Bill to ban ‘conversion therapy’ advances

A bill to prohibit therapists from offering “conversion therapy” to gay youth in an effort to change their sexual orientation has stirred up some controversy in the race for the congressional district representing urban Honolulu.

Lt. Gov. Doug Chin submitted testimony Tuesday in favor of Senate Bill 270, which would prohibit psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other counseling professionals from attempting to change the sexual orientation of underage clients.

In testimony submitted on the lieutenant governor’s letterhead, Chin wrote that he supports the bill “based upon my firm belief that no child in Hawaii should ever be made to feel there is something ‘wrong’ with them based on who they love or how they identify.”

That testimony prompted criticism from Chin’s opponent, state Rep. Kaniela Ing, who labeled Chin as “bigoted” and said he has been involved for years in a church that opposed same-sex marriage. Ing said Chin also publicly preached that homosexuality is wrong in a recording that circulated on the internet.

Chin and Ing are both running for the District 1 U.S. House seat that is being vacated by Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. Also running for that seat are state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and City Councilman Ernie Martin.

“My conservative opponent Doug Chin has preached against LGBTQ rights. … He preached anti-gay, anti-woman sermons for decades, and in 2013 the church that he helped lead and found opposed marriage equality,” said Ing (D, South Maui). Chin’s church, which is called the Oahu Church of Christ, held a gay-to-straight conversion seminar as recently as 2016, Ing said.

“To see my conservative opponent finally just all of a sudden change his worldview after preaching anti-gay, anti-woman sermons for so many decades, it just seems disingenuous and opportunistic now that he’s running for Congress,” Ing said. “In my experience, people don’t just wake up one morning and change their worldviews after being bigoted for so many years.”

Chin replied in a written statement that “Kaniela seems determined at all costs to say just about anything to get into the news but talk about issues.”

“The church I attend and the people in it are not perfect, nor am I, but these attacks on my church are unhinged,” Chin said in his statement. “As I’ve grown older, my personal beliefs have changed. I would really like to engage in a mature discussion about that and about the issues facing Hawaii with candidates who do not engage in Trumpian tactics.”

Chin cited his work as Hawaii attorney general, including putting up a legal defense at the state Supreme Court of the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act that allowed same-sex marriage.

He also joined with other state attorneys general last October to file a brief defending the right of transgender people to serve in the military, and led a coalition of 20 states to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ couples in the U.S. Supreme Court case called Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

SB 270 cites the work of a task force formed by the American Psychological Association that found efforts to change sexual orientation “can pose critical health risks” to lesbian, gay or bisexual people including depression, shame, substance abuse or suicide.

The measure would prohibit people who are licensed to provide counseling services to engage in sexual orientation change efforts for anyone under 18, or to advertise those services for anyone who is a minor.

Supporters included the state Department of Health, which submitted testimony that so-called conversion therapies “tend to do more harm than good.”

Also supporting the bill were the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Hawaii Psychological Association, the Hawaii chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the LGBT Caucus of the Hawaii Democratic Party.

Opposing the bill was the Honolulu County Republican Party and the Hawaii Family Forum, which wrote that the measure “violates the rights of parents to choose their child’s therapy, provide appropriate and professional health care services, and practice their religion in accordance to their faith.”

The Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee gave tentative approval of the bill, which now advances to the full Senate for further consideration.