The Columbia City Council voted 4-3 to revoke the city's ordinance banning conversion therapy, initially approved in 2021. The repeal followed pressure from South Carolina's Attorney General, Alan Wilson, who claimed the ban was unconstitutional and threatened state funding cuts. Despite public opposition and pleas to maintain the ban, Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and several council members prioritized funding concerns. The law previously imposed fines on therapists who practiced conversion therapy on minors but excluded religious leaders, a point of contention raised by Wilson.
"It's such a betrayal," Jessica Thomas told the paper after the vote. Thomas is running for Columbia mayor.
Wilson previously told the Post and Courier the exemption for religious groups meant nothing because it ignored that licensed therapists selling the therapies could hold deep religious views themselves.
Those who voted in favor of lifting the conversion therapy ordinance said the threat of funding cuts was too significant, according to The Post and Courier.
Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and City Council members Peter Brown, Ed McDowell, and Will Brennan voted to lift the ban, despite pleas from the public to leave the ban in place.
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