The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a Colorado statute that banned conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors, with Justice Neil Gorsuch writing that the 2019 law was an “egregious assault” on the First Amendment.
“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety,” Gorsuch wrote. “But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
The court’s decision will have implications for more than 20 other states that have similar laws regarding conversion therapy, which aims to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a minor.