A conservative Christian legal-aid group recently racked up a pair of court victories against blue cities in Florida that prevented children struggling with sexual issues to seek counseling — and promises more is in store for other jurisdictions that do likewise.
Last week, the Liberty Counsel announced that the city of Tampa agreed to pay the group $950,000 after a federal appeals court found a city ordinance hamstringing licensed counselors unconstitutional.
The local law prohibited licensed counselors from providing voluntary talk therapy to minors seeking help to reduce or eliminate unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity, Liberty Counsel said in a statement.
In the news: Tennessee Librarian Ousted After Undermining Christian Actor Kirk Cameron’s Story Hour
Tampa sought to ban what LGBTQ activists and other liberals claim is “conversion therapy.”
In October 2019, a federal judge rejected that claim and struck down the ordinance, saying the city was blocking legitimate therapy by “medical doctors and mental health professionals that seeks to assist a minor patient in a goal to change gender expression or to change sexual orientation/attraction.”
Liberty Counsel noted that after the city appealed, the appellate court in February 2023 gutted the ordinance on First Amendment grounds.
The group pointed out that ruling was based on the same court rejecting similar ordinances enacted by the city of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County.
On the same day it announced the Tampa City Council’s approval of the settlement, Liberty Counsel also declared victory after a federal judge ordered Boca Raton and Palm Beach County to pay two therapists who were its clients a total of $100,000 and $75,000, respectively.
In the news: Pre-Game Prayer Arguments For Cambridge Christian School In Tampa, Set For June
“These victories set a precedent that minors who are struggling with gender confusion can get the help they need from counselors who are free from political censorship,” Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement.
“Counselors and clients have the freedom to choose the counsel of their choice and be free of political censorship from government-mandated speech. The government has no business eavesdropping inside the counseling rooms, and the city has no authority to enact a local counseling regulation. Any city that tries to enact such a ban will face the same consequences.”
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter . Signup for our free newsletter .
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.