Committee Votes to Condemn Conversion Therapy

The Progress Pride flag being carried in the 2022 Milwaukee Pride Parade. Photo by Dave Reid.

A resolution by Milwaukee County Supervisor Peter Burgelis condemning conversion therapy received its first approval from a board committee Wednesday.

Burgelis’ resolution condemns the practice that tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It also asks the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board to adopt a similar policy. That board has oversight of the county’s behavioral health services and, according to Burgelis’ resolution, does not currently provide or fund conversion therapy services.

“Conversion therapy, which is usually religiously motivated, is based on the false assumption that being a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individual is a defect or disorder that needs curing,” Burgelis said at a meeting of the board’s Committee on Health Equity, Human Needs and Strategic Planning Wednesday. “This practice has not only been shown to be completely ineffective at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but it inflicts immense psychological pain on its victims.”

Conversion therapy has been widely rejected by the medical community, including major national groups like the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The state Legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules recently voted to repeal the statewide ban on conversion therapy with a vote that split along party lines. It was the first official act of the committee in 2023.

“Through my resolution today, I asked that Milwaukee County to join the growing number of governments and organizations advocating for its (the Legislative rule) abolishment,” Burgelis said.

Burgelis was joined by members of the public and Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community in advocating for his resolution.

“Being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer is not a mental illness,” said Tony Snell–Rodriguez, chair of the City of Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission, “We’re not mentally ill, we don’t need to be cured.”

When children and young adults are subjected to conversion therapy they are often coerced into it by parents or guardians, Snell-Rodriguez said. “Such methods can result in depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and suicidal behavior. Conversion therapy has no specific basis, and practitioners who claim otherwise engage in fraud,” he said.

Sup. Sheldon Wasserman, a physician and OBGYN, seconded Snell-Rodriguez’s comments, saying that no legitimate medical society supports conversion therapy. “It’s wrong, it’s dangerous, and has drastic effects that can kill,” Wasserman said.

Justin Roby, director of prevention, care and empowerment Services for the LGBTQ nonprofit Diverse & Resilient, said people who have experienced conversion therapy attest to it being a “harmful and traumatic practice” that relies on “fear and persecution.”

Megin McDonnell, executive director of FAIR Wisconsin, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, said resolutions like this can play a role in educating the public and “countering those narratives coming from practitioners or supporters of conversion therapy.”

The committee approved the resolution four to one, with Sup. Deanna Alexander voting against it. It will next go to the full board for approval.