Advocates praise, criticize Supreme Court conversion therapy decision

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(The Center Square) - Advocates praised and criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's decision against a 2019 Colorado law banning conversion therapy. 

In an 8-1 decision on Tuesday, the court said Colorado's law goes against protections guranteed by the First Amendment. The case focused on a Colorado therapist who uses talk therapy with minors who express unwanted same-sex desire or gender dysphoria. 

Stephanie Barclay, a law professor at Georgetown, celebrated the court's decision. She said the Colorado law banned conduct on the basis of viewpoint, an "obvious" violation of the First Amendment. 

"When the state dictates which viewpoint a professional may voice, it's engaging in censorship prohibited by the First Amendment, not permissible regulation," Barclay wrote in a statement to The Center Square. 

Kristin Waggoner, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, praised the Supreme Court's ruling, in a statement posted to social media. 

"States may not censor commonsense counseling that seeks to help kids with gender dysphoria accept their bodies," Waggoner wrote.

The Human Rights Campaign, and LGBT advocacy organization, slammed the Supreme Court's ruling and said it would be harmful for children. 

"Children should NEVER be forced to endure these cruel practices – and our families deserve better," the Human Rights Campaign wrote in a statement on social media. 

Lawmakers also weighed in the Supreme Court's decision, offering praise on the consequential ruling. Sen. Tom Cotton, Ark., celebrated the decision on social media. 

"Colorado banned therapists from telling kids the truth: you cannot change your gender, and gender-transition surgeries are dangerous and harmful," Sen. Tom Cotton wrote. "This was unconstitutional censorship of the worst kind."