Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, joined by the members of City Council, announced Monday they're proposing to ban gay conversion therapy for minors. It would be the first city in Colorado to ban the controversial practice, Hancock's office said.
The city is acting on the recommendation of Denver's LGBTQ Commission. In a statement, Hancock called conversion therapy "dangerous and immoral," saying he intends to make sure it never happens within city limits. He said safeguarding the safety, well-being and happiness of the city's LGBTQ youth is the point of the proposal.
The proposal to ban conversion therapy comes from the city's Office of Human Rights and Community Partnerships. According to the office, conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity based on the idea that being LGBTQ is a mental illness. The American Psychiatric Association rejects that view.
According to the news release from the city, this proposal is aimed at licensed therapists in the city claiming being gay or transgender is a mental illness and thereby practicing conversion therapy. A city spokesperson confirmed to 9NEWS no city officials know of any therapists practicing such therapy.
The proposal will be presented to the City Council's Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee this Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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