Illinois Becomes 4th State To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy For Minors

As reported by the Huffington Post, yesterday Illinois became the fourth state to ban gay conversion therapy for minors.  Governor Bruce Rauner signed HB 217 (full text), the Youth Mental Health Protection Act which prohibits any mental health provider from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with a person under the age of 18. The new law also broadly prohibits misleading advertising of conversion therapy:

No person or entity may, in the conduct of any trade or commerce, use or employ any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact in advertising or otherwise offering conversion therapy services in a manner that represents homosexuality as a mental disease, disorder, or illness, with intent that others rely upon the concealment, suppression, or omission of such material fact. A violation of this Section constitutes an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

The new law, which becomes effective Jan. 1, 2016, includes extensive legislative findings supporting the therapy ban.