A recent Supreme Court ruling has a majority of Cincinnati City Council concerned that the city’s ban on “conversion” therapy for LGBTQ youth could be in jeopardy.
Councilman Jeff Cramerding and five other members of City Council have sponsored a motion for Cincinnati’s legal department to look at ways to strengthen and tweak the city’s prohibition on therapy designed to change sexual orientation or gender identity for minors.
The motion doesn’t specify what those tweaks are.
“With some wording changes, it is possible to preserve the law and continue to protect Cincinnati’s LGBTQ+ youth,” the motion states.
Why they’re concerned
The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 ruled against a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for minors, finding a U.S. Appeals Court should have applied a stricter constitutional test when determining whether the ban violates the First Amendment. The court remanded the issue back to the appeals court, meaning the state of Colorado will have a tougher standard to prove the therapy ban is constitutional.
‘That is torture to young people’
If the ban is ruled unconstitutional, advocates and leaders are worried conversion therapy could once again be legal in Cincinnati for the first time since council outlawed it in 2015.
“Conversion therapy camps are back on the table, which is torture,” said Storm Boyd, a member of the newly formed LGBTQIA+ Commission formed by Cincinnati City Council this year. Boyd has also served as chairman of Equality Cincinnati Political Action Committee, which supports pro-LGBTQ issues and candidates.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Boyd said. “I think that is torture to young people and kids. And I know that we’re going to do everything within our power here in this city and with this commission to fight back on that.”
Cincinnati one of the first places to ban conversion therapy
Cincinnati in 2015 became the first city in the country to ban conversion therapy after the District of Columbia. At the time, four states also had bans: California, Oregon, Illinois and New Jersey.
Cincinnati area pastors in 2015 tried to convince Cincinnati City Council not to ban the practice.
“This Council will create another type of bondage for something people themselves have a right to seek liberty from,” Bishop Victor Cousins told Council in 2015.
Cincinnati City Council passed the ban, prohibiting any mental health professional from engaging in efforts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Those who violate the ordinance could face a $200 fine per day.
Now, more than 20 states and dozens of municipalities across the country have banned the practice. In Ohio, at least 15 counties and municipalities have passed laws against conversion therapy.
Bans rarely enforced
Statewide, the bans on conversion therapy appear to be rarely, if ever, enforced.
Cramerding, who sponsored the motion, said he’s not aware of anyone being prosecuted for violating the ban. In 2020, Cincinnati sent a cease-and-desist order to a local therapist who advertised classes “preventing homosexuality in today’s youth.” The therapist removed the section from the website.
That was the only instance statewide of a conversation therapy ban being enforced in Ohio, the Buckeye Flame, a nonprofit news site dedicated to LGBTQ issues, found in a 2025 report.
What does the medical community think of conversion therapy?
Medical organizations, such as the American Psychological Association, American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics have denounced conversion therapy as harmful.
The therapy, which is also known as reparative therapy, can involve a variety of strategies designed to reduce or eliminate sexual attraction toward a person of the same gender. It can involve spiritual interventions, psychoanalysis, hypnosis, surgery, chemical castration, hormonal drugs and electric shock.
Who sponsored the motion?
In addition to Cramerding, the sponsors of the motion are: Anna Albi, Ryan James, Mark Jeffreys, Evan Nolan and Seth Walsh.
Cramerding said he expects the motion will be voted on next week by council. He hopes the administration will come back with some answers within the next two months.
One of the sponsors, Jeffreys, doesn’t anticipate any opposition to the motion.
“I think there was a reason we put it in place, because these are hugely damaging, especially for teenagers, and I think it’s important for us to continue to have it in place,” Jeffreys said. “And so the question becomes, legally, what do we need to do to make sure that remains the case?”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati council aims to protect city’s ban on conversion therapy
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
