With tears in her eyes, northern Kentucky Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell) said that she’s worked so hard to prevent conversion therapy in the LGBTQ community.
Just moments after the House Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 470 — which would ban transition services for youth under 18 — Banta said she felt upset.
“I’m really upset for families right now,” Banta said. “I’m upset because I feel like we denigrated the medical profession. I feel like we’re making people feel less than and I don’t like that.”
Banta cast one of seven no votes on the committee, with two other NKY legislators — Rep. Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill) and Rep. Stephanie Dietz (R-Edgewood) — also casting no votes.
Moser, the chair of the Health Services, ripped into the bill.
“I understand the desire to keep our kids safe from predatory actions, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening,” Moser said. “I think this is, unfortunately, short-sighted and discriminatory. It sets Kentucky back decades.”
On this episode of the Frankfort LINK, we dig into House Bill 470 and what the bill’s advocates and proponents say it means for them.