Overview
- Colorado’s law, which bars efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, ran into an 8–1 Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that said applying it to talk therapy was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and sent the case back for strict‑scrutiny review.
- Following Tuesday’s decision, the Colorado House passed HB26‑1322 to let people sue licensed providers and their employers for harm from conversion efforts, removing time limits for most claims and allowing estates to file within five years if a victim has died.
- Survivors and LGBTQ advocates voiced alarm and grief over the ruling’s message, with the Conversion Therapy Survivors Network reporting clients feel “hopeless” yet urging action and planning with national groups like the Trevor Project.
- Supporters of the decision cast it as a free‑speech win for therapists and client autonomy, and some point to Utah’s viewpoint‑neutral approach that bans coercive or aversive methods but protects open‑ended talk therapy as a model more likely to survive in court.
- Roughly two dozen states and D.C. have similar bans that could face challenges, even as major medical groups say conversion practices are ineffective and linked to higher depression and suicidal thoughts among youth.