SUPREME COURT: Appears Skeptical Of Colorado Law Banning Conversion Theraphy
"PUBLIC ADVOCATE has filed an amicus brief in support of conversion therapy in this case berfore the court, and it appears likely judges will agree with our reasoning that the first amendment allows for talking to clients about God and His values" said Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
FROM THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE BRIEF (IN PART)
"Petitioner
does
not
seek
to
impose
her
beliefs
on
her
minor
clients;
rather,
her
goal
is
to
be
a
resource
primarily
for
other
Christians
who
seek
her
out
in
hopes
of
receiving
counsel
from
a
Biblical
viewpoint.
By
contrast,
here
the
government
attempts
to
"enact[]
a
viewpoint-based
speech
restriction
on
counselors,"
and
it
believes
traditional
morality
is
harmful
to
public
safety
and
health.
Pet.
Br.
at
2.
Petitioner
alleged
that
Colorado's
restrictions
on
her
speech
ban
her
ability
to
counsel
her
clients
toward
traditional
Biblical
morality,
permitting
only
counseling
against
such
Biblical
morality,
which
constitutes
both
content
and
viewpoint
discrimination
in
violation
of
the
First
Amendment
speech
and
free
exercise
protections.
Nevertheless,
the
District
Court
for
the
District
of
Colorado
ruled
that
"[t]he
Minor
Therapy
Conversion
Law
is
viewpoint
neutral
and
does
not
impose
content-based
speech
restrictions."
Chiles
v.
Salazar,
2022
U.S.
Dist.
LEXIS
227887
(D.
Colo.
2022)
("Chiles
I")
at
*25.
The
district
court
reasoned
that
the
ban
"is
a
public
health
law
that
regulates
professional
conduct,"
and
that
"[a]ny
speech
affected
by
the
Minor
Therapy
Conversion
Law
is
incidentalto
the
professional
conduct
it
regulates."
Id."
COPY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE AMICUS BRIEF AS FILED AT SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court appeared inclined Tuesday to side with a Christian counselor who brought a First Amendment challenge to Colorado's ban on "conversion therapy."
Several justices seemed concerned that Colorado's law was "viewpoint discrimination" against counselors like the petitioner, Kaley Chiles, who aims to help minors feel comfortable in their body rather than agreeing with their gender dysphoria.
Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL), passed in 2019, defines "conversion therapy" as efforts to "change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity," including behaviors, gender expressions and romantic attractions. Nearly half of all U.S. states have similar bans on "conversion therapy."..................
Colorado claims "conversion therapy" is "unsafe and ineffective." Department of Justice Principal Deputy Solicitor General Hashim Mooppan emphasized that there is "no evidence" for Colorado's claim.
"This is an easy case because there is no conduct," Mooppan said. "All that is happening here is speech."