Colorado Republicans kill proposed ban on gay conversion therapy.

NOTE: REPUBLICANS HOLD A ONE-SEAT MAJORITY IN THE STATE SENATE. ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES AND THE ONLY WAY TO MOVE FORWARD IS TO FLIP THE CHAMBER.

House Democrats sent the Republican-held Senate the conversion therapy ban for a fourth year in a row. The bill never had a chance, but it's one of the examples Democrats hope will help them overtake the Republicans' one-seat majority in the upper chamber in November.

House Bill 1245 died on another party-line vote. It was sponsored by Reps. Paul Rosenthal, D-Denver, and Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City, and carried in the Senate by Sen. Stephen Fenberg, D-Boulder.

"What this bill doesn't do is prohibit the practice by clergy," Fenberg said. "... It doesn't apply to an adult who through their own volition seeks out the services."

He added, "Being gay is not a mental health problem. You can't use therapy to ungay someone."

While some people talk of the damage the therapy did to their sense of self-worth, others who had undergone the therapy said it helped them sort through issues, including their sexual preference and gender identity.

Others said there are no complaints stacking up against therapists who talk to minors about same-sex attraction. Others said it's a decision that should be reserved for parents and mental health professionals.

Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, said the bill was counter-intuitive. He said it instructs therapist to support minors with acceptance and support but not to change their thoughts or behaviors about being gay. The reason people go to the therapy is to seek change, he said.



http://gazette.com/gay-rights-colorado-senate-committee-oks-religious-adoption-rules-nixes-conversion-therapy-ban/article/1624882