DC Mayor Vincent Gray on Monday signed
a bill that prohibits therapies that attempt to alter the sexuality
or gender identity of LGBT youth.
“I am proud to sign a bill that
protects youth & their families from the discredited practice of
conversion therapy,” Gray said in tweeting a photo of himself
signing the bill into law.
Washington, DC becomes the third
jurisdiction behind California and New Jersey to outlaw such
therapies.
The legislation bans “efforts [by
licensed mental health providers] to change behaviors, gender
identity or expression, or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic
attractions or feelings toward a person of the same sex or gender.”
LGBT advocate the National Center for
Lesbian Rights (NCLR) earlier this year launched its #BornPerfect
campaign, which aims to raise awareness about “the serious harms
caused by attempts to change a young person's sexual orientation or
gender identity.”
“This law ensures that mental health
practitioners can no longer abuse their power to harm young people
and families by propagating the dangerous lie that there is something
wrong with being LGBT or that therapy can change their core sexual
orientation or gender identity,” NCLR Staff Attorney and
#BornPerfect Campaign Coordinator Samantha Ames said in a statement.
“By signing this bill into law, Mayor Gray has taken an important
step to protect the health and safety of LGBT youth and to prevent
unscrupulous therapists from preying on vulnerable families.”