JEFFERSON CITY — For the first time, a bill to ban conversion therapy in Missouri has been filed with the state assembly.
PROMO, the state LGBTQ rights group, said that the Youth Mental Health Preservation Act, known as HB 2141, was filed by State Rep. Tracy McCreery. The bill states that “state licensed professionals cannot engage in any form of conversion therapy of a minor.”
“Conversion therapy is a dangerous practice that needs to be stopped. Lawmakers should be doing everything in our power to protect all children,” McCreery told PROMO. Missouri would be the fourth state to file a conversion ban bill in 2018.
There are no cities in Missouri in which conversion therapy is banned for minors, according to PROMO. Nine states plus D.C. have passed similar legislation, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Several cities in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania have also banned conversion therapy practices for minors.
The bill, if passed, would prohibit licensed mental health practitioners from subjecting minors to harmful “conversion therapy” practices that attempt to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
