Miami, Miami Beach move to defend conversion therapy bans during federal rehearing
Miami commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Thursday directing the city to file an amicus brief defending Boca Raton’s authority to ban conversion therapy after a federal appeals court overturned the city’s ban last month, blocking other Florida municipalities from enforcing similar bans.
The legal push, headed by Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, involved recruiting representatives from other municipalities across the country with similar bans in place to support a rehearing in the case. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled on Nov. 20 that Florida bans on conversion therapy, which involves attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or sexual identity, are unconstitutional.
The city of Miami Beach, which in 2016 became the first city in Florida to pass a ban on conversion therapy, is helping write the brief and recruiting other cities to join.
So far, about 10 municipalities have joined Miami Beach in signing onto the brief, said Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora.
The ruling stems from a 2018 lawsuit filed by two therapists, Robert Otto and Julie Hamilton, who argued that conversion therapy bans in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County violated their free-speech and religious liberties. The laws ban licensed medical providers from practicing conversion therapy on a child. The therapists are represented by the religious-freedom organization Liberty Counsel.
“We are trying to protect children in a way that the state and federal government have not been able to because these emotional wedge issues become political,” Russell said at a press conference Thursday. “But in local government, we don’t think of the politics or the party, we think of the people we serve right here down the street.”
He was joined by Orlando Gonzalez, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group SAVE, Miami Beach state Rep. Michael Grieco and Miami Commissioner Jeffrey Watson of District 5. A group of about 20 protesters tried to drown out the speakers by chanting “Free speech for Christmas!” — a reference to the argument from opponents to the law who say banning conversion therapy is infringing on the free speech rights of religious organizations.
What is conversion therapy?
Conversion therapy is defined by the LGBTQ group GLAAD as a practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. It has been denounced by dozens of professional medical organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association, in part because it is more likely to lead to depression, anxiety and self-harm.
Friday is the deadline for Boca Raton or Palm Beach County to file a petition for a panel rehearing or a rehearing before the full Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, according to court rules. That’s because requests for rehearing must be filed within 14 days of the original appellate ruling, which in this case was Nov. 20.
The city of Miami must file its amicus brief by Dec. 18 for the judges to consider its arguments, per court rules.
Boca Raton Councilman Andy Thomson did not say whether or when the city was filing the request for a rehearing, but Russell told reporters on Thursday that “however they file,” Miami commissioners were in support.
“They’re positioning themselves very well, and we’re here with them,” Russell said.
Palm Beach County’s next moves remain unknown.
Helene Hvizd, a Palm Beach County attorney, declined to comment on whether the county would seek a rehearing.
If a request for a rehearing fails, the county or the city could seek U.S. Supreme Court review, according to Rob Rosenwald, Miami Beach’s first assistant city attorney. Rosenwald said he is helping to write the brief, which the city of Miami Beach will join.
All bans are blocked, at least for now
The court’s ruling blocks the enforcement of any similar ban within the 11th Circuit, including Georgia and Alabama, Rosenwald said. If the court agrees to rehear the case, the panel’s decision will be temporarily suspended while the full court deliberates.
“Unless and until one of the defendants seeks rehearing and en banc review by the full 11th Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court, the panel decision carries precedential weight and no ordinance similar to the ones invalidated may be enforced anywhere in the 11th Circuit, which includes Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,” he wrote in an email.
Góngora, one of two openly gay commissioners in Miami Beach, said about 15 Florida municipalities and 80 across the country passed conversion-therapy bans after the city commission did in 2016.
“We are asking each of these cities and counties to join us in an amicus brief urging the court to reconsider its prior ruling that there is a First Amendment right to harm kids in this way,” he said in a statement. “We are gratified that about 10 localities have agreed to join our brief, and we urge the others to do the same.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
