Today, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law — a 2019 measure designed to protect LGBTQ+ youth from a practice that every major medical association in this country has deemed dangerous and ineffective. The 8–1 ruling found that Colorado’s law, as written, improperly restricted one viewpoint over another, and sent it back to a lower court for reconsideration.
On Trans Day of Visibility — a day when we celebrate who we are and affirm the right of every person to live openly and authentically — this decision is especially painful.
The Center on Colfax stands unequivocally with the young people this law was meant to protect. Our community cannot be therapized, shamed, or talked out of who we are. No ruling changes the truth. No law can restrict our most core identities.
We call on Colorado’s legislature to act swiftly to close any loophole in the original statute and restore meaningful protections for LGBTQ+ youth. Research is unambiguous: young people subjected to conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. There is no “both sides” here. There is only harm — and the state’s responsibility to prevent it.
For now:
- This decision does not change the medical consensus — conversion therapy is harmful.
- HB26-1322 will add more protections for Coloradans, regardless of this decision. It does not regulate speech — it ensures accountability when licensed providers cause harm.
- This ruling only reinforces why survivors need access to justice.
Our doors remain open. We provide free, daily services for our community and will always be a place to gather, heal, and be fully ourselves.