Colorado ‘conversion therapy’ law faces Supreme Court constitutional test

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a case that examines whether counseling services for minors facing gender identity and sexual orientation questions are protected by the First Amendment.

Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian therapist, argues that her conversations with youth clients are a form of protected speech. The Colorado government, however, sees them as professional conduct that falls under its authority to regulate.

Chiles’ lawyers describe her in court papers as a person who “believes that people flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex.”

Chiles, whose practice is based in Colorado Springs, uses “faith-informed” counseling to engage in talk therapy with young people who are “seeking to reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions, change sexual behaviors, or grow in the experience of harmony with one’s physical body,” her lawyers say.

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The closely watched case centers on a law passed by Colorado in 2019 that bans what it describes as “conversion therapy.” About two dozen states have similar measures in place, and the outcome of this case could affect those.

Chiles’ lawyers say the state law amounts to “viewpoint censorship,” arguing that “Colorado’s statute has undeniably silenced her.” 

They argue conversion therapy is an overly broad term and that the law puts therapists like Chiles at risk of thousands of dollars in fines and revocation of their licenses if they violate it.

In a statement over the summer, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defended the law, which the state claims only bans therapists from performing treatments that have the predetermined outcome of converting a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“So-called conversion therapy is an inhumane and abusive practice overwhelmingly shown to harm young people,” Weiser said. “We have a compelling interest in protecting children from this dangerous pseudoscience.”

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The case is not the first to come out of Colorado in recent years that looks at how the First Amendment intersects with identity and sexual orientation. The Supreme Court found 6-3 in June 2023 that Colorado could not force web designer Lorie Smith to create designs that conflicted with her faith, namely wedding website designs for gay couples.

Chiles v. Salazar has now become the next cultural touchpoint in the state. The Trump Department of Justice is backing Chiles in the lawsuit, along with the Association of Biblical Counselors and the Family Research Counsel.

Meanwhile, nearly 200 congressional Democrats and major medical and mental health institutions support the Colorado law.

Attorney Kate Anderson of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative advocacy group representing Chiles in litigation, told reporters ahead of oral arguments that the Colorado web designer’s case gave her optimism.

The conversion therapy law is “another example of Colorado trying to censor speech in a slightly different context, but very much related,” Anderson said. “And we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court will again give a bold vindication of free speech for everyone.”