Royal Oak, Michigan, city commission voted this week to ban conversion therapy on minors, just weeks after the neighboring community of Madison Heights. The two cities are the fifth and sixth in Michigan to ban the harmful and discredited practice.
“We’re going to do everything within our power to protect our residents,” City Commissioner Kyle DuBuc said in the Royal Oak Tribune.
Madison Heights City Council voted July 27 to ban conversion therapy for minors, according to Madison-Park News.
“I just want to protect youths from any coercive influences that might interfere with them finding themselves in a free and healthy manner,” said Madison Heights City Councilman David Soltis. “This is narrowly tailored to prevent this clinical practice, but it’s not meant to interfere with the beliefs of faith communities. It just protects the youth, allowing them to decide what kind of therapies they want and making that decision on their own. It’s protecting the individual minor.”
Born Perfect is a survivor-led program created by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) in 2014 to end conversion therapy by passing laws across the country that protect LGBTQ children and young people, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety, and raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these dangerous practices. https://bornperfect.org