Friday is the national Transgender Day of Remembrance, for people who committed suicide or were killed in acts of violence against trans people. Two state lawmakers are observing it with a bill they say will help trans and LGBT teens.
Reps. Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) and Debbie Phillips (D-Athens) want to ban conversion therapy for minors. That’s therapy that’s often faith-based and aims to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
Jody Davis of Columbus is a trans woman who’s a registered nurse and a social worker. She spent a year in conversion therapy and said it’s not something kids should be put through. “It’s based off this idea that something is wrong with you, that you’re a defective," Davis said. "So the therapy itself wasn’t helping me with the guilt, the shame and the self-hatred that was just a part of my whole life.”
The bill was introduced in June but has yet to be heard in committee.
