California Senate Approves Gay Conversion Therapy Ban

The California Senate has passed a bill that would make gay conversion therapy illegal across the whole state.

The bill, called AB 2943, is unique in that it would outlaw conversion therapy as a consumer protection, essentially labelling practitioners who claim to be able to “cure” a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity as fraudulent under California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

By doing so, the bill will protect both minors and adults from conversion therapy – which is significant as most US states only ban the practice for minors.

The bill will now return to Assembly for a concurrence vote.

“No one should profit off of this deceptive and harmful practice,” said California Assemblyman Evan Low, who is sponsoring the bill.

Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur released a statement in support of the bill: “For far too long, LGBTQ Californians have been psychologically abused by sham therapists who are supposed to be caring for their emotional well-being. We’re deeply grateful to Assemblymember Low, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Senators Wiener, Lara, and Galgiani for their leadership today—and to every member of the Senate who voted to protect LGBTQ Californians from these dangerous, harmful practices.”