TITLE: Across U.S., Conservatives Target Bans on LGBTQ+ "Conversion Therapy"—Bans Repealed After Threats of Lawsuits Based on Freedom of Religion & Speech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

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One of Iowa’s largest cities repealed its ban on “conversion therapy”… after a Christian organization threatened legal action, part of a deepening national movement to challenge protections for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

Kids don't get Covid?
Schools are safe?
Masking unnecessary?

Think again.

Recent study indicates that 70% of all household Covid spread began with an infected child, and that this trend accelerated when schools reopened, and declined during summer vacation.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/more-70-us-household-covid-spread-started-child-study-suggests

#covid #CovidIsNotOver #pandemic #SafeSchools #children #masking

Indiana governor signs “Don’t Say Gay” bill that forces teachers to out trans kids to their parents. The extreme bill could put trans kids in danger if they asked to be called a new "pronoun, title, or word."

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/05/indiana-governor-signs-dont-say-gay-bill-forcing-teachers-to-out-trans-kids-to-their-parents/

#LGBTQNation #IndianaGovernor #DontSayGayBill #TransKidsRights #ParentalConsent #SafeSchools #Politics #News

RT @sonyajlewis
Our students as future leaders are so brave and courageous demanding #actionnow #EnoughIsEnough
Gun violence prevention bills must be passed and signed into law. This should be number 1 for Everyone. #safeschools
Thank you to all #coleg and @SenatorKolker who are in support

Worth sharing for sure. #safeschools at the very very least.
---
RT @stephenbottomly
Donald Trump's plane taking off and landing is so much more important! #CNNBrokenNews https://twitter.com/Victorshi2020/status/1643017099386966017
https://twitter.com/stephenbottomly/status/1643289139280838656

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett speaking about...

Drag queens: "We're not going to put up with it."

Mass shootings: "We're not gonna fix it."

SEE THE DIFFERENCE?? 🤬

#Burchett #Hypocrite #Republicans #GOP #ProLifeMyAss
#DragQueens #Drag #LGBT #Lesbian #Gay #Transgender
#Guns #ItsTheGuns #ItsTheGoddamnGuns #MassShootings #MassMurder #Massacre #GunViolence
#SchoolShootings #SafeSchools #Children #WhatAboutTheChildren #WhatAboutTheTeachers

more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/tim-burchett

#IAmDB

"The more we open the boundaries of exploration, the more we normalize the process of deciding "does this name work for me?" or "is this how I actually want to be seen by the world?", the more this benefits all kids, and truly all people in society as a whole. To follow the example of the younger generation is to give ourselves a real gift as we shed the baggage of the past.

It is a fundamental human rights principle that the only person who has the right to tell the world who they are is that person, and that person only."

On Social Transition and Anti-Trans Legislation by @jessdkant
https://jessk.org/blog/on-social-transition-and-anti-trans-legislation

#TransJoy #Gender #AntiTransLaws #SafeSchools

#Spain🇪🇸 We need #SafeSchools, the silence and passivity of educational authorities is complicit with criminals. Why do we develop protocols if schools do not apply them? How long will we continue without criminally prosecuting complicit authorities with suicides, suffering, and tears?

We hope you can join us!

#COVID19 #education #safeschools

RT @Dr4OurNHS@twitter.com

@YouAreLobbyLud@twitter.com It is time to push for #COVID19 compensation else we will continue to be ignored
#SARSCoV2 #COVIDisAirborne #LongCovid #LongCovidkids #LongHaulers #SafeEdForAll #SafeSchools #MicroClots #MaskUp
https://twitter.com/Dr4OurNHS/status/1525421528149532674

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/Dr4OurNHS/status/1616297219153338369

A long overdue common-sense measure that other countries should follow, via
@Lylamehta:

France is mandating clean air in the classrooms, requiring CO2 levels of 800 ppm. I hope this is rolled out in other countries. Apart from lowering #covid risks in the classroom, it will also address other respiratory issues. #CleanAir #COVID #SafeSchools"

But the slow timeline seems to limit any rapid effect on Covid-19 impact: "1st evaluation to be carried out no later than 2024"

"Tabaksfabrikanten moeten zelf gaan betalen voor opruimen vele peuken in Spaanse natuur" via AD
https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/tabaksfabrikanten-moeten-zelf-gaan-betalen-voor-opruimen-vele-peuken-in-spaanse-natuur~a5fa0f79/.

France is mandating clean air in the classrooms, requiring CO2 levels of 800 ppm. I hope this is rolled out in other countries. Apart from lowering #covid risks in the classroom, it will also address other respiratory issues. #CleanAir #COVID #SafeSchools

Waarom kunnen andere landen wel leiders kiezen die wat durven te beslissen
En zitten wij met een stelletje labbekakken!?

On the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre, a story about Pa Bailey, who taught in public schools. One day, a student's family member entered his classroom, waving a gun. My dad stood between the gun and his students, and got the person out of the room with no shots fired. That was 1981 and he still breaks down crying when he talks about it.
#SandyHook #guncontrol #notonemore #enough #safeschools

RT @cartoonist_gal@twitter.com

#UvaldeTX #Uvalde #stoptrump #NRAIsATerroristOrganization #StopGunViolence #safeschools #unitednations #biden #TexasSchoolMassacre #Editorial #politicalcartoon #editorialcartoon #thenewyorktimes #texasschool #stopviolence #America

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/cartoonist_gal/status/1531882643934941184

RT @smbilodeau
Research via @Harvard confirms that infants, children & teens are equally able to carry high levels of live, replicating SARS-CoV-2 in their respiratory secretions.
👉#SafeSchools measures and precautions are of utmost importance!
@DrEricDing @yaneerbaryam
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/10/study-confirms-kids-as-spreaders-of-covid-19-and-emerging-variants/