Assistant City Attorney Maria Garcia, far right, discusses Ordinance 9828 with members of the City Commission.
City leaders have adopted an ordinance that bans so-called conversion therapy that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, calling the practice harmful to children.
As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 9828, which specifically prohibits licensed providers from practicing conversion therapy on minors. Vice Mayor Courtney Shipley, who originally proposed the ban, referred to research that shows the therapy is detrimental to mental health and increases suicide risk.
“The very most basic thing that we have to do is to protect each other and to protect children, and I feel that this does that,” Shipley said.