Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles) said the Youth Mental Health Protection Act, which was passed by the Illinois Legislature on May 29 and signed into law by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, is part of “incredible progress” in the fight to protect the LGBT community.

The act, which was sponsored by Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, forbids mental health providers from practicing so-called “conversion therapy” on children under 18.

“I am delighted to learn that Illinois has banned ‘conversion therapy,’” Lieu said. “I applaud Representative Kelly Cassidy and her supporters in Illinois for their historic work on the Youth Mental Health Protection Act.”

By preventing conversion therapists from advertising that they can change someone’s sexual orientation, this legislation is also the first law to be enacted on either the state or national level that contains direct protections for consumers from the conversion therapy industry, which supporters say is inherently fraudulent.

Illinois joins California and other states in restricting the practice of conversion therapy, including Oregon, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

“Only three years after California first banned conversion therapy, incredible progress has been made in the fight to protect the LGBT community from being defrauded and shamed by its practitioners,” Lieu said.

While serving in the California State Senate, Lieu authored the first statewide ban on efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors.

Earlier this year, he introduced HR 2450, the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, which is the first federal bill to ban conversion therapy.

“Despite the fact that conversion therapy has been proven to be ineffective and dangerous, providers are still able to earn enormous profits by preying on LGBT Americans and their families,” Lieu added. “I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to pass a federal ban on for-profit conversion therapy that will end this hazardous, bogus practice in America once and for all.”