Utah becomes 19th state to ban LGBTQ conversion therapy

Utah officially banned the controversial practice on Tuesday.

Utah officially banned the controversial practice of conversion therapy on minors this week, ending a long battle between local LGBTQ activists and religious groups.

The ruling, which went into effect Tuesday, outlaws the discredited practice grounded in the belief that being LGBTQ is unnatural. Conversion practices sought to convince a person who felt otherwise to identify as heterosexual or, in the case of transgender persons, to identify with their birth genders.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, announced the decision in November, saying it could go into effect as early as Jan. 22, ABC News reports.