For the third year in a row lawmakers have voted down a bill that would have banned conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors in Colorado. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.

would have prohibited a licensed physician specializing in psychiatry or a licensed or registered mental health care provider from engaging in conversion therapy with a patient under 18 years of age. Conversion therapy is psychological treatment used to change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual.

The bill passed the House in a 38-27 vote and was presented in a Senate committee on Wednesday. The Senate's State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted to to postpone consideration of the bill 3-2. The vote was among party lines with three republicans voting to postpone consideration.

One Colorado, an organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families, released the following statement from Political Director, Laura Reinshe, on the defeat of the bill:

"This bill would have safeguarded LGBTQ minors from being subjected to harmful and abusive practices trying to change who they are or who they love. LGBTQ young people who undergo this so-called "therapy" are proven to be at risk of long-term depression, guilt, rejection, and even a heightened risk for suicide.

Colorado Family Action sent out the following statement in a release in early March in regards to the bill: