Supreme Court to decide if states may ban attempts to ‘convert’ gay and transgender youth

2 HR AGO
PUBLISHED OCT 6, 2025, 5:00 AM ET
By John Fritze


Joseph Fons holding a Pride Flag in front of the Supreme Court on June 15, 2020. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Matt Salmon remembers getting into a circle with the other teenagers in his group therapy session and shouting obscenities at a gay boy forced to stand in the middle. … And he recalls being made to sit on the floor and hug other men because, his therapist said, his sexuality was driven by a “void” that needed to be filled with “healthy male intimacy.”

Nearly 20 years later, Salmon is still shaken by his late teenage experience with “conversion therapy,” the discredited practice that purports to “convert” gay people to heterosexuality and is the focus of a blockbuster appeal to be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. … “I remember watching these boys as they’re essentially being retraumatized and just broken down,” Salmon recalled in an interview with CNN. “I’ve done a lot of healing, but those wounds are still very much present.”

Days after returning to Washington following its summer break, the Supreme Court will turn its attention to a six-year-old Colorado law that prohibits licensed counselors in the state from practicing conversion therapy on minors – one of a series of cases the 6-3 conservative court has heard, or soon will, that deal with gay and transgender young people. … Salmon is one of several victims of the practice who have submitted briefs at the Supreme Court supporting Colorado.

Just a few months ago, the Supreme Court let stand a Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors seeking to transition to match their gender identity. Early next year, it will hear arguments over whether states may ban transgender student athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identity.

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