❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy for minors.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Supreme Court, Christian therapist Kaley Chiles, and Colorado state officials.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued on Tuesday and impacts Colorado and at least 20 other states with similar laws.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.” – Justice Neil Gorsuch
🎯IMPACT: The ruling effectively overturns the Colorado ban and similar laws in over 20 states, asserting free speech protections for therapists.
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down Colorado‘s ban on conversion therapy for minors. In a surprising eight-to-one ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, the high court found in favor of Kaley Chiles, a Christian therapist who challenged the state’s ban. Attorneys for Chiles argued the Colorado law effectively infringed on her right to help young patients who sought to align their lives with their Christian faith.
“In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint. Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority, continuing, “It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth.”
“However well-intentioned, any law that suppresses speech based on viewpoint represents an ‘egregious’ assault on both of those commitments,” the majority concluded, ordering the circuit court decision upholding the Colorado law reversed and remanded (effectively overturning the ban).
The law, adopted in 2019, prohibits “any practice or treatment” aimed at changing a minor’s “gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.” While the law has never been enforced, it includes fines of up to $5,000 per violation and potential suspension or revocation of a counselor’s license. Notably, it exempts religious ministry practices.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter, delivering a summary of her opposition from the bench. Notably, the ruling impacts over 20 other states with similar laws seeking to ban conversion therapy.
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