In a stunning twist, Virginia officials have decided not to fully enforce a 2020 law banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors, following a legal deal struck with a conservative Christian legal group. The move, formalized through a consent decree last month, has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community and raised fresh questions about the state’s priorities when it comes to queer youth protections.
Under the agreement, the Virginia Department of Health Professions will refrain from disciplining counselors who engage in so-called “talk conversion therapy,” a discredited and widely condemned practice aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The shift comes after two professional counselors, backed by the Founding Freedoms Law Center, sued last year claiming the law violated their religious freedom. Now, thanks to a Henrico County Circuit Court judge’s signature, the state says it will let willing counselors and patients engage in these sessions under the banner of “voluntary talk therapy.”
The Attorney General’s office, which negotiated the consent decree, framed the decision as a constitutional win. “This court action fixes a constitutional problem,” said spokesperson Shaun Kenney. “Talk therapy with voluntary participants was punishable before this judgment. This result respects the religious liberty and free speech rights of both counselors and patients.”
But to LGBTQ advocates and mental health professionals, it’s a slap in the face. They say the decision risks reopening the door to harmful practices cloaked in the language of “freedom” and “choice.” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who championed the original law, didn’t hold back: “This was a statute that was enacted to save lives,” he said. “All the research, all the professional psychiatric organizations have condemned conversion therapy. They say it doesn’t work, and they say it’s counterproductive.”
Across the country, conversion therapy bans have become a bellwether for LGBTQ rights. So far, 23 states and D.C. have outlawed the practice, with more legal battles looming—including one in Wisconsin and another pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
What makes Virginia’s backpedal so alarming for LGBTQ advocates is its broader reach. The law center claims the consent decree doesn’t just apply to the two counselors in question—it shields all counselors in the state. That’s a wide berth for a practice deemed unethical and psychologically harmful by every major medical and psychiatric body.
The underlying message? If you’re a queer minor in Virginia, the law may no longer have your back. And for a vulnerable group already facing high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide, the impact could be devastating.
This isn’t just about legal maneuvering or constitutional language. It’s about real kids, real trauma, and a government deciding whose safety is worth protecting. Virginia’s move might be framed as protecting religious freedom—but it comes at the expense of the LGBTQ youth who just lost one of the few legal shields they had.