Plain-English summary
Court: Colorado ban on conversion therapy regulates speech based on viewpoint; reversal and remand
The Court held that Colorado’s law banning “conversion therapy” as applied to a Christian counselor’s purely talk-based therapy regulates speech based on viewpoint, requiring heightened First Amendment review. The decision reverses the lower courts and remands the case for further proceedings under that standard.
Why this matters
The decision clarifies that government restrictions on counselor speech that target particular viewpoints—here, speech supporting counseling aligned with religious beliefs about sex and gender—must survive heightened First Amendment review. That raises the legal bar for states enforcing conversion-therapy bans against talk-only counseling that expresses a particular viewpoint and affects how professional speech regulations will be analyzed going forward.
Who may feel it
- Licensed counselors and mental-health professionals who provide talk therapy
- Clients seeking faith-based or viewpoint-driven counseling on sex or gender issues
- State regulators enforcing conversion-therapy bans and licensing rules
- Lawsuits challenging speech restrictions in professional settings
Key questions
- Does applying a state law that bans ‘conversion therapy’ to purely talk-based counseling regulate speech based on viewpoint?