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Reactions to SCOTUS ruling on conversion therapy come pouring in
Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

Reactions to SCOTUS ruling on conversion therapy come pouring in

Conservatives everywhere are celebrating the decision as a victory for vulnerable children.

In a case with potential far-reaching consequences in states with similar laws, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors was unconstitutional.

The case, Chiles v. Salazar, has gained a wide mix of reactions from think tanks, politicians, and media personalities alike.

'They believe it is more natural for a man to be a woman than for a man to be a man.'

Blaze News previously reported that the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh ripped into Jackson's dissent, saying that her opinion "just proves again that she is the most unfit, unqualified, unhinged lunatic to ever hold a seat on the Supreme Court."

Others celebrated the positive aspects of the case, touting the decision as a win for all of the victims who have been caught in the crosshairs of gender ideology.

RELATED: SCOTUS rules on law banning 'conversion therapy' — and 2 liberal justices break rank

DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, told Blaze News, "The Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for religious believers, parents, and, most importantly, vulnerable children. Colorado Democrats have shown they will stomp on the rights of anyone who stands in the way of the well-heeled gay and transgender lobby whether it is bakers, doctors, or desperate families."

"It should not take the lengthy legal battles or the Supreme Court to rein in the liberal war against reality. That is why fed-up Colorado families are appealing straight to voters to protect children from extremist Democrats," Schilling continued.

Ashley McGuire, author, radio host, and senior fellow at the Catholic Association, likewise showered the Supreme Court's decision with praise.

In a statement to Blaze News, McGuire said, "Efforts by left-wing ideologues to force health care professionals to violate their personal and religious beliefs have failed again. We applaud the Supreme Court's decision to protect the religious liberty and free speech rights of therapists in today's 8-1 ruling in the case of Chiles v. Salazar. This ruling also protects vulnerable children and upholds the rights of parents to seek care for their children in line with their personal beliefs."

The ruling is primarily a First Amendment case, which, notably, does not issue any opinion or ruling on the efficacy, morality, or legality of so-called conversion therapy itself, defined in the ruling as any treatments or attempts "to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity."

The issue, in simple terms, was that the law forced the plaintiff and other counselors who deal in the relevant field to adopt an affirming approach to minor patients who may have been confused about their sexual orientation or gender identity and were seeking to change it.

BlazeTV's Daniel Horowitz summed up this issue in a statement shared with Blaze News:

It is shocking how it has taken years to affirm such a basic right as two adults contracting with each other to engage in verbal therapy to affirm natural sexuality. It is even more shocking how the left believes a doctor can pursue a physical action to unnaturally change gender with castration, but you are banned from merely speaking with someone in support of their existing natural sexuality. They believe it is more natural for a man to be a woman than for a man to be a man. Their understanding of authentic individual rights as it intersects with governmental powers is as perfectly corrupted as one can imagine.

Democratic leaders, on the other hand, expressed their disapproval of the decision. In a reply to the Associated Press' report on X, California Governor Gavin Newsom said, "Conversion therapy is discredited junk science that inflicts harm on LGBTQ youth. The Supreme Court's decision is disappointing and puts vulnerable kids at risk."

On a lighter note, some social media users pointed out the humor of this decision being released on the so-called Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31.

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Cooper Williamson

Cooper Williamson

Cooper Williamson is a research assistant at Blaze Media and the profiles editor for Frontier magazine. He is a 2025 Publius Fellow with the Claremont Institute.
@Coawi2001 →