Story perspectives

Supreme Court Upholds Anchorage Ban on Conversion Therapy

5/8/2026

Center

Pastor Hoffman Challenges Ban

Pastor Ron Hoffman, whose church is exempt, says the ban infringes free speech and backs the Supreme Court decision.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Colorado’s conversion-therapy ban violates the First Amendment, keeping Anchorage’s 2020 ordinance in effect.
Anchorage’s ordinance, passed 9-2 in August 2020, bans licensed practitioners from providing conversion therapy to minors.
Violations incur $500-per-day civil penalties; Dr. Kevin Tarlow says the practice is ineffective and harmful.

Left

Vatican Features Gay

Vatican report publicly features testimonies from two married gay Catholics, a historic first for the Church.
The synod study-group report condemns conversion-therapy’s harmful effects and acknowledges the Church’s role in creating stigma, while doctrine remains unchanged.
Rev. James Martin of Outreach called the publication a historic step for LGBTQ Catholic visibility.
Authors Yunuen Trujillo and Marianne Duddy-Burke say the listening-based approach could eventually shift Church practice.

Blindspot

Left coverage emphasized the Vatican’s synod study-group report, featuring testimonies from married gay Catholics and an explicit condemnation of conversion-therapy practices.
Center coverage did not include this Vatican perspective or the Church’s acknowledgment of its role in stigma and call for greater pastoral inclusion.

History

Historical Context

Colorado voters approved Amendment 2 in 1992 (53%-47%), but on May 20 1996 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, struck it down as violating equal protection. The decision paved the way for Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and later affirmed Anchorage’s 2020 ban on conversion therapy, shaping nationwide LGBT protections.

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Pastor Hoffman Challenges Ban

Pastor Ron Hoffman, whose church is exempt, says the ban infringes free speech and backs the Supreme Court decision.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Colorado’s conversion-therapy ban violates the First Amendment, keeping Anchorage’s 2020 ordinance in effect.
Anchorage’s ordinance, passed 9-2 in August 2020, bans licensed practitioners from providing conversion therapy to minors.
Violations incur $500-per-day civil penalties; Dr. Kevin Tarlow says the practice is ineffective and harmful.

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