franklin, Kentucky (AP) — Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, issued an executive order on Wednesday prohibiting the use of “conversion therapy” on minors in Kentucky. He justified the action as a necessary precaution to shield kids from the widely discredited practice of using counseling to try and change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
After attempts to pass a state law outlawing the practice were consistently thwarted by Republicans in control of the state legislature, the governor used his executive authority. Beshear declared that he would stop waiting on other people to “do what’s right.”
“All children are children of God, according to my faith,” Beshear declared at the signing ceremony held at the Kentucky Capitol. And we have to take action when certain practices put those kids in danger or even hurt them. Our children suffer from the so-called “conversion therapy” practice.
It was the most recent development in a national discussion concerning the rights of LGBTQ+ children and their families as well as conversion therapy.
The incident in Kentucky evoked strong feelings. The governor was applauded by advocates for mental health and LGBTQ+ rights, but as he was about to sign the legislation, someone nearby yelled, “This is a denial of affirmation therapy!” The protest was muffled by supporters.
Zach Meiners, a filmmaker who is 34 years old, was present. He expressed his desire for young people to not experience the pain and suffering he did during his four years of therapy as a teenager, which left him with “anxiety and depression in ways that I’m still unraveling.”
In an interview, Meiners stated, “I can speak firsthand to how devastating it can be to someone’s mental health.” “And I think it’s a great blessing that I survived.”
After the signing, Republican state representative Killian Timoney shook Beshear’s hand and backed the ban. The governor, according to state Representative Josh Calloway, a fellow Republican, had disregarded the wishes of the legislature, which isn’t expected to meet again until January.
Calloway declared, “We are the body that makes laws, and people’s representatives should make laws.”
Beshear’s order, according to the Family Foundation, a socially conservative organization in Kentucky, violates parental rights and stifles religious expression. The phrase “unlawful action” was used to describe the ban, possibly indicating a legal challenge.
The executive director of the organization, David Walls, released a statement saying, “This order, like previous failed legislative efforts, is designed to promote false LGBTQ ideologies and muzzle Christian counselors, therapists, and pastors from helping children struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity confusion.”
Daniel Schmid, a legal executive with Liberty Counsel, a Christian ministry, claimed that the ban “roughshod over the First Amendment.”
Beshear, who anticipated the backlash, claimed that his action “simply stops a so-called ‘therapy’ that the medical community says is wrong and hurts our children” rather than “imposing an ideology on anybody.”
The order was hailed as “a great step forward for the safety and mental health of so many young Kentuckians” by Democratic state representative Lisa Willner, who pushed for a legislative ban.
Additionally, the order forbids the use of federal or state funds for the therapy’s provision to minors and gives licensing boards the authority to discipline practitioners who are discovered to have used such funds on children.
The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association are two organizations that oppose this type of therapy, citing research that indicates it increases the risk of depression and suicide.
Beshear’s office stated that conversion therapy for minors is illegal in nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia. An organization that prevents suicide and provides crisis intervention services to LGBTQ+ youth in Kentucky, the Trevor Project, found that 21 percent of LGBTQ youth there reported having received threats or being the target of conversion therapy.
In the meantime, initiatives to restrict LGBTQ+ children’s rights and place limitations on gender and sexuality in schools, youth sports, and the medical field are expanding across the nation.
Conversion therapy is “not just snake oil but snake venom,” according to Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization with headquarters in Kentucky.
When the legislature is in session, Beshear is the first governor of Kentucky to have attended the yearly gay rights rally at the statehouse. This happened four years ago. Republicans attacked Beshear on transgender issues last year, citing his veto of a bill that would have prevented transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming medical care. Beshear claimed that the law diminished parents’ authority to choose their children’s medical care. Despite the veto being overridden by GOP lawmakers, Beshear won reelection later that year with a sizable majority.
Beshear declared on Wednesday that he would not relent in his efforts to have the state outlaw conversion therapy.
“It has nothing to do with politics,” declared the governor. It’s not even about gender or sexual orientation, in my opinion. It has to do with shielding our children from cruel acts that harm them.
According to Hartman, the governor made it plain to LGBTQ+ children and their families in Kentucky, saying, “You are perfect as you are.”
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