Colorado lawmakers approve new definition of ‘conversion therapy’ after Supreme Court ruling

The Colorado Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would allow Coloradans who are survivors of “conversion therapy” to take legal action at any time against licensed providers who conducted the practice. 

House Bill 26-1322 would allow survivors to pursue legal action against a licensed mental health professional who conducted conversation therapy at any time after it occurred, removing the statute of limitations on those claims. Entities that hired and supervised the professionals who conducted conversion therapy could be sued as well. 

“This bill recognizes that real harm can be inflicted in the name of therapy, and that this harm might not be fully understood for many years,” bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat, said in a statement. “We are simply allowing people to have the time to process and understand the trauma that might have been inflicted, and seek the remedies already available to them under Colorado law.”

Sponsors said the measure also preserves Colorado’s prohibition of conversion therapy for minors by clarifying the definition of the practice following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says the state’s ban seeks to “regulate speech based on viewpoint.” The court sent the case, Chiles v. Salazar, back to a lower court, which will have to apply a legal standard known as “strict scrutiny” to determine the law’s constitutionality. 

Other bill sponsors include Sen. Kyle Mullica, a Thornton Democrat, Rep. Alex Valdez, a Denver Democrat, and Rep. Karen McCormick, a Longmont Democrat.

Several amendments passed in both the House and the Senate to simplify the bill, clarify definitions, and to ensure that therapists can support people exploring their sexuality and gender-identity without steering them toward a predetermined outcome. The House passed the bill with the Senate’s amendments Thursday, sending the bill to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ desk to be signed into law.

The bill would establish a new definition of “sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts,” which would apply to any practice seeking to “direct a patient toward a predetermined sexual orientation or gender identity outcome, or eliminate or reduce attractions toward individuals of a particular sex or gender.” A statement from One Colorado, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said the new definition ensures the law regulates a category of substandard professional conduct rather than any particular viewpoint.

Conversion therapy has been denounced by major medical organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. They say the practice is not effective in changing sexual orientation or gender identity, and worsens patients’ mental health and increases rates of depression and suicidal ideation.

HB-1322 seeks to align state law related to conversion therapy claims with laws that passed in 2021 removing the statute of limitations for child sexual assault claims. It does not create any criminal penalties or a new cause of action. The current statute of limitations for conversion therapy claims is two years. 

Much of the testimony in support of the bill in committee hearings came from LGBTQ+ people who have been subjected to conversion therapy or whose loved ones were harmed by the practice.