Delaware Governor John Carney, a
Democrat, on Monday signed a bill that bans therapies that attempt to
alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender youth.
Such therapies go by names such as
“conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy” or “ex-gay
therapy.
The bill cleared the Delaware General
Assembly in June.
The measure was sponsored by Senator
Harris McDowell and Representative Debra Heffernan, both of whom are
Democrats.
“Conversion therapy is pseudoscience
and child endangerment, plain and simply,” Heffernan said in a
statement.
In a tweet, Carney thanked McDowell and
Heffernan for introducing the legislation.
“I'm thankful for the legislators and
advocates who moved SB 65 forward,” Carney said. “Thank you
specifically to Rep. Heffernan and Sen. McDowell for their leadership
on this important issue, and to all members of the General Assembly
who voted to make this new law a reality.”
Similar legislation has been enacted in
New Hampshire, Hawaii, Maryland, Washington, Connecticut, California,
Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, Rhode
Island, New Mexico and the District of Columbia. An increasing
number of local municipalities have also enacted similar protections;
Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania being the latest.