The swift rise and even swifter fall in the Utah Legislature of House Bill 399, Prohibition of the Practice of Conversion Therapy, had a lifespan that was nothing if not a whirlwind, and its ultimate demise will have dangerous and deadly ramifications for Utah’s LGBTQ and questioning youth for at least the year to come.
The bill had a highly encouraging debut in the Legislature, one full of hope, optimism and promise. An extensive coalition made up of health care associations, education associations and suicide prevention coalitions from across the state and the nation backed the bill. The LDS Church worked in good faith with LGBTQ-rights groups to arrive at compromise language that provided them religious exemptions, and Gov.