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 stateās 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 ātalk conversion therapy,ā a discredited and widely condemned practice aimed at changing a personās 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 judgeās signature, the state says it will let willing counselors and patients engage in these sessions under the banner of āvoluntary talk therapy.ā
The Attorney Generalās office, which negotiated the consent decree, framed the decision as a constitutional win. āThis court action fixes a constitutional problem,ā said spokesperson Shaun Kenney. āTalk therapy with voluntary participants was punishable before this judgment. This result respects the religious liberty and free speech rights of both counselors and patients.ā

But to LGBTQ advocates and mental health professionals, itās a slap in the face. They say the decision risks reopening the door to harmful practices cloaked in the language of āfreedomā and āchoice.ā Democratic Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who championed the original law, didnāt hold back: āThis was a statute that was enacted to save lives,ā he said. āAll the research, all the professional psychiatric organizations have condemned conversion therapy. They say it doesnāt work, and they say itās counterproductive.ā
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 loomingāincluding one in Wisconsin and another pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
What makes Virginiaās backpedal so alarming for LGBTQ advocates is its broader reach. The law center claims the consent decree doesnāt just apply to the two counselors in questionāit shields all counselors in the state. Thatās a wide berth for a practice deemed unethical and psychologically harmful by every major medical and psychiatric body.
The underlying message? If youāre 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 isnāt just about legal maneuvering or constitutional language. Itās about real kids, real trauma, and a government deciding whose safety is worth protecting. Virginiaās move might be framed as protecting religious freedomābut it comes at the expense of the LGBTQ youth who just lost one of the few legal shields they had.