Good news coming out of the United States, where the Supreme Court has ruled that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy” is unconstitutionally broad, finding that it infringes the right to free speech. The news has been welcomed by those who want the freedom to share the Bible’s teaching on sexual ethics.
The case centres on the US state of Colorado, where it is unlawful for counsellors to try to persuade an LGBT person to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. But Kaley Chiles, a licensed counsellor and practising Christian in Colorado Springs, argued the ban in her state interfered with her ability to treat individuals with ‘same-sex attractions or gender identity confusion’ who ‘prioritise their faith above their feelings’. In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court agreed.
This decision should be received with both gratitude and clarity. Gratitude, because it recognises a foundational liberty too easily eroded in our age: the freedom to speak, to counsel, and to pray without state interference. Clarity, because it exposes just how dangerously vague and expansive such laws can become when driven more by ideology than by principle.
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