Hawaii has passed a ban on gay conversion “therapy” for minors, becoming the 11th state to do so. According to various sources, the state legislature has made the so-called “therapy” illegal for minors. The state’s House of Representatives passed SB 270 on April 27.
According to Jezebel, the move is part of series of state initiatives to “ban the practice based on a growing consensus amongst the medical and mental health community that conversion is psychologically torturous and fraudulent.”
According to NewNowNext, Michael Golojuch, Chair of the LGBT Caucus of Hawaii’s Democratic Party, said: “This has been a priority of the caucus for years.”
For the moment, the statute only applies to licensed counseling and medical practitioners. The next stage (considered by some states) will be to categorize the “therapy” as a fraudulent business practice.
The District of Columbia has also limited the treatment, joining California, Illinois, Rhode Island, and seven other states. Additionally, two Canadian provinces, the Australian state of Victoria, Taiwan, Malta, and Switzerland.