DENVER — A bill prohibiting conversion therapy for minors has passed a Colorado State Senate committee Monday. The bill is now heading back to the House.
Though there are not any known places in the Denver area that practice conversion therapy, the bill is symbolic for the LGBTQ community.
Conversion therapy is the effort to change an individual's sexual orientation by eliminating or reducing romantic attractions and feelings towards individuals of the same sex.
According to the Colorado General Assembly, HB19-1129 will prohibit a licensed physician who specializes in psychiatry or a licensed, certified or registered mental health care provider from practicing conversion therapy with patients under 18 years-old.
If licensees are practicing conversion therapy on minors, they will be subjected to disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing board. Any advertising or practicing of conversion therapy by a physician or mental health care provider is seen as a deceptive trade practice under the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act.”
The bill has been introduced numerous times before but has died each time.
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