{"id":1857512,"date":"2026-03-31T16:59:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1857512"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:59:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:59:47","slug":"how-trumps-culture-war-puts-lgbtq-community-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1857512","title":{"rendered":"How Trump’s culture war puts LGBTQ+ community under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/67390551_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5BSf2<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
The conversion therapy ban was rejected by 8 justices to 1Image: Jemal Countess\/Newscom\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The US<\/a> Supreme Court said on Tuesday that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy”<\/a> was unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s law currently bans licensed mental healthcare providers from seeking to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ<\/a> patients under 18 through therapy. Violators face fines of up to $5,000 (\u20ac4,339).<\/p>\n

Over 20 US states and much of Europe, including Germany,\u00a0have banned “conversion therapy.”<\/a> Both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have opposed the practice.<\/p>\n

The UN has also called for a global ban on the practice, arguing that they are discriminatory, humiliating, and a violation of individuals’ bodily integrity.<\/a><\/p>\n

Colorado’s ban was challenged legally by Kaley Chiles, a Christian licensed counselor who argued that the law violated the constitution’s provision of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Eight of the Supreme Court justices backed Chiles’s challenge, just one opposed, thus reversing a lower court’s decision that had previously upheld the law.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected as governor, signed \u200cthe ban into law in 2019.<\/p>\n

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration had\u00a0supported Chiles’ challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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How Trump’s culture war puts LGBTQ+ community under pressure<\/h2>\n

‘Censorious governmenment’<\/h2>\n

Conservative \u200cJustice Neil Gorsuch led the majority opinion against the law.<\/p>\n

“Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint,” Gorsuch wrote.<\/p>\n

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” he added.<\/p>\n

Justices sent the case back to the lower court for further examination under a more rigorous First Amendment standard.\u00a0The ruling still leaves the door open for a ban on non-speech forms of conversion therapy, including so-called “aversive” physical interventions.<\/p>\n

Chiles’ lawyer, James Campbell, of the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, celebrated the ruling, calling it “a significant win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children.”<\/p>\n

Two liberals join majority opinion<\/h2>\n

Recently, many Supreme Court decisions have fallen along ideological lines, with a 6-justice majority of conservatives to three liberals.<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday, two liberal Justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, also rejected the ban.<\/p>\n

“Once again, because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward,” Kagan wrote.<\/p>\n

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenter. In her opinion, she accussed her colleagues of opening “a dangerous can of worms” by undermining states’ ability to regulate a medical practice\u00a0that “risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing.”<\/p>\n

“The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of scalpel,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Lesbian woman recounts forced ‘conversion therapy’ ordeal<\/h2>\n

\n

The US<\/a> Supreme Court said on Tuesday that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy”<\/a> was unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s law currently bans licensed mental healthcare providers from seeking to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ<\/a> patients under 18 through therapy. Violators face fines of up to $5,000 (\u20ac4,339).<\/p>\n

Over 20 US states and much of Europe, including Germany,\u00a0have banned “conversion therapy.”<\/a> Both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have opposed the practice.<\/p>\n

The UN has also called for a global ban on the practice, arguing that they are discriminatory, humiliating, and a violation of individuals’ bodily integrity.<\/a><\/p>\n

Colorado’s ban was challenged legally by Kaley Chiles, a Christian licensed counselor who argued that the law violated the constitution’s provision of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Eight of the Supreme Court justices backed Chiles’s challenge, just one opposed, thus reversing a lower court’s decision that had previously upheld the law.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected as governor, signed \u200cthe ban into law in 2019.<\/p>\n

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration had\u00a0supported Chiles’ challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

How Trump’s culture war puts LGBTQ+ community under pressure<\/h2>\n

‘Censorious governmenment’<\/h2>\n

Conservative \u200cJustice Neil Gorsuch led the majority opinion against the law.<\/p>\n

“Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint,” Gorsuch wrote.<\/p>\n

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” he added.<\/p>\n

Justices sent the case back to the lower court for further examination under a more rigorous First Amendment standard.\u00a0The ruling still leaves the door open for a ban on non-speech forms of conversion therapy, including so-called “aversive” physical interventions.<\/p>\n

Chiles’ lawyer, James Campbell, of the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, celebrated the ruling, calling it “a significant win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children.”<\/p>\n

Two liberals join majority opinion<\/h2>\n

Recently, many Supreme Court decisions have fallen along ideological lines, with a 6-justice majority of conservatives to three liberals.<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday, two liberal Justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, also rejected the ban.<\/p>\n

“Once again, because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward,” Kagan wrote.<\/p>\n

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenter. In her opinion, she accussed her colleagues of opening “a dangerous can of worms” by undermining states’ ability to regulate a medical practice\u00a0that “risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing.”<\/p>\n

“The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of scalpel,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Lesbian woman recounts forced ‘conversion therapy’ ordeal<\/h2>\n

The US<\/a> Supreme Court said on Tuesday that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy”<\/a> was unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s law currently bans licensed mental healthcare providers from seeking to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ<\/a> patients under 18 through therapy. Violators face fines of up to $5,000 (\u20ac4,339).<\/p>\n

Over 20 US states and much of Europe, including Germany,\u00a0have banned “conversion therapy.”<\/a> Both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have opposed the practice.<\/p>\n

The UN has also called for a global ban on the practice, arguing that they are discriminatory, humiliating, and a violation of individuals’ bodily integrity.<\/a><\/p>\n

Colorado’s ban was challenged legally by Kaley Chiles, a Christian licensed counselor who argued that the law violated the constitution’s provision of freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

Eight of the Supreme Court justices backed Chiles’s challenge, just one opposed, thus reversing a lower court’s decision that had previously upheld the law.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected as governor, signed \u200cthe ban into law in 2019.<\/p>\n

Republican President Donald Trump’s administration had\u00a0supported Chiles’ challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Conservative \u200cJustice Neil Gorsuch led the majority opinion against the law.<\/p>\n

“Colorado’s law addressing conversion therapy does not just ban physical interventions. In cases like this, it censors speech based on viewpoint,” Gorsuch wrote.<\/p>\n

“Colorado may regard its policy as essential to public health and safety. Certainly, censorious governments throughout history have believed the same. But the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country,” he added.<\/p>\n

Justices sent the case back to the lower court for further examination under a more rigorous First Amendment standard.\u00a0The ruling still leaves the door open for a ban on non-speech forms of conversion therapy, including so-called “aversive” physical interventions.<\/p>\n

Chiles’ lawyer, James Campbell, of the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, celebrated the ruling, calling it “a significant win for free speech, common sense, and families desperate to help their children.”<\/p>\n

Recently, many Supreme Court decisions have fallen along ideological lines, with a 6-justice majority of conservatives to three liberals.<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday, two liberal Justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, also rejected the ban.<\/p>\n

“Once again, because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward,” Kagan wrote.<\/p>\n

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenter. In her opinion, she accussed her colleagues of opening “a dangerous can of worms” by undermining states’ ability to regulate a medical practice\u00a0that “risks grave harm to Americans’ health and wellbeing.”<\/p>\n

“The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of scalpel,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/67390551_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5BSf2 The conversion therapy ban was rejected by 8 justices to 1Image: Jemal Countess\/Newscom\/picture alliance The US Supreme Court said on Tuesday that Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy” was unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment of freedom of speech. Colorado’s law currently bans licensed mental healthcare providers from seeking to change the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1857512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1857512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1857512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1857512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1857512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}