Columbia City Council voted Tuesday to strike down the city’s ban on conversion therapy.

Council members voted 4-3 during a special-called meeting to repeal a 2021 ordinance that banned the practice in the city.

[…]Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickennman provided the following statement after Tuesday’s vote: “Tonight’s vote was not taken lightly. Every member of City Council grappled with the difficult balance between our city’s deeply held values and the fiscal responsibilities we owe to our residents. Make no mistake: Columbia will never tolerate abuse of any kind. While no violations of the 2021 ordinance have been reported in the past three years, we remain fully committed to protecting every young person in our community. […] We faced an undeniable reality, and preserving an ordinance under legal challenge would have put millions of critical state funding at risk. Funds that support public safety, basic city services, and the day-to-day operations that make Columbia work. The cost of inaction was too high. This vote is not a retreat from our values. It is a recognition we must act strategically to protect our residents.”

(from another article)

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson published an opinion in 2022 where he stated he felt the ordinance violated the state constitution. Later, the South Carolina Legislature passed the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, which stopped municipal governments from interfering with psychological therapy and counseling.

[…]The legislature then passed a budget proviso, which was then signed into law by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, that withholds local funds from the state to any city that has such a ban. (Columbia is the only local government in the state that has such a measure). Because the council could not decide a course of action in time, the city drafted a budget that did not include roughly $3.7 million in state funds.