Supreme Court Conversion Therapy Ruling Spurs Colorado Lawmakers to Push Alternative Ban
Why It Matters
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Colorado’s conversion therapy ban has reignited a legislative battle in the state, with Democratic lawmakers moving to craft a new legal framework that sidesteps the free speech concerns raised by the high court. The outcome could set a precedent for how states across the country approach restrictions on licensed mental health professionals.
What Happened
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Colorado’s 2019 ban on conversion therapy — a practice intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity — after a Christian counselor from Colorado Springs argued the law violated her First Amendment free speech rights by restricting what she could discuss with clients.
The court did not fully overturn the ban. Instead, it found the law could be unconstitutional and sent the case back to a lower court for further resolution. The ruling was described by legal observers as relatively narrow in scope, stopping short of a sweeping endorsement of conversion therapy itself.
Rather than wait for lower court proceedings, a group of Colorado Democratic lawmakers introduced House Bill 1322, a proposal that would make conversion therapy illegal through a different legal mechanism — classifying it as harmful professional conduct rather than regulated speech.
Key Details of the Legislation
Under House Bill 1322, victims of conversion therapy would be permitted to sue their licensed mental health providers for damages, with no statute of limitations. Supporters of the measure say the unlimited timeframe is critical because psychological trauma from conversion therapy may not be recognized by survivors until years or even decades later.
The bill would apply exclusively to licensed mental health professionals and would not extend to religious leaders, a distinction sponsors say is designed to avoid the free speech complications that undermined the 2019 ban.
State Rep. Karen McCormick of Longmont, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the measure is intended to deter any licensed professional from resuming the practice. “The purpose of this bill is seriously to send a chilling effect to any licensed professional therapist who may think about bringing that practice back,” McCormick said, according to reporting by the Colorado Capitol News Alliance.
By the Numbers
2019: The year Colorado’s original conversion therapy ban was enacted, now under legal challenge following the Supreme Court ruling.
More than 1 in 10: LGBTQ+ children and teenagers in Colorado who were either threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy in the prior year, according to a 2024 study by the Trevor Project.
No statute of limitations: The timeframe House Bill 1322 would allow victims to pursue civil damages against licensed providers.
Every major medical organization in the United States, including the American Psychological Association, has formally discredited conversion therapy and links the practice to increased anxiety, depression, and suicide risk.
Opposition and the Free Speech Debate
Colorado Republicans have pushed back against the new legislation. State Rep. Matt Soper of Delta called the measure a “slap in the face” to the Supreme Court, arguing the bill effectively seeks to reimpose a ban on speech the high court just ruled could not be restricted. “It seeks to have a de facto ban on the free speech that a conversion therapist might tell to their client when the Supreme Court just struck down the 2019 Colorado Law,” Soper said.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, who helped craft the bill, cautioned against reading too much into the Supreme Court’s decision. “I hope people understand this decision was not endorsing conversion therapy,” Minter said. “It didn’t say it’s ethical, that it’s appropriate. It did not dispute that it can be very harmful.”
Zoom Out
The Colorado case is one of several instances in which the Supreme Court’s recent rulings have forced states to reassess the legal foundations of existing laws. The court has also intervened in Louisiana’s redistricting process and weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, signaling a broader pattern of states being required to revisit legislation in light of high court decisions grounded in constitutional interpretation.
Across the country, more than 20 states have enacted some form of conversion therapy restriction for minors. Legal challenges to those laws are expected to increase following the Colorado ruling, according to advocacy groups.
What’s Next
House Bill 1322 must advance through the Colorado legislature before it can be signed into law. The measure has drawn wide Democratic support but faces unified Republican opposition. If passed, the bill’s civil liability framework would likely face its own legal challenges, potentially returning the issue to federal courts — and possibly the Supreme Court — in the years ahead.