Plaintiff Christopher Doyle A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state of Maryland’s law banning licensed practitioners from engaging in conversion therapy treatment with minors. The legislation was signed into law by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in May of 2018. The lawsuit was initially filed by Christopher Doyle , a mental health therapist who teaches at Patrick Henry College in Virginia. He claimed the law infringed upon his First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion. In a 25-page decision, which you can read in full below, U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled that the prohibiting conversion therapy, which is a practice aimed at changing minors’ homosexual orientation, did not violate any constitutionally protected rights. With regard to free speech, Chasanow reasoned that because the law only applies to professional therapists already subject to generally applicable licensing and regulatory rules in the course of their work, the government may restrict dangerous practices within that professional community. “Although [this law] regulates speech by prohibiting the use of language employed in the process of conducting conversion therapy on minor clients, it ‘does not prevent licensed therapists from expressing their views about conversion therapy to […]
