News (USA)

N.Y. Assembly votes to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth; Senate passage unlikely

Lawmakers in the New York state Assembly have voted once again to prohibit therapy aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT youth.
By Staff Reports · Updated on May 4, 2015
N.Y. Assembly votes to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth; Senate passage unlikely

New-York-state

ALBANY, N.Y. — Lawmakers in the New York state Assembly have voted once again to prohibit a psychological treatment designed to change or alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT youth.

Wednesday’s vote was the second time the Assembly has moved to outlaw what is known as conversion therapy, or reparative therapy.

Under the bill, any licensed mental health practitioner who performs conversion therapy could be cited for unprofessional conduct.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx said sexual orientation “is neither a choice nor an illness” and that conversion therapy is unhealthy and an affront to the patient’s dignity.

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Similar legislation passed the Assembly last year but did not get a vote in the Republican-led Senate.

The bill’s chances in the Senate again seem unlikely.

Associated Press contributed to this report.
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