Supreme Court Defends First Amendment by Striking Down “Conversion Therapy” Law

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on Tuesday that Colorado's ban on so-called "conversion therapy" for minors violates the First Amendment as applied to talk therapy.

The case centered on Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian counselor who argued the 2019 law prevented her from helping clients who sought to resolve unwanted feelings about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority that the law amounts to viewpoint discrimination, an "egregious" form of content regulation that the Constitution cannot tolerate. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stood alone in dissent, drawing criticism not just from her conservative colleagues but from fellow liberal Justice Elena Kagan.