Global Justice Institute Responds to SCOTUS Decision on Conversion Therapy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 31st, 2026

On March 31, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to strike down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, a decision with national implications for LGBTQ+ rights. In Chiles v. Salazar, the Court found that the 2019 law likely violated the First Amendment by discriminating against the viewpoint of licensed counselors who are also conservative Christians.

Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch emphasized that the state cannot silence speech simply because it disfavors the underlying message. The ruling rejects the argument that "talk therapy" is merely conduct subject to state regulation, instead classifying it as protected expression. 

This landmark decision casts doubt on similar bans in nearly 30 states. While major medical associations maintain that conversion therapy is harmful and ineffective, the Court’s conservative majority prioritized free speech protections for therapists over the state's interests in prohibiting the practice. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter.

The Global Justice Institute is concerned for the health and well-being of LGBTQ youth and how this ruling might negatively impact their lives. A counselor’s religious biases should not be considered therapeutic, and “talk-therapy” is a modality of mental health care, not merely “freedom” for a professional to express her or his prejudices as if they were wise counsel.

When government agencies can prohibit children from talking about their Queer families or their own questions regarding gender or sexuality, when the display of rainbow flags and crosswalks can be criminalized, when transgender discrimination can be codified, then it seems to the Bishops of the Global Justice Institute that protecting the “speech” of therapists who should abide by professional standards and scientific consensus could be misguided. Protecting anti-gay bias seems disingenuous when compared to the silencing of LGBTQ voices and the erasure of LGBTQ culture and history.

 We hope that courts or legislatures or groundswell activism will result in Queer kids being protected from the harmful and unethical “conversion therapy” practices. Our work must continue. Our witness, our commitment, our resilience, and our faith must continue.

May God’s blessing be upon the LGBTQ+ people of the world, especially LGBTQ+ youth.  

 With trust in Resurrection Power,

Global Justice Institute Council of Bishops

Presiding Bishop Pat Bumgardner

Auxiliary Bishop Jim Merritt

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Griffin

Auxiliary Bishop Durrell Watkins