Fri. November 15, 2019
Leaders in St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri are considering legislation that would prohibit therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors.
Such therapies go by names such as "conversion therapy," "reparative therapy," "sexual orientation change efforts" or "ex-gay therapy."
On Wednesday, an aldermanic committee advanced legislation in St. Louis. The bill now goes to the full Board of Aldermen, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The outlet described a public hearing before the vote as "impassioned."
The vote comes one week after a similar measure cleared a council committee in Kansas City.
In announcing his legislation in October, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas described such therapies as "abusive."
"It's important for us to join communities around the country," Lucas said. "We are standing up as a place that's welcoming to anybody. And that means you're not just welcomed here, but that we are not allowing abusive practices."
"We're trying to address something that says if you're a recipient of a business license in Kansas City, Missouri, we are making sure you're not engaged in these types of harmful activities," he added.
Last month, Columbia became the first city in Missouri to pass such an ordinance.
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