Colorado's Counseling Restrictions Violate First Amendment by Enforcing One-Sided Gender Ideology
Source: Thomas Jipping. "SCOTUS Tells Colorado To Stop State-Enforced Homosexuality." April 6, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
Colorado passed a law that lets therapists help kids change their gender identity but forbids helping them accept their biological sex. The author argues this violates free speech because the government can't force people to only express one side of a controversial issue.
Conclusion
Colorado's law restricting what licensed counselors can say about sexuality and gender violates the First Amendment by enforcing ideological orthodoxy and suppressing protected speech
Premises
- The Colorado law allows counselors to help clients separate gender identity from biological sex but prohibits helping clients align them
- This creates a one-directional mandate that forces counselors to express only state-approved viewpoints about gender
- The law enables activist complaints that can destroy counselors' careers through disciplinary proceedings
- Government attempts to control the content of speech are presumptively unconstitutional under First Amendment doctrine
- The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that this law violates counselors' freedom of speech rights
- This represents the third time SCOTUS has struck down Colorado's attempts to control speech about sexuality
Assumptions
- Talk therapy counseling constitutes protected speech rather than professional conduct
- Helping clients align gender identity with biological sex is a legitimate therapeutic approach
- Government neutrality on contested social issues is constitutionally required
- The First Amendment protects unpopular or minority viewpoints from government suppression