Marriage may be legal for all couples now, but many in the LGBTQ community say the fight for equality is far from finished. One Florida lawmaker is pushing to prohibit so-called conversion therapy in the state.
Conversion therapy bills itself as a way to straighten out people attracted to members of the same sex. But Rep. David Richardson (D-Miami Beach) says the practice is harmful to patients—who are often children.
“There are still examples of teens and young adults who are being forced into this sort of therapy, and I know how detrimental it is,” Richardson says. “I know that the national organizations that support these practitioners have gone on record by saying how harmful it is for a child to go through this sort of therapy.”
Similar measures have passed in California, New Jersey and Washington D.C. Richardson filed a conversion therapy ban last year, but it failed without a hearing.
In addition to Richardson’s bill, Rep. Holly Raschein (R-Key Largo) has filed legislation to prohibit discrimination in employment and public accommodation.
