Supreme Court Justice Kagan Questions Viewpoint Bias in Conversion Therapy Ban

Viewpoint Bias in Conversion Therapy Laws

• ⚖️ Justice Elena Kagan questioned an attorney regarding the claim of 'viewpoint bias' in a law banning conversion therapy for minors.
• 💡 The discussion centered on whether such laws are content-based or viewpoint-based.

Symmetry of Laws and Strict Scrutiny

• ❓ Kagan posed a hypothetical: if the law were flipped to encourage acceptance of gay or trans identities, would the same argument apply?
• ✅ The attorney responded that strict scrutiny would apply to such a law, unless there was conduct involved, in which case the 'speech integral to unlawful conduct' doctrine might apply.
• 🤝 This symmetry was confirmed, suggesting the legal challenge could apply to both sides of the issue if only speech is involved.

Legal Precedent and Discrimination

• 🗣️ The attorney argued that the law in question exhibits viewpoint discrimination.
• 🏛️ If viewpoint discrimination is found, the attorney suggested the court may not need to address whether a content-based law (that is not viewpoint-based) would be treated differently in this context.
• 🔗 Reference was made to the distinction between court decisions in Brunetti and Vidal regarding viewpoint versus content discrimination.