FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2019
Contact: Shannon Minter – 415-624-6071; Email sminter@nclrights.org
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Yesterday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert released a letter ordering the Utah Psychologist Licensing Board to promulgate regulations protecting youth from efforts by licensed mental health professionals to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. Governor Herbert ordered the Psychologist Licensing Board “to take the lead on this,’ and then to share its results with other state mental health licensing boards. The letter also asks the board to “carefully consider how” psychologists can educate families when parents seek such dangerous treatments for their children.
Statement by Mathew Shurka, Conversion Therapy Survivor and Co-Founder of Born Perfect:
“When a state leader of Governor Herbert’s stature speaks out on this important issue, it educates millions of people. As a survivor, I know that Governor Herbert’s leadership on this issue will save lives.”
Statement by Shannon Minter, Legal Director the National Center for Lesbian Rights:
“This is a huge step forward for LGBTQ youth and their families in Utah. Governor Herbert is setting a powerful example for other state leaders across the country about how to address the issue of conversion therapy and protect young people from this life-threatening practice.”
Born Perfect is a survivor-led campaign to end conversion therapy created by The National Center for Lesbian Rights, a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.