Colorado returns to national spotlight over LGBTQ+ rights
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Supporters of web designer Lorie Smith and counterprotesters demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in December 2022. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a challenge to a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors in the latest instance of the state's pro-LGBTQ+ measures facing national scrutiny.
The big picture: The high court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to a 2019 law aimed at protecting young people.
- The measure was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S.
Why it matters: The high court's eventual decision could deal a major setback to the LGBTQ+ community, which the executive branch has already targeted with an executive order blitz that undermines protections and quality of life for transgender people.
State of play: This case represents a broader legal movement that's using First Amendment rights to reduce government oversight, University of Colorado Law School associate professor Scott Skinner-Thompson tells us.
The intrigue: Skinner-Thompson, who has filed an amicus brief in support of Colorado's law, says "weaponizing" the First Amendment has been used to target laws supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
- "From my perspective ... this law is not targeted at speech, it's targeted at conduct," Skinner-Thompson says.
Flashback: Colorado has played a key role in cases involving LGTBQ+ rights decided by the Supreme Court over the past several years.
- Two years ago, the high court said businesses can refuse to serve same-sex couples if doing so violates religious beliefs after a Colorado web designer declined to make a website for LGBTQ+ couples.
- SCOTUS sided with a Christian baker from Lakewood in 2018 over his refusal to make a cake for a same-sex couple due to his beliefs.
Catch up quick: In the latest case, the high court agreed to take up a challenge from Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor at Deeper Stories Counseling in Colorado Springs.
- Chiles alleges Colorado's restriction against licensed mental health professionals engaging in conversion therapy for minors violates her free speech rights.
Between the lines: Conversion therapy attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
- LGBTQ+ advocates and major medical organizations have condemned the practice as harmful, discriminatory and ineffective.
Zoom in: Chiles' attorneys argued that clients seek her "Christian-based counseling" on questions about their sexuality that conflict with their faith, noting she works only with "voluntary clients."
- Conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom, which has argued other high-profile cases, said in the petition: "Colorado disagrees with Chiles's beliefs on gender and sexuality."
- Chiles' lawyers pointed to a 5-4 decision from 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled that California could not force anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion.
The other side: Casey Pick, director of law and policy at The Trevor Project, in a statement to Axios said the challenge "has nothing to do with free speech, and everything to do with pushing dangerous, debunked practices."
What's next: The court will hear the latest case in its term beginning in October, meaning a decision likely won't come until summer 2026.