Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a landmark conversion therapy ban on June 1, taking a novel legal approach to protect LGBTQ+ people after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the state's previous ban. Rather than outlawing the practice directly—which courts have ruled violates therapists' free speech—the new law allows survivors to sue practitioners for damages, a strategy that circumvents the constitutional barrier.
A Creative Legal Workaround
The Supreme Court's 8-1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar struck down Colorado's 2019 conversion therapy ban, finding it restricted therapists' speech and thus violated the First Amendment. The new law, H.B. 26-1322, sidesteps that problem by focusing on conduct rather than speech. It creates a private right of action—allowing survivors to sue therapists directly for economic damages, noneconomic damages, and, if the conduct was willful, exemplary damages. There is no statute of limitations, and the right to sue survives the patient's death, permitting families to bring claims for up to five years afterward.
The mechanism mirrors the legal architecture used by Republicans to restrict abortion in Texas and transgender rights in Kansas: instead of the government enforcing a ban, private lawsuits create civil liability that makes the practice financially prohibitive. Colorado has now deployed the same constitutional loophole to protect LGBTQ+ people rather than restrict their rights.
Narrow Definition Protects Affirming Care
The law targets "sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts"—specifically defined as treatment by a licensed mental health professional aimed at a "predetermined outcome" of changing someone's identity or orientation. This outcome-based framing was deliberate: it shields affirming therapy, which accepts patients' self-understanding, from liability. The law explicitly exempts therapy that provides "acceptance, support, and understanding," facilitates "identity exploration and development" without steering toward a predetermined conclusion, or addresses relationships or sexual behaviors.
The legislation also applies only to licensed therapists, meaning most conversion therapy performed by clergy and religious organizations falls outside its scope—a limitation that reflects the reality that many such practices occur outside the licensed mental health system.
Swift Action and Broader Impact
Polis signed the bill at The Center on Colfax, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit, and also issued an executive order directing state agencies to stop funding conversion therapy. "Conversion therapy can be harmful, traumatizes kids, and is a scam to waste people's hard-earned money," Polis said. The law takes effect July 1, 2026. Legal experts say the approach offers a template for other states seeking to protect LGBTQ+ people after Chiles v. Salazar invalidated similar bans in 26 states and hundreds of municipalities.
Sources: Erin in the Morning, LGBTQ Nation
Cover photo: SHVETS production / Pexels
