SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Colorado's ban on "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ people will impact numerous states, but not likely Utah.
That's according to the LGBTQ rights group Equality Utah, which told FOX 13 News on Tuesday that it negotiated a "viewpoint neutral" law with the Republican-supermajority Utah State Legislature back in 2023 that may withstand legal scrutiny. The sponsor of that law told FOX 13 News he agreed with that view.
In an 8-1 ruling on Tuesday, the nation's top court sided with a Christian counselor who argues Colorado's law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
"Conversion therapy" is a practice that attempts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity that has been scientifically discredited and is considered harmful.
Supreme Court rules against Colorado ‘conversion therapy’ ban for LGBTQ kids:
"While most of these state laws rely on similar language to the now-invalidated Colorado statute, Utah took a different approach. Equality Utah worked in collaboration with Republican lawmakers and other stakeholders to develop alternative language designed to balance the free speech rights of licensed therapists with the need to protect minors from harmful and discredited medical practices. Utah’s law was passed unanimously by the legislature and signed by the Governor in 2023," Equality Utah policy director Marina Lowe said in a text message to FOX 13 News.
"Although we are still reviewing the Court’s decision, we remain optimistic that Utah’s law would withstand legal scrutiny. Because Utah chose not to adopt copycat legislation and instead enacted a viewpoint-neutral framework, we believe it is well-positioned to remain in force following today’s ruling."
Rep. Mike Petersen, R-Logan, said Tuesday the original administrative rule pushed by then-Governor Gary Herbert required counselors to "affirm" which would have run afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling.
"Counselors are supposed to be able to talk and kids are supposed to be able to talk," he told FOX 13 News. "It ends up being neutral if you think about it. You just want people to talk. Professionals who are trained... we need to give them the ability to talk."
What Utah's law does not allow is any attempts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. But there are "safe harbors" where people can speak about issues they are having.
"That's just good therapy," said Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson with the University of Illinois College of Law, who works on religious liberties legislation and helped draft the bill. "But they do have to be able to explore with kids a whole host of things."
The Utah Eagle Forum, a social conservative group, appeared with Equality Utah at a bill signing event with Governor Spencer Cox in 2023. In a statement late Tuesday, the group praised the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
"Utah Eagle Forum has long warned that efforts to regulate speech under the guise of ‘protection’ are in reality attempts to silence deeply held religious and constitutional beliefs," said the group's president, Gayle Ruzicka, in a statement. "We are grateful for the Supreme Court’s strong majority in affirming that the First Amendment protects every American, not just those with government-approved views."
Rep. Petersen said Utah's law could be a model for other states.
"It's viewpoint neutral. It just lets folks talk," he said.
Rep. Petersen was among a handful of Utah lawmakers who signed on to a "friend of the court" brief with the U.S. Supreme Court siding with the Colorado counselor, arguing the law there was not viewpoint neutral.
Utah's Department of Commerce, which oversees licensing for mental health therapists, said it was reviewing the ruling. Since the 2023 law went into effect, Utah's Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing told FOX 13 News it was unaware of any formal complaints being filed of anyone practicing conversion therapy.
The Scripps News Group and Associated Press contributed to this article
