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The Unitarian Universalist Association, along with more than two dozen other religious organizations and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, this week joined an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy for children under 18.
The brief argues that Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law, enacted in 2019 to protect LGBTQ+ children from conversion therapy, does not violate the religious freedom or free speech rights of medical and mental health providers. The law “was enacted to protect minors from the dangerous, ineffective, and medically discredited practice of conversion therapy,” according to the amicus brief filed in Chiles v. Salazar.
“Our faith as Unitarian Universalists compels us to affirm the worthiness and dignity of all people across the spectrums of gender and sexuality. We want queer youth to know they are whole and they are loved, just as they are.”
“It matters that religious organizations use their power to help protect the civil rights of the LGBTQ community, and stop harmful practices like so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” said Carey McDonald, the UUA’s executive vice president. “Our faith as Unitarian Universalists compels us to affirm the worthiness and dignity of all people across the spectrums of gender and sexuality. We want queer youth to know they are whole and they are loved, just as they are.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy organization, petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Colorado’s anti-conversion law in September 2024. The high court’s decision could have national implications: Colorado was the eighteenth state to ban conversion therapy, according to One Colorado, which advocates for LGBTQUIA+ Coloradans.
A broad base of national and Colorado-based religious groups signed the amicus brief, which was authored by lawyers from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In addition to the UUA, other religious groups on the brief include the Alliance of Baptists, the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, Hindu American Foundation, Interfaith Alliance, Union for Reform Judaism, and Muslims for Progressive Values.