Washington, D.C. — Today Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) signed a bill into law banning so-called conversion therapy for minors. Connecticut is the seventh state to pass such legislation. After passing the House of Representatives on May 2 with a vote of 141-8, the bill, H.B. 6695, was passed unanimously through the Senate today. In response, the Center for American Progress’ Vice President of the LGBT Research and Communications Project Laura E. Durso issued the following statement:
The discredited and ineffective practices that attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity are extremely harmful, and in passing this law, Connecticut and other states send the message that young LGBT people are welcome and accepted as they are. Young people who experience rejection from their families are more than eight times more likely to have attempted suicide than their peers who are accepted by their families. LGBT young people are not broken, and they do not need to be fixed. As more states recognize conversion therapy as the dangerous fraud that it is, there is momentum for the Federal Trade Commission to do the same. I commend the lead sponsors, Rep. Jeff Currey (D) and Sen. Beth Bye (D) for introducing legislation that will help many vulnerable youth in Connecticut.
Related Resource:
Conversion therapy has no place in Connecticut by Frank J. Bewkes
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Tom Caiazza at [email protected] or 202.481.7141.