LACROSSE, Wis. – The City Council voted 8-4 to ban medical and mental health professionals from therapy intended to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity. There was one abstention. The ordinance protects minors, under 18, from so-called conversion therapy. The new ordinance, when signed by Mayor Mitch Reynolds, comes after months of wrangling that included whether to restrict clergy from conversion missions. The ordinance had wended its way through what seemed countless revisions in a drawn-out parliamentary process. Even so, some Council members expressed concern about costly lawsuits challenging the ordinance.
Earlier: Mayor on conversion ban: Let them protest