Counselors help guide their clients through some of their most personal, private struggles and hardships.
It’s a relationship built on trust and honesty. Counselors are entrusted with deeply intimate matters.
The government has no business forcing itself into these conversations.
But in more than twenty states, government officials have created policies designed to silence counselors like Kaley Chiles.
That’s why, this fall, Kaley will stand at the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the censorship law in her home state of Colorado in a case that could better safeguard free speech for Americans nationwide.
Who is Kaley Chiles?
Kaley is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado. She is a committed Christian who seeks to live out her faith in every aspect of her life, including her work.
Kaley started her career working with clients who had experienced trauma. She has since branched out into other areas, including supporting clients experiencing issues such as addiction and personality disorders.
Her clients come to her with a variety of personal goals. Some seek freedom from sexual behaviors such as pornography use. Others wish to become more comfortable with their biological sex.
These are private, deeply intimate matters. Kaley has to build trust with her clients. Together, they fully explore their issues, and she seeks to help them achieve their goals.
Many of Kaley’s clients share her Christian faith—in fact, it’s often why they seek help from her, as opposed to other counselors with a secular worldview. They want counseling that is informed by and respects their common Christian convictions.
But the state of Colorado is forcing its way into these private counselor-client conversations—all in violation of Kaley’s freedom of speech.
Colorado law censors counselors who reject gender ideology
Colorado legislators passed a law in 2019 that targets the speech of counselors, specifically in private conversations with clients about gender identity.
The law bars licensed counselors from saying anything to clients under the age of 18 that “attempts or purports to change an individual’s … gender identity.”
Notably, the law only censors speech in one direction. The law enables counselors to “assist[]” anyone who is “undergoing gender transition.” So counselors may push young clients toward a gender identity different from their sex, which will often lead to harmful drugs and procedures.
But counselors are prohibited from helping clients find peace with their biological sex—even when that is the client’s personal goal.
The law threatens severe penalties for counselors who provide this help, including thousands of dollars in fines and even the loss of their license.
More than 20 states have passed similar laws targeting counselors’ speech, leaving Christian counselors like Kaley with few options: keep silent or face government punishment.
Children in Colorado can be counseled toward dangerous drugs and surgeries—but not the reverse
Colorado’s counseling law violates the free speech of counselors like Kaley, who are simply seeking to serve clients and live out their faith.
Kaley has begun censoring herself in conversations with clients out of fear of violating Colorado’s law. She has even had to decline help to some.
This undermines her basic First Amendment freedoms. And tragically, it pushes clients down a road of devastating harm.
Clients will not get the help or support that they need and desire when counselors can only say what the government thinks is right for their clients.
That means children in Colorado, and in other states with similar laws, can only receive a professional push toward experimental drugs and surgeries.
That’s not counseling—it’s coercion.
Instead of steering young, vulnerable kids down a path that leads to harmful, irreversible drugs and surgeries, children should have the opportunity to talk about their questions and get the emotional support they deserve and want.
“There is a growing consensus around the world that adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria need love and an opportunity to talk through their struggles and feelings,” says ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “Colorado’s law prohibits what’s best for these children and sends a clear message: the only option for children struggling with these issues is to give them dangerous and experimental drugs and surgery that will make them lifelong patients.”
Protecting counselors nationwide at the US Supreme Court
In 2022, an ADF Allied Attorney filed a lawsuit on Kaley’s behalf and asked a federal district court to halt Colorado’s unconstitutional law. But the court ruled against Kaley.
ADF attorneys took lead in the case, appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Unfortunately, the 10th Circuit also ruled against Kaley, claiming that conversations in a counseling session are conduct rather than speech—and therefore are not protected by the First Amendment.
But this determination stands at odds with the rulings of other appellate courts, which agree that conversations in counseling sessions are protected under the First Amendment.
That’s why ADF attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Kaley’s case—to resolve the split and stop censorship laws targeting counselors.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Kaley’s case. Oral arguments will take place this fall.
Your generosity fuels cases like Kaley’s—and helps protect our country’s kids
Kids and parents should be able to get the counseling they want. And counselors like Kaley should be free to speak in a way that honors their faith and best serves their clients.
That means providing a safe, private environment for clients to talk through their struggles and issues—without the government having a seat in the room.
With your help, Alliance Defending Freedom is challenging censorship laws like Colorado’s, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The outcome of Kaley’s case could affect all Americans—meaning your generosity helps us work to protect free speech for counselors across the country and stop dangerous gender ideology from being forced upon our nation’s kids.
Will you give today to help fuel more cases like Kaley’s and stand up for truth and freedom?
