WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral argument in Wyatt Bury, LLC v. City of Kansas City
WHEN: Immediately following oral arguments, which begin at 1:30 p.m. CDT, Wed., May 14
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse, 400 E. 9th St., Kansas City. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Media Relations Manager Hattie Troutman at (771) 200-7630.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing licensed counselors Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich will be available for media interviews Wednesday following oral arguments in Wyatt Bury, LLC v. City of Kansas City. The counselors are challenging ordinances in Kansas City, Missouri, and Jackson County that violate their freedom of speech and force them to push children to reject biological reality. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has joined the suit as a co-plaintiff to protect the freedoms of similarly-situated Missourians impacted by these ordinances.
In 2019, Kansas City passed an ordinance that prohibits counselors from having private, voluntary, and honest conversations with their clients on gender identity and sexual orientation that the city disfavors; Jackson County passed a similar ordinance in 2023. These ordinances interfere with counselors’ conversations with their clients and force them to adopt the government’s view of these topics in violation of their religious beliefs.
“The First Amendment protects every American’s freedom to speak and listen; these are some of the most fundamental elements that go into counseling,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Litigation Strategy Jonathan Scruggs, who will be arguing before the court. “Counselors cannot be co-opted to serve as Kansas City and Jackson County’s spokespersons to push children toward living inconsistent with their sex—which often involves dangerous, life-altering drugs and surgeries. These ordinances violate Wyatt and Pamela’s freedom to speak, and the ordinances harm both them and their clients who come to them seeking help. We are urging the court to respect the speech of these counselors and the goals of their clients. Now more than ever, families and children need counselors to speak freely about the harms of gender ideology to pursue healthy, flourishing lives.”
“Our children should be free to flourish and choose counseling that allows for honest conversations,” said Bailey. “These ordinances force children and counselors to conform to a radical transgender agenda that lacks any basis in science and commonsense. That’s why, together with Alliance Defending Freedom, I’m suing Kansas City and Jackson County to protect children and to prevent the city and county from continuing to violate Missourians’ constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty.”
ADF attorneys explain that the ordinances stop families from receiving counseling rooted in biological truth—even when children and families want this counseling. Instead, the ordinances force conversations that push children to live inconsistent with their sex. Because of the ordinances, the counselors are often self-censoring their speech with clients and turning away potential clients to avoid penalties of up to $1,000 for each offense.
ADF attorneys are representing Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles in a similar lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mike Whitehead and Jonathan Whitehead, two of more than 4,800 attorneys in the ADF Attorney Network, are serving as local counsel on behalf of the counselors.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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