From True North Legal:
This amicus brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Tenth Circuit’s decision upholding Colorado’s counseling restriction, a law that prohibits young people struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria from getting counseling that aligns with their self-selected counseling goals, like the counseling restriction law that passed in Minnesota a few years ago. The law is a speech muzzle on counselors who desire to help children and adolescents reconcile their hearts and minds with biological reality. True North Legal’s brief argues that the overly broad law violates the First Amendment’s protections for free speech and religious liberty by banning counseling that does not affirm state-sanctioned views about gender identity and sexual orientation.
As True North Legal explains in their May 16, 2025 blog post, the case “strikes at the heart of our freedoms” and presents a pivotal question:
“Can the state silence licensed professionals and prevent clients from pursuing their own counseling goals—particularly when those goals are informed by their deeply held religious beliefs?”
Amici represented in this brief include:
Erin Brewer, Ph.D., a former transgender-identified youth who overcame gender dysphoria through counseling after trauma, now a national advocate for alternatives to gender-affirming care.
Nate Oyloe, a Christian counselor and founder of Agape First Ministries, who experienced and overcame same-sex attraction and gender confusion through faith-based counseling.
CCFA (Christian Counselors Freedom Alliance), a Minnesota-based coalition of fifty-five licensed mental health professionals who assert that counseling restrictions like Minnesota’s and Colorado’s violate their constitutional rights and harm clients.
Renee Carlson, General Counsel, True North Legal:
“This brief makes clear that the First Amendment doesn’t end at the counseling room door. The government cannot dictate what counselors say to their clients—especially when the speech is guided by the clients’ own personal goals and beliefs. While the law targets licensed mental health professionals, they are not the only victims. Under these counseling restrictions, children and adolescents struggling with severe mental health challenges are left to go it alone.”
Doug Wardlow, Director of Litigation, True North Legal:
“Our Constitution protects both free speech and free exercise of religion. Counseling restrictions like Colorado’s and Minnesota’s are blatant viewpoint-based censorship. They harm not only counselors but also the very young people they claim to protect. The First Amendment does not permit the state to dictate what views counselors may discuss with their clients, let alone prohibit counseling that aligns with biblical principles.”
Learn More:
Agape First Ministries (Nate Oyloe)