Some community activists are calling on leaders in Alabama's largest city to ban conversion therapy for minors.
Al.com reports the Affirming Birmingham Coalition wants Mayor Randall Woodfin to support a city ordinance to prohibit mental health professionals from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Some states and municipalities around the country have approved bans prohibiting state-licensed psychologists from using conversion therapy techniques. No such bans currently exist in Alabama.
Al.com reports it's not known if any mental health professionals in Birmingham currently practice conversion therapy.
The mayor's spokesman, Rick Journey, says the coalition met with a representative for Mayor Woodfin earlier this month.
The American Psychiatric Association says minors who are rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are eight times more likely to report having attempted suicide.
