A bill that seeks to prohibit health
care providers from engaging in therapies that attempt to alter the
sexual orientation and gender identity of LGBT youth cleared the
Virginia Senate on Monday.
Such therapies go by names such as
“conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” “sexual
orientation change efforts” or “ex-gay therapy.”
State Senator Scott Surovell, a
Democrat from Fairfax County, sponsored the legislation, Senate Bill
245.
According to the Washington Blade,
the bill cleared the Senate with bipartisan support.
A version of the bill cleared the
Virginia House of Delegates on February 3.
Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has
signaled he would sign the bill into law.
Democrats, who in November regained
control of the House and Senate for the first time since 1996, have
introduced a flood of LGBT rights bills this legislative session.