Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed a bill allowing Coloradans to sue for damages sustained from the widely discredited practice of “conversion therapy” and issued an executive order that seeks to ensure the state doesn’t fund efforts to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The legislation — , titled Civil Actions for Conversion Therapy Survivors — was sponsored by Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver; Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont; Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County; and Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton.
“People shouldn’t be ripped off by those falsely claiming that they can change who you are attracted to or who you are,” Polis said in a statement. “In our Colorado for all, everyone can live authentically, and should not be subject to hateful and simply ineffective conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is harmful, can traumatize kids, and is a scam to waste people’s hard-earned money.”
Starting in July, the bill will allow people subject to “conversion therapy” to bring a civil cause of action against certain professionals whose efforts to change a patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity caused harm.
The law removes an existing time restriction requiring claims to be filed within two years and allows representatives of a victim who has died to bring an action within five years of the person’s death.
“Conversation therapy is ineffective and has dangerous repercussions, and we’re creating a clear pathway for someone who is harmed by these practices to seek justice,” Valdez said in a news release. “This law is for all of the LGBTQ+ Coloradans who were told that something about them was wrong because of who they were or who they loved.”
Polis’ , which, like the bill, was signed on the first day of Pride month, directs Colorado state agencies to “take appropriate steps to ensure no state funds are allocated or spent by their respective agencies for sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.”
In 2009, the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation found that and increases the risk of depression, suicidality and anxiety.
Many mental health and medical organizations, including the , the and the , have concluded “conversion therapy” is harmful and ineffective.
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a 2019 Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids.
The 8-1 majority sided with a Christian counselor in Colorado Springs who argued the state law’s ban on talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns, but didn’t strike it down. They sent the case back to a lower court to decide whether it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
“While the U.S. Supreme Courtap ruling on Colorado’s conversion therapy ban law is deeply harmful, we’re not giving up the fight to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Coloradans,” McCormick said in a news release. “The LGBTQ+ community faces higher rates of depression and suicide, and conversion therapy only increases those rates. With this new law, we’re ensuring that LGBTQ+ Coloradans can seek justice for the harm caused by conversion therapy.”
