City of Gainesville - File #: 160200.

• File #: 160200.
• Version: 4
• Name: Prohibit the use of Conversion Therapy (from Homosexuality) in the City of Gainesville
• Type: Ordinance
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 7/8/2016
• In control: City Attorney
• On agenda: 3/15/2018
• Final action: 4/5/2018
• Title: ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE USE OF CONVERSION THERAPY ON MINORS (B) ORDINANCE NO. 160200 An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida amending Chapter 17 of the Code of Ordinances, relating to offenses, by creating Article IV, to be entitled "Conversion Therapy," to prohibit licensed professionals from engaging in counseling efforts, practices, or treatments with the goal to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity; amending Section 2-339 to provide a civil citation penalty; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an immediate effective date.

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
4/5/2018	4	City Commission	Adopted on Final Reading (Ordinance)	Pass
3/15/2018	4	City Commission	Adopted on First Reading (Ordinance)	Pass
12/14/2017	3	General Policy Committee	Approved, as shown above	Pass
11/9/2017	2	General Policy Committee	Continued
7/7/2016	1	City Commission	Referred	Pass

title
ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE USE OF CONVERSION THERAPY ON MINORS (B)

ORDINANCE NO. 160200

An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida amending Chapter 17 of the Code of Ordinances, relating to offenses, by creating Article IV, to be entitled "Conversion Therapy," to prohibit licensed professionals from engaging in counseling efforts, practices, or treatments with the goal to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity; amending Section 2-339 to provide a civil citation penalty; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an immediate effective date.

explanation
On July 7, 2016, the City Commission referred the topic of prohibiting the use of conversion therapy to the General Policy Committee. On December 14, 2017, the General Policy Committee directed staff to draft a proposed ordinance.

Major professional associations of mental health practitioners and researchers in the United States and elsewhere for nearly 40 years have agreed that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or gender nonconforming, or questioning (LGBTQ) is not a mental disease, disorder or illness, deficiency or shortcoming. The American Psychological Association's Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation ("APA Task Force") conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal literature on sexual orientation change efforts ("SOCE") (also referred to as "conversion" or "reparative" therapy), and issued its report in 2009, citing research that sexual orientation change efforts can pose critical health risks to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, including confusion, depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social withdrawal, suicidality, substance abuse, stress, disappointment, self-blame, decreased self-esteem and authenticity to others, increased self-hatred, hostility and blame toward parents, feelings of anger and betrayal, loss of friends and potential...