{"id":222935,"date":"2019-08-02T11:53:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-02T15:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/?p=222935"},"modified":"2019-09-13T23:32:53","modified_gmt":"2019-09-14T03:32:53","slug":"north-carolina-governor-signs-executive-order-to-take-statewide-action-to-protect-lgbtq-young-people-from-conversion-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/?p=222935","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Governor Signs Executive Order to Take Statewide Action to Protect LGBTQ Young People from \u2018Conversion Therapy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For Immediate Release <\/strong>View Release Online<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

August 2, 2019<\/strong>
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James Michael Nichols | Equality NC | james@equalitync.org<\/a> | 919-829-0343<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam Polaski | Campaign for Southern Equality | adam@southernequality.org<\/a> | 610-306-7956
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North Carolina is First Southern State to Take Statewide Action to Protect LGBTQ Young People from \u2018Conversion Therapy,\u2019 as Governor Signs Executive Order<\/strong>
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Equality NC and the Campaign for Southern Equality expand statewide campaign to protect minors from conversion therapy in North Carolina <\/em>
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RALEIGH <\/strong>\u2013 Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an Executive Order directing the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services to ensure that no taxpayer dollars are used for conversion therapy for minors, including North Carolina Medicaid and North Carolina Health Choice. This executive action makes North Carolina the first Southern state to establish a state-level policy to protect minors from anti-LGBTQ \u201cconversion therapy,\u201d a dangerous practice through which licensed mental health providers attempt to change a person\u2019s sexual orientation or gender identity. Techniques can range from extreme electroshock treatments or institutionalization to \u201ccounseling\u201d services based on pseudoscience.
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In March, Equality NC and the Campaign for Southern Equality launched a joint statewide  campaign to end conversion therapy in North Carolina, including through the passage of the Mental Health Protection Act<\/strong> (HB516\/SB426). This legislation was proposed in March 2019 to protect minors in NC from the discredited practice. The campaign built historic momentum for the bill\u2019s passage, including being sponsored by 35 legislators; a robust coalition of more than 65 organizations, clergy members, and mental health agencies; press attention from dozens of outlets; and engagement from hundreds working to protect youth from \u201cconversion therapy.\u201d 
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This statewide campaign builds on broad public support for ending \u201cconversion therapy\u201d in North Carolina. According to polling conducted in February 2019<\/a>, 80% of North Carolinians \u2013 including 87% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats, and 78% of Independents support protecting North Carolina\u2019s young people from conversion therapy. 
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Kendra R. Johnson<\/strong>, Executive Director of Equality NC, today applauded Gov. Cooper\u2019s action:
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\u201cThis year our campaign ignited a conversation among North Carolinians about the importance of protecting our kids from \u2018conversion therapy.\u2019 It\u2019s gratifying to see Governor Cooper take this critical step in the right direction. No child should be told that they must change their sexual orientation or gender identity; we\u2019re grateful that Gov. Cooper agrees. We are committed to ending this debunked practice and will work for statewide protections.\u201d
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Allison Scott<\/strong>, Director of Policy & Programs at the Campaign for Southern Equality, added:
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\u201cGovernor Cooper\u2019s order will create a safer North Carolina for LGBTQ youth. Young LGBTQ people who endure \u2018conversion therapy\u2019 are at an immensely higher risk for depression and suicide than those whose identities are affirmed, a primary reason that we must do all we can to end this dangerous pseudoscience. As we continue our campaign to end conversion therapy once and for all, we\u2019re looking forward to working across North Carolina to share a message of love and affirmation. We have the momentum, and now it\u2019s time to amplify the voices of North Carolinians everywhere who are taking action to protect our youth.\u201d 
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In the months ahead, Protect Our Youth NC will amplify stories of LGBTQ young people, family members of LGBTQ people, faith leaders, mental health professionals, educators, and more who support protecting youth from conversion therapy. This storytelling effort will help educate decision-makers across the state and advocate for lawmakers to pass statewide legislation that definitively and expansively protects minors from \u201cconversion therapy.\u201d
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Eighteen U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia have banned conversion therapy through state-level legislation. Governors in Utah, New York and Puerto Rico have taken executive action on the issue.
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# # #
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Equality NC<\/em><\/strong><\/a> <\/em><\/strong>is dedicated to securing equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) North Carolinians. <\/em>www.equalitync.org<\/em><\/a>
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Based in Asheville, NC, the <\/em>Campaign for Southern Equality<\/em><\/strong><\/a> works for full LGBTQ equality across the South. Our work is rooted in commitments to equity in race, gender and class. <\/em>www.southernequality.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Immediate Release View Release Online August 2, 2019 James Michael Nichols | Equality NC | james@equalitync.org | 919-829-0343 Adam Polaski | Campaign for Southern Equality | adam@southernequality.org | 610-306-7956 North Carolina is First Southern State to Take Statewide Action to Protect LGBTQ Young People from \u2018Conversion Therapy,\u2019 as Governor Signs Executive Order Equality NC …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-222935","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-latest-news","8":"without-featured-image"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"carolina","author_link":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=222935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinarainbownews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=222935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}