Conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people is now banned in Cuyahoga County after council unanimously passed the measure, becoming the first county in Ohio to do so.
LGBTQ+ advocates say conversion therapy, the practice of attempting to alter a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, is harmful to youth. A 2020 study from the American Journal of Public Health found that LGBTQ+ minors who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide.
"Our youth deserve to know that they are seen, that they're loved and worthy of that love, and that our local government has their safety and wellbeing in mind," Elizabeth Katavich, who works at the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, said at Tuesday's meeting. "It matters because there are countless adults who come to our center carrying the invisible wounds of a harm that they never asked for: the pain of being told that their identity is a disease to be cured."
Cities, including Akron and Cleveland, have already passed similar bans.
PROTESTING SHERIFF’S POLICE CHASES
Following two fatal chases involving Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputies, one in March and another in August initiated by the same deputy, family members and activists are calling for a department-wide moratorium on chases, accountability for the deputies involved and the end of the Downtown Safety Patrol.
“The humanity within us demands that we stop pursuits with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department,” said Stanley Jackson, attorney for the families of the victims of the two pursuits. “Because it’s clear they have no idea how to properly do one without killing Black women in this community, without putting in jeopardy all of our lives.”
In March, a pursuit initiated by Deputy Kasey Loudermilk ended when the fleeing suspect crashed into a vehicle driven by Tamya Westmoreland on an exit ramp off Interstate 90. Both drivers died as a result
In August, Loudermilk led another pursuit, with speeds topping 100 miles per hour, that ended in the death of Sharday Elder, whose vehicle was also struck by the fleeing suspect.
“She was full of life," said her sister, Cierria Elder, during a protest outside county council Tuesday. "She was loving. She was strong. She was independent. She was hardworking. Like, why did they take my sister from me? I don’t have no understanding.”
Loudermilk was placed on paid administrative leave following the August crash.
The sheriff’s department has said it will investigate the crash and review its policies.
An ordinance, referred to by many during public comment as a form of the CROWN Act, to prohibit discrimination based on "a person’s hair texture or hair style commonly associated with a particular race or national origin in the areas of housing, employment, and places of public accommodation" was also introduced and referred to committee at Tuesday's meeting.
