By Caleb Hensin
The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill Feb. 20 that would ban youth conversion therapy — a practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill, authored by Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul), will now move to the Senate, where it must be approved before being sent to the governor’s desk. Kat Rohn, executive director of OutFront Minnesota, a lobbying group that advocated for the bill, said she expects Senate action on the bill possibly the second week of April.
The measure, which passed in the House by an 81–47 vote, would prohibit mental health practitioners in Minnesota from providing conversion therapy to people under the age of 18. Those who do would face consequences including disciplinary action from medical licensing boards.
“I feel like the governor and lieutenant governor are really prioritizing things that are important to the Minnesota queer community,” said Beatrice Meadows, a University of Minnesota graduate student and employee of Outfront Minnesota. “I feel supported as a queer person living in the Twin Cities metro area. I feel very safe here.”
On the floor, Republicans attempted to amend the bill to also ban gender-affirming care. Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) introduced the amendment, which failed.
Conversion therapy has been widely discredited by medical experts. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Therapy’s policy on conversion therapy, “such ‘conversion therapies’ (or other interventions imposed with the intent of promoting a particular sexual orientation and/or gender as a preferred outcome) lack scientific credibility and clinical utility.”
If Hollins’ bill is passed, Minnesota would join 20 other states — including California, Oregon and Washington — and the District of Columbia in banning conversion therapy for minors. The remaining states have no laws prohibiting the practice.
“It is deeply heartening to see Minnesota working hard to introduce legislation in support of LGBTQ youth and protecting them from the harms of so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” said Troy Stevenson, senior advocacy campaign manager for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention and advocacy efforts for LGBTQ+ youth. The Trevor Project was one of the bill’s sponsors.
The Williams Law Institute found in 2020 that 7% of lesbian, gay and bisexual people ages 18–59 have been subjected to conversion therapy. Four out of five of those people received it from a religious leader, and those who received conversion therapy were 88% more likely to attempt suicide.
In 2021, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order barring the use of state funds to pay for conversion therapy, but he did not have the authority to outright ban the practice in the state, something he instead called on legislators to do.
“This year looks like the year we will finally get our [conversion therapy ban bill] passed,” Rohn said.
While OutFront has worked with municipalities in Minnesota to introduce local bans and the practice of conversion therapy has declined significantly in the state, Rohn said passing a statewide ban could help the goal of decreasing the number further.
About 10% of LGBTQ+ people in Minnesota have been subjected to conversion therapy or have been threatened with being subjected to it, Rohn said.
She also said the 11 Republicans who voted in favor of the ban along with DFL members signaled what might be a change in the conversation.
“There is a growing consensus that this is just the right thing to do,” Rohn said.