Appellate court upholds ban on gay-conversion therapy

A law signed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie that bans licensed therapists from seeking to change the sexual orientation of young people was upheld by a federal appeals court.

The law doesn’t deprive therapists of their constitutional right to free speech by barring them from using “sexual orientation change efforts” on patients under age 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled Thursday. A federal appeals court upheld a similar California law last year.

“The court’s decision is a major victory for the thousands of young people who will now be protected from these dangerous and horrific practices,” said Andrea Bowen, executive director of Garden State Equality, which filed a brief in the case. “No one should subject minors to conversion therapy — least of all state-licensed clinicians.”

When signing the law last year, Christie, a Republican, said efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation could lead to depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. Two Christian counselors and two organizations sued, claiming the law violated their right to free speech and the exercise of religion.

In its ruling Thursday, the three-judge panel disagreed with the rationale of U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson, who earlier upheld the law. Wolfson said the law regulates conduct, not speech. The appeals court said New Jersey may regulate speech by licensed professionals to protect citizens from harm, as this statute does.

Professional Speech

“Prohibitions of professional speech are constitutional only if they directly advance the state’s interest in protecting its citizens from harmful or ineffective professional services,” the court said.

The legislature targeted the practice “because it was presented with evidence that this particular form of counseling is ineffective and potentially harmful to clients,” the judges said. Protecting New Jerseyans from ineffective or harmful professional services is “precisely the reason” the law was passed, the court said.

Liberty Counsel, a not-for-profit group that represents the therapists and groups suing, said it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision because it conflicts with the California ruling. At issue is whether “counsel by licensed counselors is speech or not,” and the extent to which it’s protected by the First Amendment, the group said in a statement.

Eliminate Attractions

“The laws banning counseling in this area are simply unconstitutional violations of free speech,” Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver said in the statement. “We will not stop fighting until these laws are relegated to the dustbins of history.”

The plaintiffs include the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and the American Association of Christian Counselors. They seek to “reduce or eliminate” their clients’ “unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors or identity,” according to the statement.

The case is King v. Governor of New Jersey, 13-4429, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia).