From NBC News: In a blow to LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy aimed at youths struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity violates the free speech rights of a conservative Christian therapist.
The 8-1 decision in favor of therapist Kaley Chiles on her claim brought under the Constitution’s First Amendment is likely to have national implications — more than 20 states have similar laws.
Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that “the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole dissenter.
“The First Amendment stands as a bulwark against any effort to prescribe an orthodoxy of views, reflecting a belief that each American enjoys an inalienable right to speak his mind and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for finding truth,” the Court’s decision reads. “Laws like Colorado’s, which suppress speech based on viewpoint, represent an egregious assault on both commitments.”
In reporting the Supreme Court’s ruling, NBC News complained, “The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that has frequently ruled in favor of Christian conservatives who bring free speech cases that touch upon their religious beliefs.”
🚨 In an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court holds that Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy,” as applied to petitioner’s talk therapy, violates the First Amendment because it constitutes viewpoint discrimination pic.twitter.com/NkDo4Djsb6
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) March 31, 2026
VICTORY in Chiles v. Salazar!
Tune to our full breakdown of the decision at 1pm ET!
“Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, as applied to Ms. Chiles’s talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint, and the lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous… pic.twitter.com/UFZ0qKNg6m
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) March 31, 2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rules in favor of a Christian counselor’s challenge against a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy for minors, saying the ban violates the First Amendment | @AmericaNewsroom @ShannonBream pic.twitter.com/tdd8r2TbkU
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 31, 2026
Ryan Anderson, president of Ethics and Public Policy Center, wrote, “CONGRATULATIONS to @ADFLegal on their 8-1 victory at the Supreme Court! Protecting the freedom of counselors to practice, and children to receive, good therapy for gender identity confusion. Shame on Colorado for trying to ban basic talk therapy.”
CONGRATULATIONS to @ADFLegal on their 8-1 victory at the Supreme Court! Protecting the freedom of counselors to practice, and children to receive, good therapy for gender identity confusion. Shame on Colorado for trying to ban basic talk therapy.https://t.co/5gDj7P6Haa
— Ryan T. Anderson (@RyanTAnd) March 31, 2026
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