Gender Identity Counselling Dictated by Government?

In the grand tradition of government overreach, Colorado and Washington state have decided that licensed therapists should no longer rely on their education, experience, or—heaven forbid—their conscience. Instead, they must consult the state’s ideological handbook before daring to speak with a confused teenager about gender identity. The Colorado 2019 Minor Conversion Therapy Law bans any counseling that seeks to align a minor’s gender identity with their biological birth sex. In other words, counselors must advise transition as the only option.  The penalty? A tidy $5,000 fine per incident.

Let us pause to appreciate the irony. In a nation that prides itself on free speech, Colorado has decided that certain conversations—those that affirm biological alignment over psychological issues—are not just discouraged, but banned, outlawed and censored.

The law does not merely regulate conduct, it censors speech — and not just any speech, but speech between a licensed therapist and a vulnerable minor seeking help. The therapist must now ask: “Is my opinion in this case state-approved?”

Enter Kaley Chiles, a therapist from Colorado Springs, who had the audacity to believe that her job is to make a professional judgment about the best course of action in each individual case—even if the approach is to live in harmony with the patient’s biological sex.

Chiles never practiced what the state calls “conversion therapy.” She simply wanted the freedom to engage in talk therapy with minors who voluntarily sought help reconciling their gender identity with their physical body. For this, she was dragged through the courts, culminating in an October Supreme Court hearing.  As with so many left-wing laws, it is up to the Supreme Court to apply  the Constitution – in this case, the First Amendment.

The state’s defense? That this is not censorship—it is regulation of professional conduct. Apparently, when a therapist speaks, it is not speech. It is conduct. And conduct, unlike speech, can be regulated without triggering those pesky First Amendment protections. The Tenth Circuit Court agreed, ruling that Chiles’ conversations were conduct, not speech. This legal sleight of hand allows the state to silence therapists without technically violating the Constitution. Clever, eh?

But not everyone is buying it. The Third and Eleventh Circuits have ruled that conversion therapy bans do regulate speech, creating a circuit split that the Supreme Court must now resolve. At stake is not just the freedom of therapists like Chiles, but the broader principle of whether the government can dictate the content of private conversations between professionals and clients – whether government can make medical determinations based on political viewpoints.

This is not a debate about the merits of conversion therapy – and Chiles is not advocating shock treatments or coercive actions. She does not engage in conversion therapy.  She is advocating talk therapy—voluntary, client-directed conversations. And therein lies the rub. The state is not banning conduct but just banning speech. Colorado and other  states are saying that you may counsel a child to transition from their biological gender to a psychological gender, but you may not counsel them to embrace their birth sex.”

And what about a patient who seeks to realign their mental view with their biological view — who does not want to go down the path of transitioning.  The new laws deny that person an option – no way to seek the help they want.

And it is not just Colorado. It is a developing trend.  Washington State has enacted similar laws, effectively criminalizing religious counseling that affirms biological sex. In these left-leaning utopias, the government has decided that the only acceptable path for a gender-confused minor is transition. Any deviation from this narrative is labeled harmful, dangerous, or—most damning of all—unscientific. Never mind that the science on gender dysphoria is far from settled. Never mind that the Cass Review in the UK recently found insufficient evidence to support gender-affirming care for minors. In Colorado, the science is supposedly settled because the government says so.

Gender transitioning is is not just a legal issue. It is a cultural, social and moral issue – and a constitutional one in terms of being able to speak about it  from all perspectives. The state is inserting itself into the most intimate of human relationships—the therapeutic bond between counselor and client—and dictating what may be said. It is replacing professional judgment with political ideology. And it is doing so under the guise of protecting minors. But who protects the minors who do not want to transition? Who protects the families who seek faith-based counseling? Who protects the therapists who believe that mental stability may include embracing one’s biological sex?

The answer is no one.

Chiles’ case is a litmus test for the future of free speech in America. If the Supreme Court upholds Colorado’s law, it will set a precedent that allows states to censor professional speech based on viewpoint. Today it is gender identity. Tomorrow it could be abortion counseling, divorce counseling, or any other topic the state deems controversial. Therapists will become mouthpieces for government policy, parroting approved narratives while silencing dissent.

And let us not forget the religious implications. For Christian counselors, the belief that humans are created male and female is not just a theological opinion, it is a foundational truth. To forbid them from expressing this belief in therapy is to violate their religious freedom. The First Amendment protects not just the right to worship, but the right to speak and act according to one’s faith. Colorado’s law tramples on all three.

In the words of Chiles’ attorney, James Campbell, “States can transform counselors into mouthpieces for the government.” And that is exactly what Colorado has done.

So let us raise a toast to the brave new world of government-approved therapy. Where therapists are fined for listening and guiding. Where minors are denied the right to explore all options. Where religious beliefs are banned from the counseling room. And where the state, in its infinite wisdom, decides what is best for every child—regardless of their needs, desires, or faith.  Nothing says freedom like a $5,000 fine for giving honest professional advice.

So, there ‘tis.