The Supreme Court on December 11 rejected over the objections of three conservative justices a Christian therapist’s free speech challenge to a Washington state ban on so-called conversion therapy aimed at changing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Favored by some conservatives, the widely criticized practice is aimed at encouraging gay or lesbian minors to change their sexual orientations and trans-gender children to identify as the gender identities assigned to them at birth. Washington is one of 26 states that have barred or restri-cted such therapy for minors, the state’s lawyers say.
The court’s decision not to take up the case means the law remains intact.
“This is a victory for LGBT-Q+ civil rights. The research is clear – conversion therapy does not work, and can be particularly harmful to minors,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh all said they would have heard the appeal.
Thomas wrote that there is “a fierce public debate over how best to help minors with gender dysphoria” and that the state had “silenced one side of this debate.”
In a separate brief opinion, Alito said the case “presents a question of national importance” that clearly implicates free speech issues. Brian Tingley, a licensed marriage and family counselor, said the law violates his free speech rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment be-cause the government is seeking to dictate what he says.