For months, the city of Columbia, South Carolina, has been steeped in a battle over conversion therapy in the state capital.The Republican candidate for governor is for conversion therapy and threatened the city with withdrawing state funds over the issue. The Democratic candidate running for mayor of Columbia is against it; she called efforts to reinstate the debunked practice a betrayal. Related Conversion therapy group holds rally at California State Capitol to oppose LGBTQ lifestyle The Changed Movement is the new Exodus International. On Tuesday, the conversion therapy advocates won when the city council voted to overturn its ban, which has been in place since 2021. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The 4-3 council vote reaffirmed another vote with the same result a week earlier. That vote followed months of delayed city council action as activists flooded City Hall chambers urging officials not to repeal the ban, according to the Post & Courier.The councils reconsideration began in April with a letter sent by state Attorney General Alan Wilson (R), whos running for governor in 2026.Wilson argued the citys conversion therapy ordinance violated state and federal law, and he enlisted the South Carolina Legislature to introduce a provision that would strip Columbia of $3.7 million in state funding if the council didnt overturn the ordinance.Since then, every city council meeting has been packed with LGBTQ+ advocates, licensed mental health workers, and ACLU members urging the council to resist Wilsons raw power play aimed at riling his MAGA base at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community.Wilson formally announced his run for governor on Monday.In the end, current Mayor Daniel Rickenmann (R) and three other council members voted to lift the ban, citing the threat of massive funding cuts. The loss in state money would be too significant, they argued, over an ordinance some claim was largely symbolic: over the life of the ban, no licensed counselors had been fined or reported in violation of the ordinance. Infractions could have earned counselors a $500 fine.For yall to give in and capitulate without a battle of any kind is strange to me. Where is the outrage? asked Dr. Isabelle Mandell at Tuesdays meeting, reported by theSouth Carolina Daily Gazette. You havent tried. You havent fought it.The job now is just to get boots on the ground, spread the message that, Hey, we need new leadership in these positions,' said Justice Hills, who has shown up to every meeting since April to urge council members to keep the ban. In a statement following the vote, Columbias LGBTQ+ Harriet Hancock Center urged the community to persevere.Our work doesnt stop with this vote, the centers director wrote. For those who are asking, What now? Whats next? I encourage you to turn our anger into action.Four of the city councils members are up for reelection in November.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.