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Yes.
As of January 2023, an ordinance banning licensed mental health practitioners from using conversion therapy on minors was in effect in 14 Wisconsin cities: Appleton, Cudahy, Eau Claire, Glendale, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Shorewood, Sun Prairie, Superior and West Allis.
Conversion therapy refers to any practice attempting to alter an individual’s sexual orientation or gender. These city-level bans amount to protections for 24% of the population from conversion therapy, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonpartisan think tank.
While Wisconsin has no statewide ban on conversion therapy, Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order banning federal and state funding of the practice in 2021. A state licensing board under the Evers administration also adopted licensing rules to ban conversion therapy in 2020, but Republican lawmakers voted in 2021 and in early 2023 to block the ban.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Movement Advancement Project: Wisconsin’s equality profile
Governor Tony Evers: Executive order #122
Wisconsin Public Radio: Wisconsin committee once again blocks ban on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy
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