LGBTQ+ Coloradans who feel they were victims of conversion therapy may have a path to restitution just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law that banned the controversial practice.
by Longmont Rep. Karen McCormick (D), if passed, would allow Coloradans who were subjected to conversion therapy to pursue civil action against their former practitioners. The bill, Civil Actions for Conversion Therapy Survivors, passed the House of Representatives earlier this month and cleared its first reading in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Democrat Katie Wallace, a Boulder County and Weld County Democrat on the committee, supported the bill.
The bill will now go to the Senate floor for second and third readings. If passed there, it will go to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for his approval. The second reading is scheduled for Thursday.
McCormick said legislators began working on the bill last year, knowing that a decision on Chiles v. Salazar, the case that struck down Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, was looming.
“Knowing that we were working on this before the decision was made, it tells the LGBTQ+ community that, regardless of the Supreme Court case, that survivors deserve access to justice,” McCormick, who is the parent of a transgender non-binary person, told the Daily Camera. “… This bill stands independently and (gives that community) a fair opportunity to seek justice.”
, a peer-reviewed medical journal, linked conversion therapy practices to increased depression, PTSD and suicidality in those receiving it.
What the bill says
The bill, designated HB26-1322, establishes “a cause of action for claims of injury caused” by conversion therapy, according to its text. It says that someone who was subjected to conversion therapy, or a personal representative, is due “economic, noneconomic, and exemplary damages.”
The bill defines conversion therapy as a practice “by a licensed mental health-care provider that seeks to direct a patient toward a predetermined sexual orientation or gender identity outcome, or eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings” toward a specific gender or sexual orientation.
Causation for that civil pursuit can be established through expert testimony, scientific literature or other evidence that attests to the harm that conversion therapy can have.
In such a case, the defendant is cleared of wrongdoing if they can prove the plaintiff’s psychological injuries “solely” came from other sources, according to the bill.
This allows those who experienced conversion therapy time to process and understand the trauma they may have received as minors and seek restitution, supporters argue.
The bill doesn’t target religious intervention, McCormick said. She and the other sponsors tout the bill language as being “value-neutral,” referring to personal views on LGBTQ+ identity.
Community debate
Monday’s hearing went through hours of testimony, mostly from opponents of the bill.
“Under this definition, even if a client explicitly asks a counselor to help gain comfort with their biological sex, the counselor cannot do so without risking lawsuit,” argued Nathan Fisher, associate director of the Colorado Catholic Conference.
A section of the bill excludes counseling for a patient to explore their gender identity.
Opposition testimony was mostly framed with criticisms of gender identity inclusions in the bill, as well as religious objections, concerns of government overreach and attempts to “chill” free speech.
“Anyone who commits suicide is a tragedy,” said Colleen Enos, director of government relations for the Christian Home Educators of Colorado. “Painful interactions with faith, however, do not justify making conversations illegal. Disagreement is not a criminal offense.”Supporters of the bill argued it’s vital for people who have been subject to the practice — which the American Psychological Association calls discredited — or their loved ones.
Joyce Calvo was among the speakers in support of the bill. , a Boulder County woman who committed suicide in 2019 after struggling with the impacts of conversion therapy.
“She was told that living a gay lifestyle was a disorder desire that could be healed. This contributed to her feelings of deep sadness, shame and depression,” Calvo told the committee. “Alana was told that being gay and having impure thoughts were mortal sins that could lead to Hell.
“This bill would have given our family a chance at justice. I wish it had been in place when Alana was alive,” Calvo later added.
Li Brookens, a non-binary Bouler resident who said they underwent conversion therapy, urged the committee to support the bill. Brookens said they were diagnosed with gender identity disorder at 8 years old
“My licensed provider practiced conversion therapy with me three times a week for over four years, and (neither) I nor my parents were engaged in this conversation until treatment was ended,” they testified, then holding up a letter they said was a treatment summary from that time. “I discovered when I was 25 that the whole treatment conflates my gender identity with my potential future sexuality. He writes that the treatment resulted in a renegotiation of my role as an early adolescent girl, including appropriate interest in boys.
“And it took me almost 20 years to discover that was not me renegotiating my gender, it was me learning to repress my true self,” they continued.
Monday’s approval came on a 5-2 party-line vote. In favor were Democrats Lindsey Daugherty (Adams County and Jefferson County), Nick Hinrichsen (Pueblo County), Dylan Roberts (10 rural counties), Mike Weissman (Adams County and Arapahoe County) and Wallace. Voting against were republicans John Roberts (Douglas County) and Lynda Zamora Wilson (El Paso County).
The bill is also sponsored by democrats Rep. Alex Valdez (Denver County), Sen. Lisa Cutter (Jefferson County) and Sen. Kyle Mullica (Adams County).
