Issues, Etc. A Supreme Court Decision Striking Down a Colorado Law Censoring Counselors Speech When Dealing with Gender Confusion – Jim Campbell, 4/9/26 (0993)
Apr 9, 2026
Jim Campbell, Chief Legal Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and Supreme Court advocate, explains Colorado’s ban on certain counseling speech and the legal fight that overturned it. He discusses viewpoint discrimination, the speech-versus-conduct debate, the Court’s ruling, nationwide implications for similar laws, and the importance of open counseling conversations for youth.
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Law Singled Out Pro-Body Counseling As Viewpoint Censorship
- Colorado's 2019 counseling law is viewpoint-based and forbids counselors from encouraging alignment with biological sex while allowing encouragement of gender transition.
- Jim Campbell says this is direct viewpoint discrimination because it permits one perspective but bans the opposite within therapy conversations.
Counselor Kaylee Childs Sued To Protect Conversations
- Kaylee Childs, a Colorado licensed counselor, sued to preserve the ability to help clients who want to get comfortable with their bodies.
- Childs treats trauma, relationships, and gender confusion and sought to protect conversations aligned with clients' goals.
Therapy Talk Is Constitutionally Protected Speech
- The First Amendment protects conversations in therapy as speech, not merely professional conduct, so licensed status doesn't remove speech rights.
- Campbell argued licensed professionals aren't second-class speakers and counseling dialogue merits full free-speech protection.