Columbia rejects public pleas, repeals SC’s first conversion therapy ban
Columbia City Council on Tuesday voted to repeal its ban on conversion therapy for minors, undoing a policy that LGBTQ+ advocates have championed as a vital safeguard for queer youth and a symbol of Columbia’s values.
The 4-3 vote to repeal the ordinance came after months of pressure from S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Spartanburg State Sen. Josh Kimbrell, both of whom have now announced campaigns to be the state’s next governor. Wilson threatened to sue the city over the conversion therapy ban, arguing it violates the First Amendment and state law. Supporters of the ordinance say its repeal sends a dangerous message particularly during a time when states are stripping rights for transgender youth.
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, and Councilmen Peter Brown, Ed McDowell and Will Brennan voted to repeal the ordinance. Council members Tina Herbert, Aditi Bussells and Tyler Bailey voted to keep the ordinance. That’s the same way they all voted on first reading earlier this month. The council had to vote twice before the repeal became final.
The city policy, passed in 2021, made the city the first in South Carolina to prohibit licensed therapists from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity using the widely discredited practice of conversion therapy. Organizations including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have condemned conversion therapy as harmful and ineffective.
City officials have faced mounting legal and financial pressure to rescind the conversion therapy ban. After Wilson delivered his April threat to sue Columbia over what he called an unconstitutional policy, state lawmakers led by Sen. Kimbrell added a clause to the state budget threatening to withhold $3.7 million in local funding from municipalities that have such a policy. Columbia leaders have said the loss of those funds would strain an already tight budget.
The debate over the ordinance has drawn strong reactions from residents. Hundreds of people have shown up at city council or signed petitions urging the council to stand by the ban, arguing that repealing it would leave LGBTQ+ youth at risk and weaken the city’s reputation as an inclusive community. The ACLU of South Carolina and the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center, in a statement after the initial repeal vote, called the move “a dangerous step backwards for LGBTQ+ youth in Columbia,” and urged the city to consider alternative protections.
Attorney Nekki Shutt told members of the city council Tuesday that her law firm, Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, would represent the city for free if it chose to fight Wilson’s legal threats. Multiple residents Tuesday asked members of the council where was their outrage over the state pressure, and where was members willingness to fight the challenge if it would not cost the city any money. No members of council spoke on the issue before casting their votes Tuesday.
After the first vote to repeal the ordinance last week, LGBTQ-rights groups urged the city council to follow its decision with strengthening other supports for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Brennan, who voted to repeal the ban on conversion therapy, has also said he wants the city to adopt new policies that strengthen the city’s reputation as a welcoming community.
With the conversion therapy ban off the city’s books, Columbia will again be eligible to receive the $3.7 million in state dollars that would have been restricted if the ordinance remained.
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM.
