NOTICE OF A PROPOSED ORDINANCE Laws of Minnesota 2017, Chapter 77, created a new law in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 415, that would require certain types of notice for many proposed ordinances or proposed amendments to ordinances. Only interim ordinances have been exempted from this notice requirement. Below is the proposed ordinances that will be considered at the July 6, 2020, City Council meeting:
Ordinance No. 152, Fourth Series
An Ordinance Prohibiting Conversion Therapy for Minors by Licensed Providers
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RED WING DOES ORDAIN:
SECTION 1: Section 6 of the City Code is hereby amended by inserting the underlined language.
SECTION 6.27. PROHIBITING CONVERSION THERAPY FOR MINORS BY LICENSED PROVIDERS
Subd. 1. Findings.
A. Conversion therapy is an ineffective and unsafe practice based on the discredited premise that a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation is a mental disorder that can be cured or corrected, and
B. The practice of conversion therapy has been found to be dangerous to an individual’s mental and physical well-being, and there is no scientifically valid evidence that supports the practice of conversion therapy; and
C. The American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, among many others, have all been critical of conversion therapy.
Subd. 2. Purpose. The purpose of this Section is to protect the physical and psychological well-being of minors, including LGBTQ minors, from the harm caused by conversion therapy.
Subd. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings stated below:
Conversion therapy means any practice or treatment by a provider that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. Conversion therapy shall not include counseling that provides support and assistance to a person undergoing gender transition, or counseling that provides acceptance, support, and understanding of a person or facilitates a person’s coping, social support, identity exploration, development, including sexual orientation and gender identity, and neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, if such counseling is not conducted with the goal of changing the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Gender expression means a person’s expression of gender identity through appearance and behavior, including how an individual believes that they are perceived by others.
Gender identity means a person’s sense of self as a woman, man, another gender, or genderless. When a person’s gender identity or gender expression and sex assigned at birth are not congruent, the individual may identify along the transgender spectrum.
Minor means any person under the age of eighteen (18) years of age.
Provider means an individual who is licensed, certified, or registered under the laws of the State of Minnesota, including mental health practitioners and mental health professionals as defined in Minnesota Statutes, Section 245.462, to provide mental health services. Providers include mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, physicians, psychologists, psychotherapists, chemical dependency professions, and their associates. A provider does not include members of the clergy who are acting in their roles as clergy or pastoral counselors and providing religious counseling to congregants.
Sexual orientation means a component of identity that includes a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction. A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, and/or to people who have other gender identities.
Subd. 4. Prohibited Practices. It shall be unlawful for any provider to provide conversion therapy to a minor.
Subd. 5. Enforcement. Violations of this Section are punishable by fines set forth in the City’s Fee Ordinance. Complaints will be taken by the City Council Administrator or his/her designee. A provider has the right to a hearing if requested within 30 days after notice of the violation. Section 6.26 does not apply to this Section.
Subd. 6. Severability. lf any of the parts or provisions of this Section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Section, including the application of such part or provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this Section are severable.
SECTION 3: Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 14 days after its adoption and publication in accordance with the City Charter.
Introduced the 22nd day of June, 20_20.