Overview
- Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for an 8–1 Court on Tuesday that Colorado’s 2019 ban, as applied to talk‑only counseling with minors, regulates speech by viewpoint and must face the highest First Amendment test on remand.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the decision risks weakening states’ long‑standing power to police unsafe medical treatment when care is delivered through words rather than procedures.
- Colorado’s statute bars licensed providers from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, carries fines up to $5,000 per violation, permits supportive or transition‑related care, exempts religious ministries, and has not led to any sanctions to date.
- The challenge was brought by Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor who offers voluntary talk therapy aligned with clients’ religious beliefs, with representation from Alliance Defending Freedom and support from the Trump administration.
- More than two dozen states have similar restrictions that could now face new legal attacks, even as major medical groups say conversion efforts are discredited and linked to harms such as higher suicide risk; the next step is for lower courts to decide if Colorado can meet strict scrutiny.