Statement: Los Angeles LGBT Center Denounces SCOTUS Decision Undermining Protections for LGBTQ+ Youth and Opening the Door to Conversion Therapy
LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2026—Following today’s Supreme Court’s decision in Chiles v. Salazar, which ruled against Colorado’s law prohibiting licensed providers from engaging in so-called “conversion therapy,” Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner has issued the following statement:
“Today, the Supreme Court chose to open the door to dangerous, discredited practices by weakening longstanding protections against so-called ‘conversion therapy.’ Let’s be clear about what that means: The Court has yet again sided with ideology over science and, in doing so, has made it easier for vulnerable young people to be subjected to harm under the guise of care.
Conversion therapy is not health care—it is abuse. It is a deliberate attempt to erase LGBTQ+ young people at their core, and its consequences are devastating: higher rates of depression, anxiety, substance use, and suicide attempts. Every major medical and mental health authority in this country has rejected it. That should have been the end of the conversation.
As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned in her dissent, this decision risks ushering in ‘an era of unprofessional and unsafe medical care,’ where those entrusted to protect young people are instead permitted to harm them. No court should legitimize practices that put children on a path toward lifelong trauma.
Conversion therapy is still abuse. It is still malpractice. It is still wrong. Leaders in California and across the country have a responsibility to act urgently to strengthen protections, close loopholes, and hold bad actors accountable. Efforts like State Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 934, which expands pathways to justice for survivors, are not just important—they are necessary.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center will continue to provide affirming, evidence-based care, and we will continue to relentlessly fight for the safety, dignity, and future of LGBTQ+ young people and their families.
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About the Los Angeles LGBT CenterSince 1969, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBTQ+ people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBTQ+ people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org