The Supreme Court Refuses to Take Up Case on Banning Conversion Therapy for LGBTQ+ Children
In a decision made on Monday, the Supreme Court refused to take up a case relating to whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children. The case was brought forward from Washington, where the law has been upheld, and an appellate panel struck down local bans in Florida as an unconstitutional restriction on counselors’ speech.
Despite the dissent of three conservative justices, the court turned away the appeal from Washington. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas expressed their disagreement with the decision, stating that the court should have taken up the Washington case as there is a significant disagreement among appellate courts regarding the issue. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also voted to hear the case.
The decision comes at a time when efforts to limit the rights of LGBTQ+ kids have spread across the country, with about half of the states prohibiting the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.
The case in question was brought forward by family counselor Brian Tingley, who sued over a 2018 state law in Washington that threatens therapists who engage in conversion therapy with a loss of their license. Tingley claimed that the law violated his speech rights, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it in a split decision.
This decision marks the latest development in the ongoing legal battle over conversion therapy bans. The Supreme Court had previously turned away several challenges to state bans before a 2018 decision in which the justices ruled that California could not force state-licensed anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion.
Since the 2018 ruling, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has voided the local Florida bans, further adding to the complexity and disagreement over the issue of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.