Colorado Bans Conversion Therapy for LGBTQ Youth

Colorado on Friday, May 31 became the 18th state in the country to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQIA+ minors under the age of 18 years old after Governor Jared Polis signed the bill into law. Governor Polis, who is openly gay, also approved a separate bill into law that allows transgender or gender queer individuals to change their own birth certificate to reflect their gender identity without having to prove they surgically changed their gender or submit a public notice to the state government.

Colorado joins 17 other states nationwide, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico banning the controversial practice of attempting to convert queer people into heterosexual and or cisgender people. Conversion therapy has been heavily discredited by major medial non-profit organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Pan American Health Organization.