The New Mexico House on Wednesday
approved a bill that prohibits therapies that attempt to alter the
sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT youth.
According to the Santa
Fe New Mexican, nine House Republicans joined 35 Democrats in
backing the bill.
The bill passed the Senate last month,
but changes made in the House means the bill will return to the
Senate before it reaches Governor Susana Martinez's desk.
Opponents of the measure, a group of
mostly rural Republicans, argued that the bill would trample
religious freedom.
Democratic Representative G. Andres
Romero, a co-sponsor of the bill, countered suggestions that a
person's sexuality is a choice or that homosexuality is a mental
illness in need of a cure.
“Homosexuality is not a mental
disorder,” Romero told colleagues.
Four years ago, New Jersey became the
second state after California to enact such a law. Illinois, Oregon,
Vermont and the District of Columbia have passed similar bans, while
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo last year issued an executive order
that protects youth from such therapies.
(Related: New
York Gov. Andrew Cuomo takes action to prevent “ex-gay” therapy
on minors.)