Overview
- The Court, which ruled 8–1 on Tuesday, sent the Colorado case back to lower courts after finding likely viewpoint discrimination in the law.
- Colorado’s prohibition stays in place for now as judges reexamine it under stricter First Amendment standards that could limit or block enforcement.
- Passed in 2019, the statute bars licensed therapists from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity and allows fines of up to $5,000 per violation.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and warned the ruling could weaken state power to regulate what licensed clinicians say in medical care.
- The opinion raises new risks for similar bans in more than two dozen states even as major medical groups call conversion therapy discredited and linked to mental health harm.