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Supreme Court to review Colorado law barring conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children

Supreme Court to review Colorado law barring conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children
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Supreme Court to review Colorado law barring conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children
The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.The conservative-led court is taking up the case amid recent actions by President Donald Trump, including a ban on military service and an end to federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The justices also have heard arguments in a Tennessee case over whether state bans on treating transgender minors violate the Constitution. But they have yet to issue a decision.Colorado is among roughly half the states that prohibit the practice of trying to change a person鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.The issue is whether the law violates the speech rights of counselors. Defenders of such laws argue that they regulate the conduct of professionals who are licensed by the state.The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the state law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has struck down local local bans in Florida.In 2023, the court turned away a similar challenge despite a split among federal appeals courts that had weighed state bans and reached differing decisions.At the time, three justices, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, said they would have taken on the issue. It takes four justices to grant review. The nine-member court does not typically reveal how justices vote at this stage of a case so it鈥檚 unclear who might have provided the fourth vote.The case will be argued in the court鈥檚 new term, which begins in October. The appeal on behalf of Kaley Chiles, a counselor in Colorado Springs, was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal organization that has appeared frequently at the court in recent years in cases involving high-profile social issues.One of those cases was a 5-4 decision in 2018 in which the justices ruled that California could not force state-licensed anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion.Chiles鈥� lawyers leaned heavily on that decision in asking the court to take up her case. They wrote that Chiles doesn鈥檛 鈥渟eek to 鈥榗ure鈥� clients of same-sex attractions or to 鈥榗hange鈥� clients鈥� sexual orientation.鈥滻n arguing for the court to reject the appeal, lawyers for Colorado wrote that lawmakers acted to regulate professional conduct "based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to change a child鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity are unsafe and ineffective."

The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.

The conservative-led court is taking up the case amid recent actions by President Donald Trump, including a ban on military service and an end to federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

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The justices also have heard arguments in a Tennessee case over whether state bans on treating transgender minors violate the Constitution. But they have yet to issue a decision.

Colorado is among roughly half the states that prohibit the practice of trying to change a person鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.

The issue is whether the law violates the speech rights of counselors. Defenders of such laws argue that they regulate the conduct of professionals who are licensed by the state.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the state law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has struck down local local bans in Florida.

In 2023, the court turned away a similar challenge despite a split among federal appeals courts that had weighed state bans and reached differing decisions.

At the time, three justices, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, said they would have taken on the issue. It takes four justices to grant review. The nine-member court does not typically reveal how justices vote at this stage of a case so it鈥檚 unclear who might have provided the fourth vote.

The case will be argued in the court鈥檚 new term, which begins in October. The appeal on behalf of Kaley Chiles, a counselor in Colorado Springs, was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal organization that has appeared frequently at the court in recent years in cases involving high-profile social issues.

One of those cases was a 5-4 decision in 2018 in which the justices ruled that California could not force state-licensed anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion.

Chiles鈥� lawyers leaned heavily on that decision in asking the court to take up her case. They wrote that Chiles doesn鈥檛 鈥渟eek to 鈥榗ure鈥� clients of same-sex attractions or to 鈥榗hange鈥� clients鈥� sexual orientation.鈥�

In arguing for the court to reject the appeal, lawyers for Colorado wrote that lawmakers acted to regulate professional conduct "based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to change a child鈥檚 sexual orientation or gender identity are unsafe and ineffective."