Columbia council defers vote on repeal of city's conversion-therapy ban amid budget warning

Columbia City Council on May 21 voted to defer consideration of Ordinance 2025-043, a proposal to repeal Ordinance 2021-021 that added a prohibition on conversion therapy for minors to the city code.

Mayor Rickerman opened the meeting by reviewing the timeline that led to the issue and announcing the council would first go into executive session to receive legal advice. After public comment that lasted more than two hours, councilmember(s) moved to remove the ordinance from immediate consideration and defer further action; the motion carried on a recorded council roll call.

The matter drew sustained public comment from residents, faith leaders, advocacy organizations and legal advocates. Speakers who urged the council to retain the ban said the ordinance signals the city's commitment to protecting LGBTQ youth and that even a civil penalty has symbolic and practical value. Sam Kennedy of the American Civil Liberties Union told the council keeping the ordinance "protect[s] LGBTQ youth," and Matthew Butler of the ACLU urged the council to seek a veto from the governor as an alternative to repeal. Christine Picozzi, executive director of the Harry Hancock Center, said her organization had delivered a letter with 429 signatures asking council to maintain the ban.

Others urged repeal on legal and fiscal grounds. Several speakers noted the 2022 state statute described in the meeting as the "medical ethics and diversity act," which attendees argued affects municipal authority over medical practice, and pointed to a letter from the state attorney general that asked the council to repeal the ordinance by May 5. In remarks to the council, one longtime resident, Bob Liming, said the city did not need the ordinance and urged repeal on the basis that existing state and federal laws protect citizens.

City officials repeatedly framed the issue around timing and money. The city manager told the council staff must present a balanced budget before July 1 and said the city is facing the potential loss of "the $3,700,000 of aid" normally received for subdivisions, a shortfall she called "a gaping hole in the general fund," which pays for core services including public safety, sanitation and parks. Assistant City Manager Missy Kaufman, who oversees the budget process, said there was little time to make structural budget changes because state law requires notice and two readings for budget adoption.

Councilmembers and speakers also discussed legal strategy and evidence. Attorney James Smith told council members he believed the state lacked authority to force repeal and said pro bono legal help would be available to the city. Others urged waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in pending cases about conversion therapy regulations, arguing a forthcoming decision could bear on the council's authority.

After public comment, a councilmember moved to remove the motion for first reading and call for a motion to defer action on Ordinance 2025-043. The motion to defer passed on a roll call showing six affirmative votes and no recorded dissent. Council did not adopt, repeal or amend the ordinance at the meeting; it remains on the books as Ordinance 2021-021 pending future action.

The council was frequently asked by speakers to pursue alternatives: to work with community organizations on stronger, enforceable language; to seek a gubernatorial veto of a state proviso; or to wait for the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in related litigation. At the same time, city staff and the mayor warned that deferral or delay would require budget adjustments to close the projected funding gap if the state withholds the cited assistance. The council did not adopt a specific follow-up schedule at the meeting.

The deferral leaves Columbia's 2021 prohibition against conversion therapy for minors intact for now. Council members and city staff said they will continue conversations with community stakeholders and report back as budget work continues ahead of the July 1 statutory deadline.