COLUMBIA — Columbia leaders heard from doctors both in support of and opposed to a proposed ban on the professional practice of therapy seeking to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
There are no education or ethics standards for practicing conversion therapy, “because it’s something that’s been discounted time and time again,” a caller identified as Dr. Edwin Hayes told Columbia City Council on May 18.
“It has the efficacy of snake oil, and I think its utility is something that just brings about bad outcome,” said Hayes, an infectious disease specialist and primary care doctor. “And that’s something I see with my patient population.”
City Council unanimously passed an ordinance banning conversion therapy on May 4.
The ordinance would make it illegal for licensed therapists and counselors in the city to professionally practice on those younger than 18 therapy that seeks to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Violating the rule would be a civil infraction punishable by a fine up to $500.
A final vote has not yet been scheduled. The council received legal advice on the ordinance during a private session of its meeting May 18 but didn’t talk about it publicly beyond hearing from three members of the public.
After Hayes, another caller who identified himself as Dr. Richard McCain, said he disagreed with Hayes and “the science simply doesn’t support this direction.” He urged the council to be cautious and that a state medical board or state labor department might be better to address the practice than the local elected officials.
State Sen. Joshua Kimbrell, R-Boiling Springs, introduced a bill in the Statehouse before the General Assembly adjourned seeking to override the city’s ordinance. He also wrote to Attorney General Alan Wilson on May 13 asking the state’s top lawyer to intervene and challenge the city’s proposal as unconstitutional.
A federal appeals court in November 2020 struck down two similar local bans passed in Florida, siding with two therapists who brought the case who argued the rules violated free speech rights. A federal judge in 2019 threw out a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s ban on the practice of conversion therapy on minors.
Hayes was joined in supporting the city’s effort to ban conversion therapy by Dylan Gunnels, a former City Council candidate and founder of Agape Table, a Columbia nonprofit started with the goal of addressing the lack of LGBTQ inclusion in churches.
Gunnels told council members about still receiving therapy at 28 because of trauma caused by experiences from childhood.
“I’m queer, and I went through conversion therapy without choice,” Gunnels said as part of his remarks. “It didn’t help me, it only harmed me.”
