The Trevor Project filed an amicus brief today with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in the case of Otto v. Boca Raton to defend a local ordinance protecting LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy. The amicus brief provides the Court and the public with The Trevor Project’s unique insights into the serious harms inflicted on LGBTQ youth by this dangerous and discredited practice.
The Trevor Project’s 50 Bills 50 States campaign works to introduce legislation to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy in every state in the country. The Trevor Project is invested in ending conversion therapy in every state because research shows that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth from highly rejecting families are more than 8 times more likely to attempt suicide than youth from accepting families. Once legislation is passed protecting youth from conversion therapy, it is just as important to defend these laws in court.
As argued in our amicus brief, The Trevor Project has a special interest in supporting the enforcement of ordinances prohibiting the practice of conversion therapy because many of the young people that The Trevor Project serves are survivors of conversion therapy or have a credible fear that their family members will compel them to receive conversion therapy. Because The Trevor Project has witnessed firsthand the devastating impact that conversion therapy can inflict on LGBTQ youth, we can provide a unique and important perspective for the court regarding the potential harm of granting a preliminary injunction stopping enforcement of Boca Raton’s anti-conversion therapy ordinance.
The Trevor Project was represented in this matter by pro bono counsel from Gibson Dunn, including Stuart Delery, Douglas Dreier, Lora MacDonald, Corey Singer, and Dione Garlick.
