A federal judge last week struck down a Tampa, Fla., ordinance that prohibited conversion therapy for minors with unwanted same-sex desires, ruling it conflicts with state law and parental rights.
The Tampa ordinance banned conversion therapy for children and teens when it involves a licensed counselor. The goal of such therapy is to assist those who have unwanted desires related to gender expression or sexual orientation/attraction.
Counselors who violated the ordinance were subject to a $1,000 fine on first offense and $5,000 fines on subsequent offenses.
U.S. District Judge William F. Jung, in an Oct. 4 decision, chided the city for passing an ordinance that bans something even if an individual “desires to proceed.”
Jung cited the Florida Constitution, which reads, in part, “Every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as otherwise provided herein.”
“Nothing is more intimate, more private, and more sensitive, than a growing young man or woman talking to a mental health therapist about sex, gender, preferences, and conflicting feelings,” wrote Jung, who was nominated by President Trump. “The Ordinance inserts the City’s code enforcers into the middle of this sensitive, intense and private moment.”
Jung said parental rights – “which the…
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