Michigan bans conversion therapy on minors, trans patients sue a hospital that provided records to the attorney general in Tennessee, and a school in Texas fired two teachers after attending a drag show.

State Bans Use Of Conversion Therapy On LGBTQ Youths

Conversion therapy is now banned for minors in the state of Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation making Michigan the 22nd state to outlaw the practice, which is defined as any practice or treatment by a mental health professional that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to NBC News, Whitmer, the mother of a member of the LGBTQ community, said in a statement that banning the “horrific practice,” of conversion therapy was necessary to make Michigan a place “where you can be who you are.”

According to a report by The Trevor Project, an estimated 15% of LGBTQ minors in Michigan have reported that they have been threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.

Trans Patients Sue Hospital That Provided Records To AG

Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Photo via vumc.org.

Trans patients are suing Vanderbilt University Medical Center for violating their privacy. The patients claim they are among over 100 people whose medical records were turned over to Tennessee’s attorney general.

According to NBC News, they state that the hospital was aware of the hostility towards the rights of trans people from the state’s authorities and that identifying information should have been removed before turning over the records.

“Against that backdrop, its failure to safeguard the privacy of its patients is particularly egregious,” the lawsuit says.

The AG’s office said it was examining medical billing in a “run of the mill” fraud investigation that isn’t directed at patients or their families. Vanderbilt said it was required by law to comply.

Teachers Fired After Attending Drag Show

Kristi Maris. Courtesy photo.

Two Texas teachers allege that they were fired from their school after attending a drag performance and then posting about it on social media.

ABC News reported that Kristi Maris, one of the former teachers at the First Baptist Academy in Baytown, Texas, said she worked at the school for roughly 20 years before she was terminated for attending a drag show at the Houston restaurant Hamburger Mary’s.

She took to Facebook, saying, “They told me because I went to this show and posted a picture I wasn’t walking in a godly manner, so, that being said, please remove yourself from my page if this offends you, if you think this is ungodly, makes me a pedaphile [sic], or causes you to feel uncomfortable.”

The school did not respond to the allegations.

This comes after conservative politicians have introduced or passed legislation that restricts drag performances in the state.