COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Columbia City Council voted Tuesday to take a step toward repealing the city’s ban on conversion therapy.
The city voted 4-3 on a first reading to strike down the ordinance passed in 2021. The vote came after residents continued raising concerns about repealing the ordinance during a public input session.
It was previously deferred twice by the council during separate meetings in May. The ban put state funding at risk due to a proviso, or temporary law, in this year’s state budget.
The repeal would have to pass an additional reading before going into effect, which means Columbia remains the only city in South Carolina with a ban on conversion therapy.
It’s unclear when that second vote would take place.
“We are encouraged that Columbia City Council took a step forward today toward repealing its unconstitutional ordinance,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a statement following Tuesday’s vote. “This ordinance was never truly about ‘conversion therapy,’ but stifling faith-based speech and targeting counselors guided by their religious convictions. Even this initial step is a meaningful victory for faith-based institutions. This is also about the rule of law, because regardless of how you feel about so-called conversion therapy, state law does not allow cities or counties to pass ordinances regulating licensed professionals like therapists and counselors.”
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the ACLU of South Carolina and the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center called the vote to repeal “nothing less than an abandonment of the city’s moral responsibility to protect its most vulnerable residents.”
“The financial pressures Columbia faces are real — but manufactured,“ the statement continued. ”The state’s decision to threaten municipal funding because the city chose to protect LGBTQ+ youth is a political act of retaliation, not fiscal necessity. The funding in question represents just 0.8% of Columbia’s annual budget — a small fraction of the overall budget that should not dictate whether the city abandons its moral obligations."
BACKGROUND
The push to repeal the ban was sparked by a letter from Wilson to Columbia City Council, threatening legal action if it were not repealed.
State Rep. Bruce Bannister later told reporters that city officials supported a proviso, or a temporary law included in the state budget, revoking state dollars from any local government that enacts a ban on minors undergoing conversion therapy.
According to state estimates, the city could lose about $3.7 million in funding from the General Assembly if the ban remains in place.
The council first deferred a decision on a first reading at a May 20 meeting, then did so again one week later.
At the May 27 meeting, Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann argued the ordinance has “no teeth” and doesn’t provide proper protections since religious organizations are exempt.
He also denied claims he was involved in conversations with state lawmakers regarding the proviso that threatened state funding over the ordinance.
In a response to WIS following the May 27 meeting, a city spokesperson said the council “has been seeking clarity regarding the state budget proviso related to the conversion therapy ordinance primarily due to its impact on the city’s budget timeline to approve a balanced budget.”
The proviso, introduced by state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, was not included on a list of vetoes by Gov. Henry McMaster when he signed off on the budget earlier this month. The budget is set to go into effect on July 1.
Conversion therapy, which the city’s ordinance defines as “any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” has been largely dismissed as harmful and lacking scientific credibility by the medical community.
This is a developing story. Stay with WIS News 10 for updates.
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