HAWAII HOUSE BILL BANS “CONVERSION THERAPY”
April 10, 2018
HAWAII HOUSE BILL BANS “CONVERSION THERAPY”
By Scott Foster
HONOLULU: Today, the Hawaii House of Representatives passed an amended Senate Bill (Senate Bill SB 270) which would ban the abusive practice of so-called “Conversion Therapy” which has been falsely claimed “to make Gay people straight.” Because the House added several amendments, it will still need to pass a conference committee before it can be sent to Hawaii Governor David Ige for his signature. Ige has been a longtime champion of LGBT rights. Hawaii’s State Senate had earlier passed the legislation with only one senator voting “no.”
Hawaii would join Connecticut, California, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Washington as well as many municipalities including cities and counties in Arizona, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. All have enacted similar protections.
The psychologically destructive practice has been debunked by virtually every major medical and mental health organization including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association.
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