GOP lawmakers push to ban LGBT conversion therapy in Utah

Two Republican lawmakers proposed a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors in conservative Utah on Thursday, a plan that's been hailed as a milestone by advocates and won't be opposed by the influential Mormon church.

Republican Rep. Dan McCay acknowledged he isn't a typical sponsor for such a measure, but he said it's an important way to support LGBT youth amid an alarming spike in youth suicide.

"This is the Utah we want. This the Utah we're all going to fight for, for the rest of our time so we deliver a place to you that you are welcome," he said.

Nathan Dalley speaks during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Two Republican lawmakers proposed a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors in conservative Utah on Thursday, a plan that's been hailed as a milestone by advocates and won't be opposed by the influential Mormon church. Those who have been through conversion therapy, like 19-year-old Dalley, say it leaves them depressed and can lead to suicide attempts. (AP PhotoRick Bowmer)

The plan would prohibit any treatment aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity, which has ranged from talk therapy to practices like electric shock. Therapists who practice it could lose their license.

The proposal comes during a national campaign to ban the practice, which is now outlawed in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

There has been pushback with lawsuits challenging the bans as violating free-speech and religious freedom rights. Appeals courts have upheld the bans so far, though a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on professional speech could give new life to the lawsuits, said Mat Staver with the conservative Liberty Counsel.

Nathan Dalley speaks during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Two Republican lawmakers proposed a ban on gay conversion therapy for minors in conservative Utah on Thursday, a plan that's been hailed as a milestone by advocates and won't be opposed by the influential Mormon church. Those who have been through conversion therapy, like 19-year-old Dalley, say it leaves them depressed and can lead to suicide attempts. (AP PhotoRick Bowmer)

Utah has a history with conversion therapy, making the new proposal there a landmark step, said Shannon Minter with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is helping lead a national campaign to ban the practice.

In the 1970s, there were Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teachings that homosexuality could be "cured," and a graduate student's study at Brigham Young University that subjected men to electric shock, said Taylor Petrey, a religion professor at Kalamazoo College in Michigan who studies gender and sexuality in the faith.

Church teachings have also been used by groups like the now-defunct Evergreen International that promised to help people "overcome homosexual behavior."

Republican Rep. Craig Hall speaks during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Two Republican lawmakers are pushing to ban gay conversion therapy for minors in conservative Utah with a proposal that's being hailed as a milestone by advocates and won't be opposed by the influential Mormon church. (AP PhotoRick Bowmer)

The church has since denounced the practice and said homosexuality is not a sin, though the faith remains opposed to same-sex marriage and intimacy. Church officials said Wednesday they won't stand in the way of the proposed legislation, which doesn't apply to religious leaders.

Those who have been through conversion therapy, like 19-year-old Nathan Dalley, said it leaves them depressed and can lead to suicide attempts.

"At the time I hated the fact that I'm gay more than anything else about myself," he said. Then 16, his therapist said he could change if snapped a rubber band on his wrist to dissuade himself every time he had "gay thoughts," played more sports and talked in a more masculine voice.

Republican Rep. Dan McCay speaks during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Salt Lake City. Two Republican lawmakers are pushing to ban gay conversion therapy for minors in conservative Utah with a proposal that's being hailed as a milestone by advocates and won't be opposed by the influential Mormon church. McCay acknowledged he wasn't a typical sponsor for such a measure, but he said he wants it help support LGBT youth in a state that's seen a recent spike in youth suicide. (AP PhotoRick Bowmer)

It didn't work, and led to a downward spiral, though he has pulled himself out.

"Conversion therapy is still happening today. It's harmful and it still affects me in multiple ways every day," Dalley said.

TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)