In a 10-page executive order issued on June 15, President Joe Biden declared war on conversion therapy and pledged to defend the LGBT community from various forms of discrimination.
The order, which was accompanied by a seven-page explanation, is one more salvo in the clash of rights that has arisen in recent years over transgender issues.
The order describes conversion therapy as “efforts to suppress or change an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
Keeping a campaign promise he made to the LGBT community, Biden called for an administration-wide push to eliminate the use of conversion therapy by therapists across the nation. He described it as a “harmful” and “discredited practice that research indicates can cause significant harm, including higher suicide rates…”
“My administration must safeguard LGBTQI+ youth from dangerous practices like so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” said Biden.
The Williams Institute at UCLA estimates that there were two million Americans identifying themselves as transgender in 2021—about six-tenths of one percent of the nation’s population.
Twenty states and over 100 municipalities have banned conversion therapy for minors.
To further protect the rights of LGBT individuals from encroachment by other states, Biden is marshaling the resources of 10 departments of the federal government, along with numerous supporting agencies. The list includes the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development.
Biden said in his order that the Federal Trade Commission “is encouraged to consider whether conversion therapy constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice, and to issue such consumer warnings or notices as may be appropriate.”
Such a designation by the FTC could expose therapists to prosecution.
The aggressive promotion of these and other LGBT policies has provoked a backlash around the country.
In the first quarter of 2022, 238 bills that would “limit the rights” of LGBT individuals were proposed by legislatures across America—half of which involved transgender people, according to NBC News.
By Steven Kovac
