Supreme Court Delivers Historic 8-1 Victory for Free Speech, Religious Liberty, and Parental Rights: Colorado’s “Conversion Therapy” Ban Struck Down
Press Release Center for Garden State Families Parsippany, New Jersey March 31, 2026
Today, in a landmark 8-1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Colorado’s ban on talk therapy aimed at helping minors align their sexual orientation or gender identity with their biological reality violates the First Amendment. The Court held that such laws unconstitutionally regulate protected speech based on viewpoint, reversing a lower court ruling and casting serious doubt on similar bans in approximately two dozen states—including New Jersey’s pioneering 2013 law.
The Center for Garden State Families (CGSF) and its President, Gregory Quinlan, hail this ruling as a long-overdue triumph for constitutional freedoms, parental authority, and the right of licensed counselors to provide ethical, client-directed care without government censorship.
Gay conversion therapy sparks culture war in N.J.
“This is vindication after more than a decade of fighting government overreach,” said Gregory Quinlan, President of the Center for Garden State Families and a former gay activist who left the homosexual lifestyle in 1992. “In 2013, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to ban so-called ‘conversion therapy.’ I stood in legislative hearings and testified against that bill, warning lawmakers that it would criminalize talk therapy, silence dissenting voices, and deny parents and minors the right to seek help consistent with their faith and values. The so-called ‘experts’ and activists dismissed us as bigots. Today, the Supreme Court proved us right.”
Quinlan, who has testified and lobbied in 27 states and the District of Columbia on family, marriage, and child-protection issues, continued: “The First Amendment does not allow the state to dictate what counselors may say in private sessions. This decision protects not only Christian counselors like Kaley Chiles but every family seeking compassionate care that honors biological reality and biblical truth. Major medical organizations have been weaponized against families for years. The Supreme Court just reminded government that it cannot play doctor—or censor—when it comes to the hearts and minds of our children.”
The Center for Garden State Families has long argued that bans on client-directed therapy represent viewpoint discrimination and parental rights violations. These laws force counselors to affirm gender confusion or same-sex attraction even when a minor or family seeks change in accordance with their religious beliefs or personal goals. CGSF maintains that such government mandates harm the very families they claim to protect by denying access to voluntary, ethical counseling.
“New Jersey families have lived under this unconstitutional ban for 13 years,” Quinlan added. “Today’s ruling opens the door for legal challenges here at home and across the country. Parents—not politicians or activist groups—should decide what is best for their children. We at the Center for Garden State Families will continue to fight until every family in New Jersey and America has the freedom to pursue the help they need without fear of government punishment.”
The Supreme Court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, emphasized that professional speech is not exempt from First Amendment scrutiny. The decision sends a clear message: states cannot ban disfavored viewpoints simply because they conflict with prevailing political or medical orthodoxy.
The Center for Garden State Families congratulates Kaley Chiles and her legal team on this victory. We stand ready to support families, counselors, and legislators who seek to restore balance, protect religious liberty, and defend the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing and care of their children.
For more information or to support our work protecting New Jersey families, visit www.gardenstatefamilies.org.
Center for Garden State Families 1719 Route 10 East, Suite 309 Parsippany, NJ 07054 Gregory Quinlan, President & Founder “Defending Faith, Family, and Freedom in the Garden State”