Last week Hawaii became the 12th state to ban therapists from offering “conversion therapy” to LGBTQ youths under 18.

Every year an estimated 20,000 youths across the country undergo the therapy (a practice that attempts to change sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression), said state Sen. Stanley Chang (D, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai), who introduced the measure. Calling the ban a “no-brainer,” he said a large slice of the population — especially people younger than age 30 — are surprised to learn that the practice, which research has tied to harmful psychological outcomes, is not already entirely confined to the past. It should be.

Homeless sweeps send some to shelters

Today the city is due to shut down Mother Waldron Park for maintenance, dispersing the homeless encampment only recently set up there.

It is good to hear that about a dozen people have been persuaded to relocate to shelter programs.

The sweeps still seem a necessary part of the effort to combat homelessness, as the longer people remain homeless, the more resistant to resettlement they become. The establishment of a well-planned “ohana zone” legal encampment seems the only route for some of those who remain. But it would be wise to whittle that population as much as possible.