Overview
- The Court said Colorado’s restriction on talk-based counseling targets a viewpoint and must pass strict scrutiny, so it returned the case to lower courts to test the law.
- An eight-justice majority joined Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, and Justice Elena Kagan with Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted a mirror case would raise the same First Amendment issue.
- Strict scrutiny is the highest constitutional test, which requires a compelling state interest and a law narrowly tailored to achieve it without discriminating against a viewpoint.
- Medical groups have found conversion practices cause harm such as PTSD, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, and they report no evidence that attempts to change identity work.
- The decision calls into question similar youth-focused bans in many states and has fueled concern about school settings, including counseling and chaplain programs that could steer students toward identity-denying practices.