A Federal Appeals Court has reversed a decision by a lower court that penalized Christian counselors for practicing “gay conversion therapy.” The ruling was based on the recent SCOTUS decision that specifically protects counselors’ speech, including speech regarding sexual orientation.
Appeals Court Reverses Decision Against Christian Counselors – Focus on the Family
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EXCERPT:
A federal appeals court threw out a decision against two licensed counselors following the U.S. Supreme Court’s March ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, which protects counselors’ free speech rights.
At the center of the current case are Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich, licensed Christian counselors who help clients facing many different challenges – from loneliness to hopelessness to other mental health struggles. The counselors also help minor clients seeking freedom from unwanted same-sex attraction or confusion over their sexual identity.
However, Kansas City, Missouri, and Jackson County, Missouri, passed ordinances prohibiting counselors from engaging in talk therapy – often wrongly derided by LGBT activists as “conversion therapy” – with minors seeking hope and healing in these areas.
Counselors are prohibited from helping minor clients leave unwanted homosexuality or “transgenderism”; they are only permitted to help minor clients embrace homosexuality or a new “gender identity” – even if the clients have opposite goals.
Because of the ordinances, Bury and Eisenreich – and other Christian counselors – can only speak state-approved, government-mandated messages that violate their faith. Infractions are punishable with fines up to $1,000 per violation and up to six months in jail.
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