Vancouver city councilors on Wednesday
voted unanimously to ban therapies that attempt to alter the sexual
orientation or gender identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people, becoming the first municipality in Canada to do
so.
Such therapies go by names such as
“conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay
therapy.”
Similar bans have been approved in the
Canadian states of Ontario and Manitoba.
A last-minute amendment by Councilor
George Affleck altered the bylaw to include adults, not only minors
as originally written.
Resident Peter Gajdics survived half a
dozen years of such treatment and lobbied for the ban.
“I feel victorious,” Gajdics told
StarMetro Vancouver. “I actually didn't think it was going
to happen; I kept thinking something was going to get in the way.
This is huge for Vancouver to take this position.”
“I was overwhelmed and thrilled that
they changed it from minors to adults. I had wanted it to be adults
cause I was an adult when it happened to me,” he
added.
In the United States, 14 states plus
the District of Columbia have banned such therapies to minors.
California
has introduced a bill that would extend its ban to adults.
(Related: N.H.
Gov Chris Sununu signs transgender anti-discrimination, “ex-gay”
therapy ban bills.)