Richfield approves conversion therapy ban for minors and vulnerable adults

The Richfield City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance banning conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults.

With a unanimous vote, the council became the latest Minnesota city to outlaw the discredited practice, which seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Conversion therapy — also called "reparative therapy" — is already restricted in Minnesota under an executive order Gov. Tim Walz signed last year; the Richfield ordinance would apply if that order were no longer in effect.

"We wanted to codify that support and not just depend on an executive order that could be taken away," Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez said. "We wanted to solidify that ordinance at the city level so that, regardless of politics, we can continue to be a welcoming and supportive community in the city of Richfield and ban conversion therapy."

Mara Glubka, a transgender activist and member of Richfield's Human Rights Commission, spearheaded the ordinance after neighboring Bloomington approved its own ban last year.

"I wanted to make a statement to the youth in my city that they are protected from things that are harmful," she said.

Glubka gave a presentation to the council in June about the harms of conversion therapy and about measures that other cities had implemented. St. Paul, Minneapolis, West St. Paul, Winona, Northfield, Duluth and Rochester have approved bans in recent years.

According to a 2022 national survey from suicide prevention and mental health organization the Trevor Project, LGBTQ youth who had experienced or been threatened with conversion therapy were more likely to have attempted suicide than those who had not.

"This harmful practice should be banned. Even calling it therapy is just not accurate," Council Member Ben Whalen said at the Tuesday City Council meeting. "This is just common sense of preventing suicide. Everyone deserves to have their sexual orientation, their gender expression and gender identity affirmed and celebrated."

The Richfield ordinance applies to licensed medical or mental health professionals, who could face a $1,000 fine for each violation. The ordinance does not apply to religious counselors. City officials said they were not aware of any licensed providers offering conversion therapy to minors within city limits, though the ordinance would also apply to telemedicine providers outside Richfield.

"We need to protect our LGBTQ children and vulnerable adults," said Council Member Mary Supple, a longtime teacher. "We need to make sure we're not allowing something that's going to be harming our children."