“Conversion therapy” for minors is now illegal in Maryland, with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan signing a bill banning the anti-LGBTQ practice on Tuesday.
Under the new law, “conversion therapy” for minors is considered unprofessional conduct, which means physicians, therapists, and other medical professionals who engage in “conversion therapy” would be subject to disciplinary measures by a medical or licensing board. The bill received bipartisan support among Maryland lawmakers, and one Republican delegate even came out about her own experiences as a bisexual woman and how her parents had suggested using “conversion therapy” to “fix” her for being bisexual.
“I’m so happy that I did it,” Delegate Meagan Simonaire told the Baltimore Sun while speaking about her coming out. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about being able to be real about for many years, and now I am.”
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Maryland is the 11th state with anti-conversion therapy laws; both Hawaii and New Hampshire recently passed bills banning the measure. Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin has praised Maryland’s law, saying the state is “a better place for countless young people.”
“No child should ever be subjected to the abusive practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” Griffin said in a press release. “This dangerous and inhumane form of child abuse has no basis in science and is uniformly rejected by every major mental health and child welfare organization.”
