Maureen Groppe

And the state defines conversion therapy as an attempt to, quote, change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity to

including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.

And the main issue here was that she was saying that the law allows her to help someone

transition to another gender or to help them be comfortable as a gay person.

But if she wants to counsel someone to be, as she put it, comfortable in the sex that they were born in to not transition, then that is not allowed under the law.

So the question was whether this law then restricts her free speech rights.

Well, the court did say that the law violates her free speech rights under the First Amendment.

And anytime that happens, that triggers an extra level of scrutiny from courts to decide whether the law is valid or not.

And it's a very high bar to meet in situations like this.

So the upshot of this is that Colorado is not going to be able to enforce this law against this counselor for the kind of counseling that she says she wants to practice.

Yeah, you're right.

It's not the only state to have laws like this, and it's not the only law that is being challenged.

There are other challenges to other laws in the works, and the lower courts that are handling those challenges, they're going to be taking their cue from this ruling, which wasn't about whether the law can be upheld, the regulation is valid in all circumstances.

It was whether

It could be applied to the kind of counseling that she says she wants to do.

And if the situation is similar in other challenges, then they will also get a similar outcome to this one.

She basically took the side of Colorado, which was arguing that states should be able to regulate medical care, whether that care comes in the form of speech therapy or surgery, that it's not a direct implication on someone's free speech.

It's an indirect implication on someone's speech.

And so the First Amendment rules shouldn't apply to medical care regulation.

Yeah.