The U.S. State of Colorado is moving to strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ youth rather than weaken them like has been seen in many other states across the United States.
Governor Jared Polis has signed HB26-1322 into law, a measure designed to preserve the state’s longstanding ban on conversion therapy after the U.S. Supreme Court raised constitutional concerns about Colorado’s previous statute earlier this year.
The new law comes just weeks after the Court’s decision in Chiles v. Salazar, which examined how Colorado’s existing legislation regulated conversations between licensed therapists and minor patients.
While the ruling questioned the structure of the previous law, it did not endorse conversion therapy or reject the extensive medical evidence showing the practice can cause serious harm.
Instead of abandoning the protections, Colorado lawmakers quickly moved to update them.
A new approach to existing protections
HB26-1322 revises Colorado’s legal definition of conversion therapy by prohibiting licensed mental health professionals from guiding minors towards any predetermined outcome relating to sexual orientation or gender identity.
Supporters say the change directly addresses the Supreme Court’s First Amendment concerns by making the law viewpoint-neutral, rather than targeting one specific perspective.
In practice, therapists are barred from attempting to push young people towards any set identity or outcome. Advocates argue this allows Colorado to maintain protections for LGBTQ+ youth while aligning the law with the constitutional guidance outlined by the Court.
The legislation passed through the Colorado General Assembly before being signed by Polis.
Advocates call it a critical response
LGBTQ+ advocacy organisations praised the state for acting quickly to preserve protections for young people.
“At the end of March, the U.S. Supreme Court gave specific guidance about how to amend conversion therapy laws to be viewpoint-neutral so that these protections can remain in place, helping to protect youth before they are harmed,” said Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights.
“Given the urgency of this issue and the danger that conversion therapy poses to youth, Colorado moved swiftly. Today this legislation is moving to the desk of Governor Polis and will protect Colorado’s youth and families from this discredited practice.”
One Colorado Executive Director Nadine Bridges said the legislation reflected the state’s wider commitment to LGBTQIA+ people.
“Colorado’s story is still being written, and today we took another step toward becoming a state where LGBTQIA+ people can live openly, safely, and fully as themselves,” Bridges said.
“This victory belongs to the survivors, advocates, and community members who refused to let this issue be forgotten.”
Expanded rights for survivors
HB26-1322 does more than update the state’s conversion therapy ban.
The law also extends the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims involving conversion therapy. Supporters say this is important because many survivors take years to understand and process the harm caused by the practice before they are ready to take legal action.
Advocates behind the bill argue that trauma linked to conversion therapy can delay a survivor’s recognition of that harm, making standard filing deadlines difficult to meet.
The expanded legal window may allow more survivors to seek accountability through malpractice claims against licensed therapists who carried out the practice.
The mental health stakes
The Trevor Project and other advocacy groups have pointed to research linking conversion therapy with poor mental health outcomes among LGBTQ+ young people.
Casey Pick, senior director of law and policy at The Trevor Project, said the organisation viewed the Supreme Court decision as a challenge, not the end of the fight.
“Following the decision in Chiles v. Salazar, we said that our fight to end conversion therapy in this country was far from over – and we meant it,” Pick said.
“This new law amends Colorado’s existing protections to address the critiques highlighted by the Supreme Court’s recent decision and, importantly, declares that mental health professionals who abuse the sacred trust placed in them will not be protected from malpractice claims by the years of shame and silence caused by conversion therapy.”
Pick also cited recent data from The Trevor Project showing that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people in Colorado reported seriously considering suicide during the past year.
“The data could not be clearer: if we end these junk practices, we will save young people’s lives,” Pick said.
Research cited by advocacy groups shows LGBTQ+ youth who have experienced conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide compared with those who have not undergone the practice.
For Colorado lawmakers and LGBTQ+ advocates, the message behind HB26-1322 is clear: young people should be protected from discredited practices that seek to change who they are, and survivors deserve meaningful pathways to accountability.
