PHOENIX — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark 8-1 ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, declaring that Colorado’s law censoring counselors’ speech, as applied to talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint and violates the First Amendment. The decision, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by seven justices across the ideological spectrum, is a resounding victory for parents, children, and counselors who believe that every person is wonderfully made in the image of God.

The ruling protects counselors from similar speech-censorship laws in more than 20 states and over 100 localities across the country — including Pima County, Arizona, which in 2017 banned counselors from helping children who voluntarily seek to grow comfortable in their body as God designed it. For years, these laws have operated as one-way censorship: allowing conversations that push young people toward gender confusion but prohibiting conversations that help them with their sex.

“This is a day of hope for every Arizona family who has been told the government knows better than they do about how to care for their own child,” said Peter Gentala, President and CEO of Center for Arizona Policy. “Children struggling with questions of identity deserve compassionate counselors who will help them embrace the truth that their bodies are not a mistake, not a government that censors every voice except those pushing them toward irreversible harm. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known: freedom of speech and parental rights are not obstacles to good care. They are the foundation of it.”

Center for Arizona Policy applauds our allies at Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented counselor Kaley Chiles throughout this case, and we will continue working to ensure that Arizona families have access to every lawful counseling option that honors their values and protects their children.