A federal appeals court has refused to block Colorado’s conversion therapy law from going into effect, finding that the law does not restrict free speech but rather legally restricts conduct.
House Bill 1129 became law in 2019. It bars state-licensed mental health providers from trying to change a minor patient’s gender identity or same-sex sexual preference. In a 2-1 decision handed down Monday, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law and denied a request for an injunction.
Kaylee Chiles is a licensed counselor in Colorado Springs who occasionally provides gender and sexual identity counseling, a practice she sees as growing out of her Christian faith, which condemns same-sex sexual activity as sinful. She filed the lawsuit, arguing that the law violates her free speech rights.
One Colorado, the state’s largest advocacy group, filed a brief in support of the legislation. LGBTQ+ Advocacy groups, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), a national LGBTQ+ civil rights legal advocate, and Born Perfect, NCLR’s victim-led anti-conversion therapy program.
“We are extremely pleased with today’s ruling, which allows Colorado to continue to protect LGBTQ children and young people from the dangers of conversion therapy,” NCLR senior staff attorney Chris Stoll said in a statement. “These unreliable treatments, which falsely promise they can change young people’s sexual orientation or gender identity, have been rejected as dangerous by every major medical and mental health organization in the country.”
“Born Perfect applauds the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision ensuring Colorado can continue to protect young people from the dangers of conversion therapy,” Matthew Shurka, co-founder and chief strategist for Born Perfect, said in a statement. “Advocates and survivors like me now have much needed reassurance that all children are born perfect.”
“We are pleased that Colorado youth will now be protected from conversion therapy,” Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, said in a statement. “Research has shown that conversion therapy can lead to increased depression, anxiety, substance abuse, homelessness, self-harm and suicide. LGBTQ+ youth are especially at risk, as are families who mistakenly believe these dangerous practices can ‘hinder’ their children from becoming who they truly are.”
Childs sued with the help of the right-wing legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which was unhappy with the ruling and called the law a “CO counselling censorship law.” post On social media.
Cody Barnett, an attorney for ADF, also challenged the court’s finding that counseling is not speech.
“Counseling is speech, not conduct, and under the First Amendment it must be treated as such,” Barnett said after the ruling. “The government does not have the power to censor private conversations between clients and counselors, and counselors should not be used as a tool to impose the government’s biased views on clients.”
Chilis and the ADF have vowed to appeal the court’s decision.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
