Democratic governor defies GOP lawmakers & enacts LGBTQ+ law through executive order

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Wednesday signed an executive order outlawing conversion therapy in the state, with an admonition to Republicans who fought tirelessly against a ban: “Hate is not who we are as Kentuckians.”

Beshear signed the historic order after similar legislation repeatedly fell to Republican opposition in the state legislature in previous years.

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The executive action outlaws the discredited “therapy” for minors and prevents state or federal funds from being used to pay for it.

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“Let’s be clear: Conversion therapy has no basis in medicine or science, and it has been shown to increase rates of suicide and depression,” Beshear said in a statement. “This is about doing what is right and protecting our children. Hate is not who we are as Kentuckians.”

The debunked practice has been banned in 23 states. Conversion therapy’s proponents claim an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed through a process of “reparative therapy”, including various psychological and/or physical therapies which victims of the practice have likened to torture.

Several states not only allow conversion therapy, but actively encourage the practice, despite every major U.S. medical organization denouncing the treatment.

In Indiana, where former governor and Vice President Mike Pence seemingly promoted the practice, local governments are banned from outlawing it, according to data published by the Movement Advancement Project.

“Thank you to the governor for fighting to end conversion therapy, and showing us that LGBTQ+ young people are welcome in this state, exactly as they are,” Manager of State Advocacy and Conversion Therapy Campaigns Tanner Mobley for the Trevor Project said in a statement.

“I have been working in coalition with others in Kentucky to end this dangerous and discredited practice in Kentucky for the past eight years, and seeing this executive order signed into law is so meaningful,” he continued. “While awful in its own right, conversion therapy is also a strong risk factor for suicide; research shows that LGBTQ+ youth who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide in the past year.”

We've heard the voices of LGBTQ Kentuckians and we stand with them. Today I was proud to sign an executive order banning dangerous conversion “therapy” on our kids. No child, regardless of their sexuality, should be subjected to harm. pic.twitter.com/R4A9PhB6Qj

— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) September 18, 2024

About 21% of LGBTQ+ youth in Kentucky say they they’ve been threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy, according to the Trevor Project.

Republicans in the state legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, have banned gender-affirming care for minors and instituted a Don’t Say Gay law for all grades in Kentucky’s public schools, overcoming vetoes of both measures by Gov. Beshear.

With those veto-proof majorities, lawmakers in state House and Senate could put Beshear’s conversion therapy ban in jeopardy.

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