SCOTUS rules against Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors
The sun rises above a facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026 in Washington, DC. The court found today that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for gay and transgender minors likely violates free speech. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled against a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors in an 8-1 decision on Tuesday. The Court held that the law violated the First Amendment by discriminating against certain viewpoints. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, argued that because the law prohibited therapists from using “talk therapy” to help minors change their sexual orientation or preferred gender identity — while still allowing them to provide therapy that affirmed those “identities” — it was a content-based restriction on speech rather than a simple regulation of medical conduct. “But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or...