Christian nonprofit group Liberty Counsel has made it clear it intends to fight Alachua County's ban on conversion therapy.

Last week, the Alachua County Commission agreed to take its conversion therapy ban one step further and expand the rule countywide.

The vote was a natural progression from the board’s decision in May to ban the therapy in unincorporated areas of the county, and a fulfillment of its promise to return with an all-encompassing prohibition within 60 days.

While there may have been little fanfare when the latest version of the ordinance passed, a legal rumbling is underfoot.

Attorneys from the Liberty Counsel, a Christian nonprofit, say they are in the early phases of taking legal action against the county commissioners.

“We are taking preliminary steps right now,” Liberty Counsel attorney Richard Mast said. “We’ve informed pastors and others willing to consider representation against the legislation.”

The new ordinance bars licensed therapists from performing conversion therapy on minors by penalty of $500. The practice is a form of psychological treatment meant to change someone’s sexual orientation.

In its statement of beliefs about marriage, the Liberty Counsel declares homosexuality as unnatural.

Jacqueline Chung, Alachua County equal opportunity manager, said the organization has not filed the lawsuit yet.

Municipalities were given a chance to opt out of the new ordinance. But according to county spokesman Mark Sexton, none did.

Chung said there has been little to no opposition from city leaders thus far.

“We received overwhelming support,” she said.

On May 10, members of Liberty Counsel’s legal team sent a letter to the board warning them that passing the ordinance would bring litigation.

The nonprofit is fighting three similar ordinances in other areas of Florida, including Tampa and Boca Raton. The city of Gainesville passed its own conversion therapy ban in 2018.

And now, Mast says they’re prepared to fight Alachua County.

“The Board of County Commissioners coming between the client and therapist is anti-American,” he said. “They are wildly overstepping their authority.”

Chung said county officials do not track or keep records of counselors performing conversion therapy in the area, but have heard anecdotal information from residents who shared their experiences.

The commission was clear in its intent to outlaw the therapy, she said.

“The board wanted to prohibit a practice that’s considered harmful to those who go through it,” she said.