Colorado Lawmakers Open Door To Unlimited Conversion Therapy Lawsuits After Supreme Court Ruling

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado

DENVER–Despite the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently slapping down Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” legislative Democrats are taking yet another swing at influencing conversations mental health professionals have with clients around gender indentity. This time around, it’s the threat of lawsuits at any time in the future, and with no limit on potential damages.

As previously reported by Complete Colorado, SCOTUS in March struck down a 2019 statute barring state licensed therapists from engaging in “efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction” 

The court held that the statute violates First Amendment free speech protections, noting among other issues that it works as a one-way speech limiting street: prohibiting therapists from counseling minors away from gender dysphoria, while not prohibiting any encouragement towards it. 

Limitless lawsuits   

House Bill 26-1322, ‘Civil Actions for Conversion Therapy Survivors,’ passed the Democrat-controlled Colorado House of Representatives just two days after the SCOTUS ruling. The bill allows an individual who was “injured” by conversion therapy to take the therapist, the individual who hired the therapist, or the mental health entity itself, to court. Acting as a de facto ban, the law removes the statute of limitations with no damage cap, meaning therapists can be taken to court regardless of how long it’s been, with no limit to the amount they can be sued over.

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