In general, the #FirstAmendment prevents the government from restricting #speech because it dislikes the content or message. But #SCOTUS has said certain restrictions aimed at governing a person’s conduct are permissible even if they incidentally burden speech. [if those restrictions adhere to the justices’ own ideologies.]

#SCOTUS #Christianity #Colorado #law #MentalHealth #SexualOrientation #gender #identity #LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy #Evangelism #NewApostolicReformation #NAR

In her court filings, Mrs. Chiles said she was not seeking to “cure” clients of same-sex attractions or to “change” their #SexualOrientation, but rather to help patients with their own stated goals, which sometimes include “seeking to reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions.” [um, #CognitiveDissonance much?]

#SCOTUS #Colorado #law #MentalHealth #gender #identity #LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy

Only Justice #KetanjiBrownJackson dissented, reading a lengthy summary of her opposition from the bench.

Colorado’s statute, adopted in 2019, prohibits “any practice or treatment” that tries to change a minor’s “gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”

#SCOTUS #Colorado #law #MentalHealth #SexualOrientation #gender #identity #LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy

In its decision, #SCOTUS said the #law, as applied to talk therapy, impermissibly interferes with #FreeSpeech.

“#Colorado may regard its policy as essential to #PublicHealth & safety,” Justice Neil M. #Gorsuch wrote for himself & 7 other justices from across the ideological spectrum. “But the #FirstAmendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”

#MentalHealth #SexualOrientation #gender #identity #LGBTQ #ConversionTherapy