Wire
Colorado’s conversion-therapy ban stays in force
The Tenth Circuit said a district judge did not abuse his discretion when he refused to halt the law at the start of Kaley Chiles’s lawsuit. Licensed counselors remain bound by the restriction while the First Amendment fight continues.
Colorado can keep enforcing its ban on conversion therapy for minors after the Tenth Circuit refused to block the law at the outset of Kaley Chiles’s challenge. The federal appeals court affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction, which means the restriction stays in force while the case continues.
The panel said the lower court committed no abuse of discretion. At this early stage, the district judge concluded Chiles had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of her First Amendment free speech claim, and that was enough for the appeals court to leave the ruling in place.
What licensed counselors still cannot do
For Colorado licensed professional counselors, the practical effect is immediate. The state can keep treating the ban as live law, so the restriction on conversion therapy for minors remains on the books while the lawsuit moves ahead.
The case, Chiles v. Patty Salazar and other Colorado regulatory officials, is still about whether the state can bar that kind of counseling without violating the First Amendment.
A free-speech challenge, not a final answer
The opinion settles only Chiles’s request for early relief. It does not end the lawsuit or decide the constitutional question on the merits.
For now, minors and counselors stay under the same rule that was in place before the case reached the appeals court.