Colorado Christian Counselor Asks Supreme Court to Lift Ban on Free Speech
A Colorado Christian counselor is seeking the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court after the state passed a law that bans conversations meant to help minor clients accept their God-given gender and sexuality. Instead, the law essentially encourages counselors to steer young clients toward gender transition.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a non-profit legal group, is representing Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor in Colorado.
The group has petitioned the high court to hear Chiles' case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law which "prohibits mental health professionals from providing 'conversion therapy' to minor clients."
"(As) a practicing Christian, Chiles believes that people flourish when they live consistently with God's design, including their biological sex. Many of her clients seek her counsel precisely because they believe that their faith and their relationship with God establishes the foundation upon which to understand their identity and desires," reads the petition.
A counselor who violates Colorado's Minor Conversion Therapy Law faces fines of up to $5,000 per violation, suspension from practice, and, in some cases, revocation of the counselor's license.
Chiles originally filed a lawsuit challenging the law, arguing that it violates the First Amendment's Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses.
"Colorado's law violates Chiles' freedom of speech by prohibiting licensed counselors from having any conversation with clients under age 18 that 'attempts or purports to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex,'" ADF explained in a statement.
She requested a preliminary injunction but was denied. Chiles then filed an appeal, but the 10th Circuit court upheld Colorado's law "reasoning that mere talking during a counseling session is 'conduct' the First Amendment does not protect."
ADF is now asking the United States Supreme Court to intervene.
PETITION FILED: We’ve asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor in Colorado.
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) November 11, 2024
CO law violates the First Amendment by banning counseling conversations meant to help a minor client accept his/her body, while encouraging conversations meant… pic.twitter.com/vvuv5xfXda
"The government has no business censoring private conversations between clients and counselors, nor should a counselor be used as a tool to impose the government's biased views on her clients," said ADF Legal Counsel Cody Barnett.
He continued, "We are urging the Supreme Court to hear Kaley's case, resolve the split, and stop Colorado officials from banning someone's speech simply because they disagree with her beliefs. All Americans should be allowed to speak freely and seek the best possible help they desire."
The lawsuit alleges that while the law prohibits counselors from encouraging clients to accept their bodies, it "allows counseling conversations that aim to steer young people toward a gender identity different than the client's sex."
The group writes, "The 10th Circuit's decision harms countless counselors and other professionals. Worse, as the petition explains, ''(a)midst an unprecedented mental-health crisis among this country's young people,' the decision 'prevents vulnerable individuals in many states from obtaining the counseling they desire and desperately need.' Further delay in righting these wrongs and this 'unconstitutional counseling censorship is unthinkable.'"
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