The Trevor Project filed an amicus brief today with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in the case of Doyle v. Hogan to defend a statewide law 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 the rate of attempted suicide by LGBTQ youth whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation was more than double the rate of LGBTQ youth who reported no such attempts. For LGBTQ young people who reported both home-based efforts to change their sexual orientation by parents and efforts by therapists or religious leaders, the rate was three times higher. 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 stopping enforcement of Maryland’s anti-conversion therapy law.
The Trevor Project was represented in this matter by pro bono counsel from Gibson Dunn, including Stuart Delery, Lora MacDonald, Corey Singer, and Dione Garlick.