This item was originally approved on first reading at the March 1, 2017 Regular City Council Meeting. No comments were received concerning this item and no changes were made since first reading.

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 non-conforming, or questing  (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 romantic partners, problems in sexual and emotional intimacy, sexual dysfunction, high risk sexual behavior,  a feeling of being dehumanized and untrue to self, a loss of faith, and a sense of having wasted time and resources. In this context, as detailed more fully in the attached ordinance, conversion therapies have been deemed harmful, without medical basis, and overwhelmingly “contraindicated” as tools to "help" LGBTQ individuals, and only serve to further ostracize, harm and pose risk to such individuals. 

The proposed ban on the practice of conversion therapy efforts within the City of Riviera Beach would only apply to minors (i.e., persons under 18 years of age) and, significantly, is not intended to prevent mental health providers from expressing their views to patients, whether children or adults, about SOCE, homosexuality, or any other topic; prevent mental health providers from recommending SOCE to patients, whether children or adults; prevent mental health providers from administering SOCE to any person who is 18 years of age or older; prevent mental health providers from referring minors to unlicensed counselors, such as religious leaders; prevent unlicensed providers, such as religious leaders, from administering SOCE to children or adults; or prevent minors from seeking SOCE from mental health providers in other municipalities, counties or states which do not prohibit such already.