https://iowastartingline.com/2023/08/23/fearing-lawsuit-waterloo-repeals-conversion-therapy-ban/

Quote(s):
"Three months after the Waterloo City Council passed a ban on #ConversionTherapy for minors, the council reversed its decision in a 4-3 vote Monday.

[...] Richard Mast of anti- #LGBTQ #Florida group Liberty Counsel, [...] sent a letter to the City of Waterloo on June 30 threatening costly litigation 'on behalf of a client whose #FirstAmendment rights are even now being violated by this 'speech' ban.” (Air quotes mine)

#Iowa #GayRights #USPol

TITLE: Across U.S., Conservatives Target Bans on LGBTQ+ "Conversion Therapy"—Bans Repealed After Threats of Lawsuits Based on Freedom of Religion & Speech

My commentary: As I have said many times, I fully expect our various mental health professions in the USA to split into conservative/fascist and democratic/progressive associations -- each with its own "ethics" code -- in the near future.

Thank you Dr. Pope for summary below.

Michael Reeder, LCPC

-------- Forwarded Message --------

The Associated Press released an article: “In Iowa and elsewhere, bans on LGBTQ+ ‘conversion therapy’ become a conservative target.”

Here are some excerpts:

One of Iowa’s largest cities repealed its ban on “conversion therapy”… after a Christian organization threatened legal action, part of a deepening national movement to challenge protections for LGBTQ+ kids.

The city council in Waterloo voted this week to remove its restrictions after Liberty Counsel warned in a letter June 30 that it would “take further action” if the city did not repeal the ordinance by August 1. It was enacted in May.

The organization, which is based in Orlando, Florida, argued the ordinance infringes on the constitutional right to free speech and acted on behalf of a therapist in Waterloo “who was concerned about the implications of this on the practice of counseling,” Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chair, said in an interview in which he promised further litigation targeting states.

In Iowa and across the country, efforts are spreading to curb the rights of LGBTQ+ kids and adopt restrictions on gender and sexuality in classrooms, youth sports and medicine.

In recent years, local bans on conversion therapy in Florida also fell with the help of Liberty Counsel, which describes itself as a Christian ministry that is “restoring the culture by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family.”

Such therapy has been discredited and is opposed by, among others, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, citing research that shows it leads to increased risk of suicide and depression.

“The mental health mainstream believes that one, that these practices don’t really work, and two, that they may cause harm,” said Dr. Jack Drescher, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and editor of the chapter on gender dysphoria in the psychiatric association’s diagnostic manual.

<snip>

Laws prohibiting mental health professionals from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity are on the books in 22 states and Washington, D.C., according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ+ rights think tank. In 13 states, including Iowa, some municipalities have adopted their own provisions.

The issue has the potential to come to a head in the next year if the U.S. Supreme Court decides early this fall to hear the appeal of a Washington state therapist, Brian Tingley, whose lawsuit was dismissed.

While early lawsuits similar to Tingley’s failed, a Supreme Court ruling in 2018 prompted a new round of cases, said Christy Mallory, legal director at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation and gender identity. That ruling invoked free speech protections to block a California law that required anti-abortion centers to provide information about abortion.

In 2020, a panel of three federal judges in Florida relied in part on that 2018 ruling and became the first federal appeals court to block ordinances in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County that banned conversion therapy. Liberty Counsel represents the two therapists who won that case.

The diverging federal rulings in the Washington and Florida cases may be a reason for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in this term, bringing another high-profile LGBTQ+ issue to the docket.

Staver is confident the Supreme Court will strike down bans in the near future. And Liberty Counsel has imminent plans to sue over statewide bans, he said.

“I think it is a losing proposition for any state or local government to have one of these laws, and they would be wise to repeal them before they also are sued,” Staver said.

In Iowa, Senate Democrats and a Republican in the House introduced bills for conversion therapy bans that didn’t make it out of subcommittees in 2020. That was the last time there was a concerted effort for a ban in the state, said Damian Thompson, public policy director at Iowa Safe Schools, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ children.

Meanwhile, in Iowa and elsewhere, laws have since been passed to prohibit teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, to restrict the restrooms transgender students can use, and to ban treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans minors. Many are facing challenges in court.

Republican lawmakers say the laws are designed to affirm parents’ rights and protect children. The issues have become flashpoints in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

But many parents and advocates worry about the deterioration of the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ kids.

In Waterloo, a city of over 65,000, Councilor Jonathan Grieder said he had heard concerns about conversion therapy happening in the area. He worked with Thompson at Iowa Safe Schools to draft an ordinance after watching statewide efforts stall but a ban pass in another Iowa city, Davenport, and in Linn County.

The Waterloo council approved it 6-1 in May, but overturned it 4-3 on Monday amid the prospect of costly litigation.

Archer Trip, of neighboring Cedar Falls, addressed the council before the repeal vote as a “survivor of conversion therapy” who had been placed there in high school.

“It does not work. Now, I am a proud queer man, but I am also here to protect everyone else,” Trip said. “We should protect our children.”

Archer’s twin sister, Nic Trip, who was also put in conversion therapy, testified: “Unfortunately, not all parents always make the safest decision for their children. What is the line of what is OK to do to our children?”

Mayor Quentin Hart said, not mentioning the Liberty Counsel, that there was “threat of impending litigation moving forward,” which put the members in a “tough situation.”

“I don’t believe that the Waterloo City Council are cowards,” Hart said. “I believe that they do have a decision to make tonight.”

The decision disappointed Thompson, who said Iowa Safe Schools will continue to advocate for local bans despite far-right groups’ success in turning a “common sense” issue into a “wedge culture war” one.

“Which is a shame,” Thompson said, “because in the meantime it only results in more kids being victimized and more kids, ultimately, receiving lifelong trauma.”

Ken Pope

Ken Pope, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Hector Y. Adames, Janet L. Sonne, and Beverly A. Greene
Speaking the Unspoken: Breaking the Silence, Myths, and Taboos That Hurt Therapists and Patients (APA, 2023)

Hector Y. Adames, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Melba J.T. Vasquez, & Ken Pope:
Succeeding as a Therapist: How to Create a Thriving Practice in a Changing World (APA, 2022)

Ken Pope, Melba J.T. Vasquez, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, & Hector Y. Adames:
Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling: A Practical Guide, 6th Edition (Wiley, 2021)

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”
—Steve Biko (1946-1977), anti-apartheid activist & co-founder of the South African Students' Organization

~~~

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy #legal #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #transgender #conversiontherapy
@psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #doctors #hospitals #gender #genderrestrictions #libertycounsel #christianright #supremecourt #safeschools #queer #culturewar

They didn't SAY it's Liberty Counsel (anti- #LGBTQ Florida extremist group) behind the "pending or threatened" lawsuit.

But there's reason to believe it is: The group just won nearly $1 million in a settlement from the City of Tampa over a similar ban.
#waterloo #iowa #news #politics #conversiontherapy

https://iowastartingline.com/2023/08/23/fearing-lawsuit-waterloo-repeals-conversion-therapy-ban/

This guy is a nasty, dishonest, hateful person who's unfit for office! He literally condones #ConversionTherapy and says he's successfully done it himself.

#GaryClick #LGBTQIAisUnderAttack #LGBTQIA #SayGay #TransIsBeautiful #protecttranskids

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/08/state-rep-gary-click-is-leading-the-charge-against-trans-rights-in-ohio-we-all-need-to-fight-back/

#ConversionTherapy legislation trending. Signed #UTLeg codifying Utah’s administrative ban on conversion therapy, including the highly debated practice of "talk therapy".
#LGBTQYouth #LGBTQRights
https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1527590

Pink News: Rishi Sunak slammed in postcard campaign for taking holiday instead of passing conversion therapy ban https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/08/15/rishi-sunak-stonewall-postcards-california-holiday/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapy #RishiSunak #Politics #News #UK

Ever since I first found out about the #CIA #MKULTRA project, I have wondered if the psychiatrist who tortured me in effort to change my gender expression and orientation was one of the researchers MK-ULTRA funded. #ConversionTherapy #Trans #torture #psychiatry

#Michigan bans #conversiontherapy
https://boingboing.net/2023/07/27/michigan-bans-conversion-therapy.html

Pink News: Michigan governor signs conversion therapy ban into law: ‘A champion for LGBTQ+ equality’ https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/27/gretchen-whitmer-michigan-governor/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapy #gretchenwhitmer #Politics #Michigan #News #Law #US

Pink News: MPs and experts slam government for ongoing conversion therapy ban delay: ‘A moral failing’ https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/17/mps-condemn-conversion-therapy-ban-delay/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapyban #conversiontherapy #AnnelieseDodds #Stonewall #Politics #News #UK

A previous petition was submitted with a similar goal, however, the UK Government's response at the time was before sports bodies and other organisations started to be more open around discussing #trans issues. So please sign again and share to ensure the protection of #transgender people under a #conversiontherapy ban. In the UK, degrading and dehumanising practices should not be accepted and should be banned. https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/135001454/

Pink News: Trans son of anti-trans pundit speaks out against his mum https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/06/renton-sinclair-tania-joy-gibson-anti-trans/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapy #conspiracytheory #Transgender #Community #Activism #Identity #Trans #News #US

A few hashtags relating to something that still happens in far too many countries but really needs to stop, because in all its guises it is abuse, if not torture:

#ABA
#BanABA
#BanConversionTherapy
#ConversionPractice
#ConversionTherapy
#EndConversionTherapy
#PBS
#StopTheShock

From 27 Jun: Congressional Democrats on Monday reignited an effort to pass federal legislation outlawing the discredited practice of “conversion therapy,” which is a scientifically discredited practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. - https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4068444-democrats-introduce-federal-conversion-therapy-ban/ #uspol #bigots #conversiontherapy #congress

Only seven countries in Europe have imposed bans on conversion therapy, the controversial practice trying to “cure” LGBTQ+ people.

Even as the European Parliament voted 435-109 condemning such practices, attempts to ban conversion therapy in countries like Austria, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands have repeatedly failed.

But in the UK, a bill to ban the controversial practice has finally landed on the PM’s desk.

https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/22/the-uk-is-moving-to-ban-conversion-therapy-where-in-europe-is-the-practice-still-legal

#UK #ConversionTherapy #LGBTQ

You're going to #hear a certain (#Tory) #contingent #celebrating that they've 'Banned #conversiontherapy' but unfortunately the #legislation including a '#consent #clause' which makes it hugely #ineffective.

#Nobody '#volunteers' for #conversion #therapy.

Pink News: Activists blast Tory conversion therapy consent loophole: ‘This will cost many lives’ https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/21/conversion-therapy-rishi-sunak-boris-johnson-consent-loophole/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapy #RishiSunak #Politics #News #Law #UK

Pink News: Conversion therapy ban ‘on Rishi Sunak’s desk’ with loophole for ‘consenting adults’ https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/21/conversion-therapy-rishi-sunak/ #LGBT #LGBTQ #Trans #Lesbian #2SLGBTQ #conversiontherapy #Politics #News #UK

#FararightGroup '#AmericanCollegeOfPediatrics' works to oppose #LGBTQrights, #abortionaccess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFRlLV7IMN0

This is a small group of #extremists pretending to use their bullshit as 'science'

They are advocates for #conversiontherapy , they work to ban #pubertyblockers, they've changed #genderconfirmingcare in one state, etc.

Andrew Rodriguez is a psychotherapist in Lancaster, PA who declares on his blog that he “specializes in any sexual issue–from abuse to addiction to unwanted same-sex attraction.” He isn’t trying to hide that he is a conversion therapist. In fact, I would say he is proud of it.
https://medium.com/prismnpen/christian-post-platforms-conversion-therapists-lies-9f9be2a23ebc?sk=8e6c55b656b6b7dc00f344c906083361
#LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy #ChristianPost