Lorain City Council on Monday, July 15 considered an ordinance banning healthcare professionals from performing conversion therapy on minors, but could not come to a consensus to pass the ban as emergency legislation.
Instead, the legislation will have a second reading, most likely in September.
The ordinance was written by Brandon West, a 22-year-old activist who ran unsuccessfully for Lorain City Council in 2023. Council-at-large member Mary Springowski presented the ordinance to her colleagues. She spoke of her younger brother, Seán Donovan, a Cleveland business owner who died in 2006 from an HIV-related illness.
“He was very fortunate in the parents that he had, but a lot of his friends were not, “ she said. “Some of them went through this conversion therapy, and it was nothing short of torture.”
“It is in the memory of Seán and all of those other kids who have been so desperate and so despairing that they’ve taken their own lives that I’m supporting this.”
Fines and professional review
The ordinance cites condemnation of conversion therapy by organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Counseling Association and the American Medical Association.
If the legislation passes, the courts could fine healthcare professionals between $500 and $1,000 and imprison them for up to one year. If the offender has a license, such as a medical license, that licensing body would be notified so they could review the offender’s professional conduct.
According to a 2023 report, Ohio is one of the top five states for licensed and unlicensed practitioners of conversion therapy, with at least 72 conversion therapy practitioners. Nearly 3 out of 5 (58%) of those 72 practitioners hold active unrestricted licenses to engage in the mental health profession. Nearly half are licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and 22% are licensed social workers (LSWs) Ten practitioners in Ohio hold multiple licenses, half of which are from other states.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, Lorain would be the second partially rural Ohio city to ban conversion therapy, following Dayton. Eleven Ohio cities have banned conversion therapy on minors, including Cleveland, Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati, covering roughly 25% of Ohio’s population.
Pass it immediately, or wait?
At issue during the meeting was whether to pass the bill “on emergency” that night, rather than going through Ohio’s standard process of three readings before a bill is passed. Emergency legislation requires an approval of three-fourths of council to pass in its first meeting.
Passing the ordinance as an emergency is “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety for the reason that it is immediately necessary to protect Lorain’s LGBTQIA+ youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy,” the proposed legislation concluded.
Passing a bill “on emergency” also prevents the community from calling a recall vote on the legislation. During Monday’s meeting, nine other bills were passed “on emergency,” unanimously approved for immediate implementation with no explanation.
Springowski said she wasn’t sure why some council members did not fully understand the bill and wanted to “pray on it.”
“(Conversion therapy has) been pretty much frowned upon throughout the state,” Springowski told The Buckeye Flame. “It’s absolutely reprehensible.”
Supporters of immediate passage included Councilwoman Beth Henley, who recalled a personal experience with a gay neighbor looking for a place to stay.
“Once upon a time when a young man came to our home … he needed a place to stay because he was thrown out,” she said at the meeting. “He said, ‘My parents said ‘I am an aberration of God.’”
“My father looked at him and said, ‘God doesn’t make mistakes. You come here and stay with us.’”
The audience applauded after her comments.
However, 3rd Ward Councilwoman Pamela Carter said she did not feel prepared enough to vote on the bill’s language.
“I would caution us to go through a committee meeting so the public has time to make a response on this as well,” Carter said.
Headed for a second reading
Ultimately, the Lorain City Council voted to send the bill to a second reading, which will not take place until September unless a special meeting is called during their August recess.
Councilman Joshua Thornsberry supported the ordinance but motioned for the second reading, saying his fellow council members weren’t ready to vote yet.
“I don’t think people were voting ‘no’ to the ordinance,” the 8th Ward councilman told The Buckeye Flame the following day. “I think people were voting ‘no’ (to say) ‘I’m not ready to make a decision yet.’ That’s why I thought the best course of action to eventually get it passed was to send it to a second reading.”
Thornsberry researched conversion therapy before the meeting, and he found it difficult to find information. Online articles ranged from pro-LGBTQ+ writings heavily condemning conversion therapy to other conservative-leaning articles that claim there is nothing wrong with the practice.
The most reliable information was from medical and community associations, Thornsberry said.
“There’s a lot of information out there, but I think there is a lot of biased information out there,” he said. “I try to tell some of my colleagues, ‘Hey, this is where I went for my research’ (and) try to point them in the right direction.”
Inspired by passion
For two years, Brandon West, the 22-year-old activist, has worked towards banning conversion therapy on minors in Lorain.
Akron and Columbus’ ordinances helped West get the language he needed to write the ordinance himself. He’s always had a passion to help those in need, he said.
“I wanted to do something that I felt (would have) an impact,” West said.
Banning conversion therapy could reduce suicide rates for LGBTQ+ youth even at a city level, West said, citing a commentary article in the Ohio Capital Journal written by a public policy analyst.
He found a source of support in Springowski.
Springowski mentored West on writing the ordinance. When the email went out from the city clerk asking for a council member to sponsor the bill, Springowski took up the mantle.
“I remain steadfast in supporting this, I am proud of my sponsorship with this, and would do it again in a heartbeat.” Springowski said. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
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