Wire
Chiles v. Salazar leaves Colorado’s minors ban in place
The ruling keeps Colorado’s conversion-therapy ban for minors in place, but says licensed counselors can still criticize the law, refer families elsewhere and provide conversion therapy to adults.
In the Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Chiles v. Salazar, Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors stays in place for licensed counselors. But the court also said the rule does not silence them: within the bounds of the law, they may share their own views on conversion therapy, sexual orientation and gender identity with minor clients.
That means the state can keep policing the treatment itself without claiming control over every conversation that happens around it.
Where the line stops
The court also said licensed counselors may refer minor clients elsewhere while still criticizing the state rule. The opinion draws a distinction between what Colorado can regulate inside its licensed mental-health system and what remains protected speech.
The same boundary changes once a client becomes an adult. At that point, the court said, a counselor may provide conversion therapy to that person. The ban is aimed at minors, not at adult clients who seek the treatment.
Why the boundary matters
For families, counselors and regulators, the practical effect is narrow but important. Colorado can continue to bar conversion therapy for minors in licensed practice, but the ruling leaves room for counselors to disagree openly, steer families to other providers and continue adult care.
The decision does not erase the state’s authority over licensed mental-health treatment. It marks the edge of that authority, and shows where speech and adult services begin.