The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) canceled a rally that it intended to hold on Tuesday while the Supreme Court hears its case, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
Though ADF often hosts rallies for its cases, the organization’s security team determined the safety concerns were too great to hold one for Chiles v. Salazar, which challenges a Colorado law that restricts counselors from having conversations with minors intended to change their “sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“We were told by our security team that it’s not safe, given the current political climate, for us to even be outside speaking about this issue,” ADF senior counsel Kate Anderson told the DCNF.
“Instead of having free debate in our country, we’re seeing people resorting to violence and to threats,” she said. “And that’s particularly sad, disturbing when we’re talking about a case that’s all about free speech and allowing people to debate the things that are most difficult and most controversial in our country, so that we can come to good solutions that will help and save kids.”
Tomorrow, we will argue Chiles v. Salazar, about whether states can forbid counselors from engaging in certain speech that helps children grow comfortable with their biological sex.
Sadly, the usual supporting rally outside the Supreme Court will not take place. Experienced… pic.twitter.com/sE5lJf2MtN
— Kristen Waggoner (@KristenWaggoner) October 6, 2025
While ADF’s security team made the call, the Supreme Court told ADF that they cannot secure speakers at an open air rally on this topic, Anderson said. The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We’ve all witnessed the wave of violent attacks in recent weeks—many of which are politically motivated, with apparent ties to radical gender ideology,” ADF CEO Kristen Waggoner wrote on X, noting “allies sponsoring the rally couldn’t simply ignore” threats of violence at an outdoor event.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign is planning to host a rally outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to an event listing.
ADF’s decision reflects caution after Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September.
Kirk’s suspected shooter, Tyler Robinson, lived with his transgender partner. In a text message after the shooting, Robinson told his partner that “some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who brought her challenge to Colorado’s “conversion therapy” ban to the Supreme Court, argues it violates her free speech rights.
“I’m not the only counselor whose speech is being restricted,” Chiles told the DCNF. “My clients are not the only clients who don’t have access to care.”
Twenty-three states, along with Washington, D.C., have laws banning “conversion therapy,” according to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law defines “conversion therapy” as efforts to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” including romantic attractions or gender expressions.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Joe Ravi)
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