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Cincinnati Approves 'Ex-Gay' Therapy Ban

Chris Seelbach
Councilman Chris Seelbach

Amid public opposition, the city enacts the ban, which applies to state-licensed therapists operating within the city limits.

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Cincinnati tonight became only the second city in the nation to ban the use of "ex-gay" or "conversion" therapy on minors.

The City Council voted 7-2 to ban the practice, following a favorable vote two nights ago by the Budget and Finance Committee, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The ordinance adopted by the council imposes a $200-a-day fine for violation. Washington, D.C., has prohibited use of the discredited therapy on minors, as have California, New Jersey, Oregon, and Illinois.

About two dozen citizens, including several ministers, attended tonight's meeting to speak on the subject, the Enquirer reports, and all but one opposed the ordinance. "This council will create another type of bondage for something people themselves have a right to seek liberty from," said Bishop Victor Couzens, a local Baptist minister.

"I believe the city should stay out of this," said another clergy member, Dan Ferrell. "It says something about you. Maybe other cities have better sense."

Some speakers said the ordinance would interfere with freedom of speech and religion, but Scott Greenwood, a constitutional civil rights lawyer and gay rights activist, said it would not.

"The people who referred to this as free speech or freedom of religion are misguided because if it's therapy, then it's medical therapy," Greenwood said. "By definition, that is not speech and not free exercise of religion. So there is no problem regulating this. There is no First Amendment angle to this. It's misguided to favor this totally debunked junk science and claim that it is somehow protected as religious expression."

Like the laws enacted in other jurisdictions, the Cincinnati ordinance would apply only to state-licensed therapists, meaning unlicensed counselors, such as clergy members, could still try to "pray away the gay."

Chris Seelbach, the only openly gay council member and the ordinance's sponsor, said the law "is about saving the lives of LGBT people." He mentioned Leelah Alcorn, the transgender teen from a neighboring community who killed herself a year ago, after being subjected to conversion therapy.

"She challenged us to make her death matter, and we're doing just that," Seelbach said.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.