing is a critical step forward in the fight to ensure that Delaware is a safe and affirming state for all LGBTQ youth, and we hope that the values and progress reflected in this law guide the ongoing conversation in Delaware about protecting LGBTQ students from discrimination”

Board member of Equality Delaware Mark Purpura added …“This bill sends an important message that a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity is neither capable of being changed nor does it need to be changed, and efforts to try to do so in the name of therapy have no place in our State,” he said. “Instead, we should strive to understand and support each child’s unique personal identity to better empower them to thrive in school, at home, and in our community.” said Purpura.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer