The first documented attempt to "cure" homosexuality occurred in 1899. A man named Albert von Schrenck-Notzing claimed that he had turned a gay man straight through hypnosis sessions and trips to a brothel.

In the 1920s, Eugen Steinach believed that "homosexuality was rooted in a man's testicles," which let to transplant experiments. Steinach believed if gay men were castrated and given "heterosexual" testicles, they could be cured.

Later, LGBTQ+ people were forced to endure electroshock therapy; during treatment, doctors would sometimes connect electrodes directly to the brain.

Aversion therapy was developed soon after. During aversion therapy treatments, doctors train LGBTQ+ people to become disgusted by homosexuality. To do this, their patients are given chemicals that make them vomit when they look at pictures of their lovers.

With the rise of the gay rights movement in the '60s and '70s, medical professionals began to abandon the idea that people could be converted to heterosexuality. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Electroshock therapy was proven to be ineffective, so it was dropped as a medical technique.

Recently, gay conversion camps and church groups have been created in an attempt to "cure" LGBTQ+ or questioning children. Methods include "praying the gay away," hypnotization, isolation, and even exorcisms. The leaders of these camps and churches convince children that being gay would lead to misery and sickness. Many victims of conversion therapy suffer long-term mental health issues due to the trauma they experience.

As of 2009, The American Psychological Association condemned conversion therapy because it views "homosexuality as a mental disorder, a concept that has been rejected by the mental health professions for more than 35 years"

Conversion therapy is legal in all but 15 states. Most recently, New York has banned the practice of conversion therapy on minors. It passed in the Senate by a vote of 57-4 and the Assembly by a vote of 134-3.

Richard N. Gottfried, who sponsored the bill, says its passage was finally made possible by the recent Democratic majority in the New York Senate. When the Senate had a Republican Majority, they refused to let the bill have a floor vote.

The bill was passed on Tuesday, January 14th. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign it this week.