Ruling deals blow to foes of LGBTQ conversion therapy

Appeals court decision seen scrapping laws in several Florida municipalities

MIAMI -- As a result of a federal appeals court ruling that struck down laws in Palm Beach County that banned LGBTQ conversion therapy, other Florida municipalities with similar laws apparently can no longer enforce such bans on therapies that attempt to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity.

That's the interpretation of attorney Rob Rosenwald of Miami Beach, which in 2016 became the first city in Florida to pass a law banning licensed medical providers from practicing conversion therapy on a child.

The two laws struck down by a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton, share language cribbed from the Miami Beach ordinance, he said. So, too, do laws passed by Miami, the village of El Portal, Bay Harbor Islands and North Bay Village.

Medical organizations have concluded that conversion therapy can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts among children. The practice is banned in 20 states and Washington, D.C., according to a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

In Miami Beach, which has two openly gay commissioners on its seven-member elected body, the ruling threatens to undo the city's efforts to support the LGBTQ community.

Commissioner Michael Gongora, who as a gay man has advocated for LGBTQ protections, said the city will continue to fight to uphold its ban. If the appellate ruling is ultimately upheld, he said, the commission could attempt to craft a new ordinance that restricts the therapy while not running afoul of the law.

"This decision is legally and morally wrong," he wrote in a statement. "There is no First Amendment right to practice junk science on LGBT minors, and the decision this week should be reversed before anyone else is harmed by this scientifically rejected practice."

The 11th Circuit ruling can be challenged if attorneys for Boca Raton or Palm Beach seek a rehearing by the three-judge panel or a review before the full court. If that request is denied, either party can seek U.S. Supreme Court review. The 11th Circuit split from the 9th and 3rd Circuit courts, which upheld conversion therapy bans in California and New Jersey in recent years.

Until a request for review is approved, the ruling remains in effect, apparently nullifying all similar laws in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

"The 11th Circuit decision is binding precedent throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama," Rosenwald wrote in an email. "Therefore, unless and until this decision is rectified, the City of Miami Beach cannot enforce its prohibition on conversion therapy for minors."

The ruling stems from a 2018 lawsuit filed against Palm Beach and Boca Raton by two therapists, Roberto Otto and Julie Hamilton, who said they practice speech-based conversion therapy to minors in the county. They argue that the laws, passed in 2017, infringe upon their right to free speech and religious liberty. The Orlando-based nonprofit law firm Liberty Counsel, which advocates for Christian values, filed the lawsuit on their behalf.

Matthew Staver, the firm's senior pastor and chief counsel in the case, said he objected to the use of the term "conversion therapy" to describe the practice.

"The counselor is like a GPS and the client has the right to choose the goal of counseling," he wrote in an email. "Like a GPS, the counselors do not impose their predetermined course on the client."

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