An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
It's the latest in a line of recent cases in which the justices have backed arguments that such laws violate religious points of view.
Counselor Kaley Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, said the law wrongly bars her from offering voluntary, faith-based therapy for kids.
Chiles contends her approach is different from “conversion therapy” practices from decades ago, like shock therapy. Her attorneys argued that the ban makes it hard for parents to find therapists willing to discuss gender issues with kids unless the counseling affirms their feelings.
“This important ruling from the Supreme Court ensures that Christians may practice their faith openly in the counseling world without threat of punishment from the government. God calls on Christians to live out their faith in the public square, and people of faith have the First Amendment right to live up to that calling," said David Walls, executive director of Kentucky-based The Family Foundation.
“This case is only the latest example of the LGBTQ lobby trying to force Christians to violate their deeply held religious beliefs through government censorship and coercion in order to push a harmful agenda on children and society. I hope that this latest court defeat will finally send a message that the Constitution does not allow such actions,” Walls concluded.
There's bite behind constitutional bark, Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel for First Liberty Institute said.
“Americans should never have their professional speech censored simply because the government disfavors that speech,” he said. “In this case, the Supreme Court sent a clear message to state governments that the Constitution actually means what it says when it protects the free speech of its citizens. This is a great victory for religious liberty.”
The law doesn’t violate the First Amendment, Colorado argued, because therapy is different from other types of speech since it's a form of health care that the state has a responsibility to regulate.
The 2019 law carries the possibility of fines and license suspension, but no one has been sanctioned under it. The ruling is expected to eventually make similar laws in other states unenforceable.
Chiles was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization that has appeared frequently at the court in recent years. The group also represented a Christian website designer who didn't want to create websites for homosexual weddings.
