Counseling association cancels Nashville conference over therapist law

In protest of a state law they say is an affront to the profession of counseling and the worst legislation the group has tracked in decades, the American Counseling Association has canceled its annual conference scheduled for Nashville next year.

The decision, announced by the Virginia-based organization on Tuesday, comes two weeks after Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law a controversial bill in Tennessee that allows counselors to cite principles to reject patients. Gay rights advocates and the ACA had opposed the legislation.

For Nashville the loss of the convention at Music City Center could cost the city more than 3,000 visitors next year, $4 million in combined local and state tax revenue and a local economic impact of up to $10 million. Figures come from the ACA, which had warned weeks ago that it might take its convention elsewhere because of the state bill.

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The ACA announced the decision on its website with a statement and video from CEO Richard Yep.

“Of all the state legislation impacting counseling during my 30 years with ACA, the new Tennessee law based on Senate Bill 1556/House Bill 1840 is the worst,” he says in the video. “Tennessee became the latest state to introduce a discriminatory religious freedom law, which targets gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans — and then went further by expanding the allowed discriminatory practice to even more American citizens."

Yep said the law is “in clear violation” of the ACA’s code of ethics, adding: “No other state has a law like Tennessee’s.”

“If the new law is allowed to stand, we cannot in good conscience bring business to Tennessee,” he said. “It is an affront to our profession and we must stand firm to prevent other states from enacting a law like HB 1840. Therefore, our annual meeting will be rescheduled for another venue outside of Tennessee.”

It is unclear where the ACA will hold its conference next year instead of Nashville. The group held its conference last year in Montreal.

In response to the ACA's cancellation Tuesday, Haslam spokesman Jennifer Donnals said: "They had said they were considering that, and they won't experience all that Tennessee has to offer."

In explaining his reasons for signing the bill into law, Haslam said that it contained provisions that include requiring a counselor to refer a client to another counselor who would serve them.

Before Haslam's signature, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat who opposed the bill, increasingly discussed possible economic ramifications if the bill became law.

On Wednesday she called the ACA's decision "an unfortunate consequence" of the state's action.

"While we are disappointed in the lost revenue opportunity for local businesses as a result of the ACA canceling their convention, we remain dedicated to promoting Nashville to other businesses, conventions and tourists by showing that we are an inclusive, warm and welcoming city for all," Barry said in a statement.

Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp — who had also urged the state not to pass the bill — said the CVC is "obviously disappointed, but we are not surprised."

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He also said a second organization has canceled a future convention in Nashville because of the law. A CVC spokesman declined to name the group because she said the CVC had not talked to the group directly.

"This cancellation is the second one and is likely just the tip of the iceberg when you consider all the other groups that won’t consider us now," Spyridon said. "It is regrettable that all the hard work and investment to make Nashville a top destination has been unnecessarily undone by politics.”

In a separate protest of Tennessee's counselor bill, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Tuesday that Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney had banned publicly funded, non-essential travel by city workers to Tennessee.

In addition to the counseling legislation, the Republican-dominated Tennessee legislature made national headlines this past session as they considered a bill that would have required students to use restrooms that correspond with their sex at birth.

That measure — which received pushback from executives of as many as 60 businesses, as well as musicians, advocacy organizations and Barry — was halted in the final week of the 2016 session.

Lead sponsor of the counseling legislation, state Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, said in a statement Tuesday that he was proud to sponsor the bill, noting that Tennessee is one of 14 states that, by law, automatically adopt the American Counseling Association's code of ethics for licensed counselors in the state.

He said the ACA two years ago made a "radical change" to its code of ethics, which he said his policy sought to reverse "and ensure that those who need counseling can receive it from counselors most capable and qualified to deliver it."

"Regardless of how one feels about this legislation, I hope we can all agree that public policy decisions shouldn't be made based on where a Washington-based special interest group, like the American Counseling Association, decides to hold a convention," Johnson said. "I wish the ACA tremendous success with their convention, regardless of where they choose to hold it."

But Democrats, particularly those from Nashville, aren't likely to forget about Nashville's convention loss.

“It’s the predictable result of a stupid and mean-spirited law," state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said. "It’s too bad our state legislature doesn’t represent the welcoming and friendly state that we truly are. We already knew this bill would have a human cost, but now we see it has an economic cost as well."

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29. Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.