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South Carolina city caves to Republican attorney general's demands to lift ban on conversion therapy

official portrait South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson alongside Capitol State House in Columbia
Courtesy South Carolina Attorney General's Office; Sean Pavone/shutterstock

Attorney General Alan Wilson, South Carolina Capitol State House in Columbia

The state's Republican Attorney General pressured the city into withdrawing an ordinance on the books since 2021 that bans conversion therapy for minors.

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South Carolina’s capital city repealed its ban on conversion therapy over the objections of activists.

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The Columbia City Council voted 4-3 to nix an ordinance first approved in 2021, according to The Post and Courier Columbia. The move came under pressure from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican candidate for governor, who alleged the ban on the practice violated state and federal law. He'd threatened to cut off state funding.

Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and City Council members Peter Brown, Ed McDowell, and Will Brennan voted to lift the ban, despite pleas from the public to leave the ban in place. It is the second vote on the lift, with the same outcome happening last week during a council meeting.

The law previously threatened a $500 fine for licensed therapists offering services to minors to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. The ordinance excluded religious group leaders.

Those who voted in favor of lifting the conversion therapy ordinance said the threat of funding cuts was too significant, according to The Post and Courier.

Related: S.C. attorney general tells state's capital city to drop its conversion therapy ban

"It's such a betrayal," Jessica Thomas told the paper after the vote. Thomas is running for Columbia mayor.

Wilson previously told The Post and Courier the exemption for religious groups meant nothing because it ignored that licensed therapists selling the therapies could hold deep religious views themselves.

“What if the counselor or the medical service provider is a practicing Jewish person or a practicing Christian or someone of another faith?” Wilson told the newspaper. “They want to approach things through the lens of their faith. They don’t label it religious, but someone who is a religious, practicing person who wants to have a conversation with someone through a faith lens should be allowed to do so.”

But within the medical field, the practice of conversion therapy has been widely rejected. A coalition of 28 U.S. mental health and medical organizations came together to decry the practice in 2023.

Medical professionals have continued to push back since then against attacks by political figures on transgender individuals and the promotion of conversion therapy for those with gender dysphoria.

Medical professionals within the community also urged city officials not to repeal its ban on conversion therapy.

“For y’all to give in and capitulate without a battle of any kind is strange to me. Where is the outrage?” said Dr. Isabelle Mandell at the council meeting where the vote happened earlier this week, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. “You haven’t tried. You haven’t fought it.”

Local attorney Nekki Shutt told the city that she'd represent it for free in any legal challenge.

“The city of Columbia is a refuge city in South Carolina for LGBTQ people. It’s where we can feel safe,” she said, according to the paper. “I laid down roots because I feel safe here.”

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