South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has welcomed a recent federal Appeals Court decision that blocks Michigan’s ban on “conversion therapy” and supports the free speech rights of counselors. Wilson co-led a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, which centers on counseling options for minors with gender dysphoria.
“If parents of a child with gender dysphoria want to get religious counseling for their child, Michigan’s law prevents that and blocks a therapist’s freedom of speech,” Attorney General Wilson said. “This is straight-up censorship and is not in the best interest of these children.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned a lower court ruling that had upheld Michigan’s law. The appeals court directed the district court to issue a preliminary injunction, stopping enforcement of the law while litigation continues.
The majority opinion from the appeals court stated: “Under a law recently enacted in Michigan, therapists are free to offer their minor clients ‘counseling that provides assistance to an individual undergoing a gender transition.’ But if a minor client (with his parents’ consent) seeks counseling to ‘change’ his ‘behavior or gender expression’ to align with his biological sex, his therapist can lose her license if she provides it. The plaintiffs here offer counseling in the form of ‘talk therapy’: literally, spoken words and nothing more. They argue that this regime restricts their speech based on its content and viewpoint, in violation of the First Amendment. The district court denied their motion for a preliminary injunction, holding that the plaintiffs’ therapy amounts to conduct—specifically ‘treatment’–rather than speech.
We disagree and reverse.”
Earlier this year, Wilson called on Columbia city officials to repeal its own ban on conversion therapy; city leaders complied.
Attorney General Wilson serves as South Carolina’s chief legal advocate and enforcer across statewide operations. His office handles prosecutions, regulatory matters such as securities violations and consumer protection efforts, works with state law enforcement agencies on criminal cases, supports victims through advocacy programs, and maintains authority as chief prosecutor under state law according to information from the official website.
