January 1, Supreme Court Shatters Colorado Counseling Mandate

Wyatt’s Take

• The Supreme Court issued an 8-1 ruling against Colorado’s counseling restrictions.
• The decision protects speech rights for counselors offering talk therapy.
• It could weaken similar laws in other states and localities.

The Supreme Court just smacked down a radical Colorado law that tried to force Christian counselors to promote gender ideology. This 8-1 ruling proves that the government cannot turn personal opinions into mandatory speech for every citizen.

Counselor Kaley Chiles fought back after the state tried to ban her from providing talk therapy that aligns with biological reality. The court found that Colorado was unconstitutionally regulating speech based solely on a specific viewpoint.

The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.

Justice Gorsuch noted that medical consensus is not a permanent truth and often evolves over time. He argued that the American people lose whenever the government tries to turn a prevailing opinion into enforced conformity.

A prevailing standard of care may reflect what most practitioners believe today, but it cannot mark the outer boundary of what they may say tomorrow.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter, claiming the court was ignoring medical consensus. However, even the more liberal justices Kagan and Sotomayor agreed that the First Amendment protects speech regardless of the state’s preferred side.

Chiles expressed relief that families seeking counseling which respects natural biology will now have their rights protected across the nation. Lawyers for the case noted this decision helps dismantle gender ideology mandates in over 100 localities nationwide.

Kids deserve real help affirming that their bodies are not a mistake, and that they are wonderfully made.

Wyatt Matters

Families should be free to seek counseling that matches their beliefs without government pressure. This ruling reinforces the right to speak plainly and protect parental choice.

Read more about this free speech victory here.