After some modifications, Oberlin is now the 15th municipality in Ohio to ban conversion therapy on minors.
City Council unanimously approved the ordinance during its meeting on Monday, Jan. 20. Council Member Libni López, who spearheaded the ordinance, said passing the law will help the overall push to ban conversion therapy at the state level.
“I think it helps smaller cities continue to move forward in this [effort],” López said.
Earlier in the month, the ordinance was amended due to a U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against Michigan’s statewide conversion therapy ban. In the majority opinion, Judge Raymond Kethledge wrote that banning counselors from practicing on minors is a violation of the counselor’s First Amendment right to free speech instead of their professional conduct, which is not covered by the First Amendment.
According to the ban’s language, “if the counseling ‘seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity,’ the therapist can lose her license; but if the counseling supports ‘a gender transition,’ the counseling is lawful,” Kethledge wrote. “As applied to these plaintiffs, therefore, the Michigan law restricts speech, not conduct.”
The amendment to the Oberlin ordinance struck a sentence that clarified the definition of conversion therapy so it wasn’t confused with a therapist helping their client through their gender journey. Both López and the city’s law director did not see removing the sentence impacting the ordinance’s intended enforcement.
The Sixth Circuit’s decision and Oberlin’s ordinance came as the U.S. Supreme Court is in the midst of deciding the constitutionality of conversion-therapy bans in Chiles v. Salazar, a case that challenges Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law.
Oberlin joins Cuyahoga County and the cities of Whitehall and Lorain in passing bans against practicing conversion therapy on minors. Last June, Oberlin passed a resolution before passing its ordinance.
State Democrats introduced bills in the House and Senate in 2025 to ban conversion therapy on minors statewide. Neither bill has been scheduled for a hearing. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in crisis, please contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860.
- To learn more about LGBTQ+ legislation in Ohio, read The Buckeye Flame’s 2025-2026 legislation guide here.
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