George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley pointed out Tuesday the irony surrounding Colorado’s legal battles over conversion therapy, calling the state’s actions a surprising boon for free speech advocates.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in an 8–1 decision, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, overturning Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth. During a discussion on “Hannity,” Turley pointed out the irony that Colorado’s attempts to restrict conversion therapy have instead become a win for free speech.
“What’s ironic, Sean, is that Colorado has proven really a bonanza for the free speech community. They keep on trying to curtail free speech and getting these opinions that go in the opposite direction,” Turley told host Sean Hannity.
Turley said that Colorado’s law, intended to restrict counseling on sexual orientation for minors, ended up drawing national attention for its free speech implications.
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“Here, Colorado wanted to say that you couldn’t go and speak to a counselor about these types of sexual orientation issues with your minor child. And the court voted 8-1 that that’s the limitation on free speech,” Turley added. “The unnerving aspect of the opinion proved to be the dissent by Justice Jackson, who would have just sort of brushed aside the free speech issues and treated all of this as conduct that can be eliminated or banned by the state of Colorado.”
Christian counselor Kaley Chiles challenged Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, arguing it violates her free speech rights by allowing some viewpoints in counseling while penalizing others. The Supreme Court sided with Chiles, ruling that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy unconstitutionally regulates speech based on viewpoint.
“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. “Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country. It reflects instead a judgment that every American possesses an inalienable right to think and speak freely, and a faith in the free marketplace of ideas as the best means for discovering truth.”
Colorado passed its Minor Conversion Therapy Law in 2019, saying the practice involves attempts to alter an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or related expressions and attractions. In a concurring opinion, Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, emphasized that First Amendment issues arise regardless of which position the state chooses to support.
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