Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Photo: US Government)
Good news from Minnesota. State Governor Tim Walz (D) will sign an executive order today banning conversion therapy to minors. His move comes after the Republican-led Senate has repeatedly failed to pass legislation banning the practice.
The governor’s office yesterday issued a press release saying, “On Thursday, July 15, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan will hold a signing ceremony for Executive Order 21-25, a landmark executive order protecting LGBTQ + youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy. . “
Conversion therapy is the discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through psychotherapeutic means. It doesn’t work and usually does a lot more harm than good.
Some cities in Minnesota already prohibit this practice for minors, including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth.
Related: Virginia is the first state in the southern United States to ban conversion therapy to minors
The Senate rejected attempts to pass a ban in 2020 and 2019.
It emerged in 2019 that this was a deeply personal matter for the GOP Senate Majority Leader Senator Paul Gazelka, who is a conservative Christian. One of her children, Gemma, became a lesbian as a teenager. Gemma then identified herself as bi-gender and uses “they” pronouns. Gazelka told Star-Tribune that he sent Gemma to a therapist when they were teenagers, but it was to “heal”, not “conversion”. Gemma remembers it differently, saying that the therapist spoke out against same-sex relationships.
Gazelka said in 2019 that he struggled to find a compromise that protected young people at a vulnerable point in their lives but also allowed therapists to speak freely with their clients. “I am crying over this problem,” he said.
Since then, lawmakers have continued to disagree on the issue, which led to Walz’s decree.
Minnesota joins 20 other states in prohibiting this practice for minors.
Next month, a new documentary on Netflix explores the so-called “ex-gay” movement and the damage inflicted by conversion therapy. Pray Away takes a look at the Exodus movement, which ran from the late 1970s to 2013. Many people involved in the movement have recanted their views and are now living openly LGBTQ lives.
Related: New Netflix Documentary Explores The Horrific Reality Of Conversion Therapy
