Daniel Schmid is Associate VP of Legal Affairs of Liberty Counsel. "Since 2012 or so, a number of jurisdictions in the country, Virginia included, passed prohibitions on counselors providing counsel to minors with unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion," he tells AFN.
"Of late [however], beginning with the 11th Circuit a couple of years ago and then continuing with this decision from the Virginia court, [courts have] said that that's unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
Schmid explains the courts found it discriminates on viewpoint and content, which is prohibited, and that states and local jurisdictions do not have the authority to restrict that practice.
The attorney says there's a semantic distinction between "conversion therapy" and "talk therapy."
"Conversion therapy is not a thing; no one does it," he shares. "It's a negative connotation that people have attributed to talk therapy to suggest that what counselors are trying to do is – quote, unquote – 'convert' these minors away from being gay."
In contrast, says the attorney, talk therapy is no different than any counseling session that takes place every day in counseling offices across the country. "You have a client who comes in who has a goal, they set the goal – it's the right to self-determination – and the counselor helps them achieve their goal," he describes.
Schmid explains that in talk therapy, it's usually a religious minor who struggles with unwanted same-sex attractions because they may have been abused or lied to, or they're just confused.
"They come in, they say they have a conflict with them, and they'd like help with it," he describes. "No one's trying to convert them. [Counselors are] trying to talk to them about the conflict they experience and their religious convictions and allow them to reach the goal that they themselves have set."
Years of waiting
Liberty Counsel filed legal challenges to the bans on so-called "conversion therapy" when the first one passed in 2012.
"And then 26 or 27 jurisdictions statewide passed them, and a whole bunch of municipalities passed them," notes Schmid. "Now, beginning next term, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Chiles v. Salazar [a case] where, because of Liberty Counsel's case out of the 11th Circuit, there's a split among the authorities."
Now, with this recent decision from a Virginia circuit court, Schmid predicts good news coming from the High Court.
"By June of next year, if not earlier, we'll have a decision from the Supreme Court that I'm confident will state this is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, runs roughshod over the minor's right to self-determination, and runs roughshod over parental rights."
Chiles v. Salazar is scheduled to be argued before the Supreme Court this fall.
