6/18/2017
By Ivan Pereira
The City Council will consider a ban on profiting from the controversial practice of gay “conversion therapy” Monday.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Councilman Danny Dromm will introduce a bill to the civil rights committee that would prohibit any person or organization from charging a fee to perform conversion therapy, a practice condemned by health professionals, LGBT activists and former President Barack Obama for its long-term psychological harm to patients.
“Conversion therapy is a barbaric practice that has no place anywhere, least of all in New York City,” Mark-Viverito said in a statement. “Our legislation will protect all LGBT New Yorkers’ right to express their sexual orientation and gender identity by banning this dangerous and fraudulent practice.”
The Daily News first reported the bill’s introduction Sunday.
The legislation would amend the city’s Consumer Protection Law so that any person or group in the city that charges a patient for conversion therapy, regardless of their age, would be hit with a $1,000 fine. Several states, including New Jersey and Nevada, and cities, like Cincinnati and Miami, have passed similar bans.
Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order that prohibits public and private health insurers from covering the practice. The State Legislature has tried for years to ban conversion therapy throughout New York, but the plans have stalled in the Senate.
