Efforts to make Massachusetts the 16th state in the country to ban conversion therapy got back on track this week with “a crowded, emotional hearing in front the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities where parents, pastors, lawmakers and members of the LGBTQ community spent hours making their case for and against the bills,” reported WGBH last night.
Legislation to ban state-licensed health care providers from “offering conversion therapy for minors nearly became law last summer, clearing both the House and Senate on the final day of formal sessions in July,” but failed to reach Governor Baker’s desk during the last session.
However the outcome of this week’s hearing was nearly unanimous: to recommend the legislation again as soon as possible.
According to WGBH:
Rep. Kay Khan, who has refiled the legislation (H 140) for the fourth time, said she’s optimistic that her bill, which enjoys bipartisan support from a majority of the Legislature, could be on the fast track.
“That’s my hope. Better to get it over sooner rather than later, in my opinion, because just having it out there for a long period of time, there are a lot of naysayers out there,” Khan said after chairing the hearing on her own bill. …
The committee action this early in the session signals that Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate could be hoping to capitalize quickly on broad support for the bill. Khan’s bill has 116 co-sponsors in the House and Senate, representing more than half of all elected lawmakers.
“Conversion therapy is based on the concept that people’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be fixed. Well, I say there’s nothing to fix,” said Senate President Emerita Harriette Chandler.
Fifteen states have already banned licensed conversation therapy, and the bill would only apply to therapy for minors under the age of 18. It has an exemption for religious institutions. …
Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, who led a group of lawmakers in testifying in support of the ban, stressed that the bill does not apply to adults, or to religious institutions.
“This idea that the state is trying to tell people what they can do and what they can be is a false narrative,” said the Democrat from Pittsfield.
Among those who testified with Farley-Bouvier was Rep. Tami Gouveia, a freshman lawmaker from Acton who also has a 17-year-old transgender son, Cam.
“Conversion therapy is based on lies that damage individuals and their relationship with themselves and others,” Gouveia said.
Asked about conversion therapy, Baker spokeswoman Sarah Finlaw said, “The administration is proud of the Commonwealth’s history of support for equal rights and protecting all citizens against discrimination, and will carefully review any legislation that reaches the Governor’s desk.”
