Two years after passing a ban on conversion therapy, the City Council—led by Johnson, who is openly gay—is taking up a measure to repeal the law in the hopes of neutralizing possible action from the nation’s highest court.

"We want to ensure that we are not at harm for a legal challenge not just for ourselves, but also setting up a national precedent," Johnson told reporters Thursday during an unrelated press conference at City Hall.

A state ban to ban so-called conversion therapy languished in the Republican-controlled Senate for years, so the City Council passed its own version in 2017. Two years later, after Democrats took control of the chamber, a state-wide measure was approved, banning the practice which aims to change a person's sexual orientation by using psychological or religious intervention.

Now, the Alliance Defending Freedom , an Arizona-based conservative Christian organization, has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn alleging the city's ban is unconstitutional, saying it violates free speech and aims to censor communication between counselors and patients.

Critics say it’s a brutal option for anyone struggling with their sexual identity. State Senator Brad Hoylman sponsored the state ban.

"It's unfortunate that the City Council would have to take this action to reverse itself on banning conversion therapy here in the city of New York," Hoylman said. "Thankfully, at the state level, we have banned LGBTQ conversion therapy for minors across the board, so all young people who are LGTBQ are now protected from this barbaric practice."

LGBTQ advocates fear the lawsuit will move through the judicial system, eventually landing at the Supreme Court where a conservative bench might rule in favor of curtailing conversion bans. But lawmakers here at home are confident the state measure will hold up against any legal challenge.

"We specifically tailored our law to match California which has withstood federal legal challenges so I'm confident that in the state of NY are protected from conversion therapy because the courts have said so," Hoylman said.

Johnson's proposal must still go through the legislative process. Johnson said he believes the measure will have wide support among members of the City Council.