Conversion therapy for minors is now illegal in Bethlehem. City council voted 7-0 July 3 to revoke the business license of any licensed therapist found to be providing a service that seeks to, according to the stature, “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attraction or feeling toward the individuals of the same gender.”

Allentown passed a similar ordinance in 2017.

The ordinance passed with several council members voicing support prior to the vote.

“I’ve seen numerous kids struggling with their sexuality every day,” said Councilman Bryan Callahan who also is a Bethlehem Area School District employee.

Councilman William Reynolds, an Allentown School District teacher, thought that subjecting a minor to conversion therapy was a “ridiculous idea.”

“Just because things are ridiculous doesn’t mean people are not doing them,” said Reynolds.

“It’s a no brainer,” offered Councilman Michael Colon.

The unanimous vote to ban conversion therapy drew a round of applause from the audience, including Adrian Shanker, Executive Director of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown.

Everyone is against it, but is any one doing it? Is it a solution without a problem?

Shanker said, in an interview, that he had no knowledge of any person or organization offering conversion therapy in the Lehigh Valley.

Shanker submitted letters from Kid’s Peace and from Valley Youth House to the Bethlehem City Council both of which urged the Council to ban conversion therapy.

Kid’s Peace CEO William Isemann and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Matthew Koval signed a letter stating their support of a ban. “It is our belief that ‘reparative therapy/sexual orientation conversion therapy’ may not necessarily be a common practice in our area. Nevertheless, placing a formal ban on its use by licensed mental heal professionals in the treatment of youth in Bethlehem would be in the best interest of all members of the community.”

Valley Youth House President and CEO Thomas R. Harrington’s letter asserted that, “Minors are especially vulnerable to this type of ‘therapy.’” The letter, dated June 29, said that “LGBTQ youth rejected by their parents or caregivers were more than eight times more likely to attempt suicide, nearly six time more likely to report high levels of depression, and more than three times more likely to use illegal drugs than those youth who were not rejected.”

While no one at the Bethlehem Health Department was available to comment on the subject, Vickie Kistler, the head of the Allentown Health Department, said that while she supported Allentown’s ban on conversion therapy, she was not aware of any specific cases of such therapy being practiced in Allentown or the Lehigh Valley.

Kistler said any such activity would be very “covert.”

However, she said, “it is a real problem.” She said she based her opinion on surveys indicating that conversion therapy is a real issue.

The new law provides a penalty-the loss of the business license--for a licensed therapist found to be practicing such therapy, but according to Kistler, there is no regulation that would keep church clergy from practicing conversion therapy.

She described the law as being a case of “making a statement to discourage conversion therapy.”

Rev. Beth Goudy of the Metropolitan Community Church of Lehigh Valley said that about 95 percent of her congregants are members of the LGBT community. However, she said she is not aware of anyone practicing or offering conversion therapy in the Lehigh Valley.

In other business, during the public comments provision of the agenda, Milliem Armstrong of the 1900 block of Renwick St. in Bethlehem made another plea to the City Council for relief from a fee the City has charged him for a new tree in front of his property. He also asked for help with a root-clogged sewer pipe that was keeping water from draining properly from his 1950s-era house.

Armstrong said he knows that he will have to replace the connector sewer pipe because when the sewer pipe cleaning company cleans out the roots, they just grow back.

He said in an interview that it was the fourth time he has brought his problem before the City Council.

He was seeking the City’s help with the $930 bill for a new tree that the City sent to him. He also wanted help because roots from the previous tree in front of his house had pushed the wall of his basement and ruined the basement.

Armstrong said he has been bringing his problem with the tree roots to the City for 12 years. One of his main complaints was that he felt that city office workers were being rude by laughing at him when he went to their office to voice his complaints.

Members of the Council recommended that he speak with the Director of Public Works, City Engineer Michael Alkhol for advice..

In a later interview, Alkhol said that home owners are responsible for replacing trees along the street adjacent to their property. He also said that the city owns the main sewer lines, but that the sewer lateral pipes that connect the main line to individual homes are the responsibility of the home owner.

Alkhal said that the city has “community development money” that may be available to help homeowners such as those in Armstrong’s position.