A judge gave surprising reasons for knocking down Tampa’s ban on conversion therapy

A federal judge, U.S. District Judge William Jung, recently struck down Tampa, Florida’s ban against so-called ex-gay conversion therapy under a belief that it interferes with the state’s regulation of healthcare, “patients’ rights to privacy and parents’ rights to choose health care for their children.”

The case will likely head to an appellate court next.

Tampa passed its ban in 2017. It said therapists and counselors offering conversion therapy to minors would’ve “faced a $1,000 fine for a first offense and a $5,000 penalty for subsequent violations [and it] would have been enforced by city code enforcement officers,” writes The Tampa Bay Times.

Unsurprisingly, the Liberty Counsel — the SPLC-designated hate group that regularly mounts legal challenges against laws protecting LGBTQ people — challenged Tampa’s ban almost immediately on behalf of two ex-gay therapists. The Liberty Counsel’s challenge is part of a larger legal strategy to have similar bans tossed out in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County and nationwide.

According to The Tampa Bay Times, “Jung said state medical boards that oversee the licensing of mental health professionals already serve as a check on any malpractice.” Jung also said…

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