WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down part of a Colorado law restricting licensed mental health professionals from performing voluntary conversion therapy to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of minors.
In an 8-1 decision, the high court determined that Colorado’s 2019 law trampled on First Amendment protections and ruled in favor of Christian therapist Kaley Chiles.
“We do not doubt that the question ‘how best to help minors’ struggling with issues of gender identity or sexual orientation is presently a subject of ‘fierce public debate,’” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.
“But Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. 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.”
Democrat-appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
