Virginia Weakens Conversion Therapy Ban

Virginia Guts Enforcement of LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy Ban Under Legal Pressure

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics USA

RICHMOND, VA — (July 8, 2025) — In a quiet but consequential move, Virginia has agreed not to fully enforce its 2020 ban on LGBTQ+ conversion therapy for minors, the result of a legal settlement with a conservative religious law firm. The decision has drawn sharp criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates who warn it opens the door to harmful, discredited practices.

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Conservative Lawsuit Leads to Consent Decree

The Virginia Department of Health Professions, represented by the Attorney General’s Office, entered into a consent decree last month with the Founding Freedoms Law Center, effectively shielding licensed counselors who engage in “voluntary talk therapy” that seeks to alter a minor’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

The agreement, signed by a Henrico Circuit Court judge in June, stems from a lawsuit filed by two counselors who claimed the 2020 law violated their religious freedom and free speech rights. Under the terms of the decree, the state agrees not to discipline counselors for engaging in such therapy, despite broad medical consensus labeling the practice as harmful.

Attorney General’s Office Defends Rollback

Shaun Kenney, spokesperson for the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, defended the decision as constitutionally necessary.

“This court action fixes a constitutional problem… and respects the religious liberty and free speech rights of both counselors and patients,” said Kenney in a statement.

The Founding Freedoms Law Center claims the decree now protects all counselors across Virginia—not just the original plaintiffs.

National Fight Over Conversion Therapy Grows

Virginia’s rollback lands as the issue heats up nationally. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in this year on a challenge out of Colorado, with potential implications for how far states can go in banning the practice. Meanwhile, a ruling is expected any day from the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a separate conversion therapy case.

Map of U.S. states showing conversion therapy laws for LGBTQ+ youth as of 2025, highlighting states with bans, restrictions, or no policy – Movement Advancement Project data via JRL CHARTS

Map: As of 2025, 23 states and Washington D.C. ban conversion therapy for minors. Virginia’s status shifts under new legal consent decree. Source: Movement Advancement Project.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, 23 states and the District of Columbia have active bans on conversion therapy for minors. But legal challenges and loopholes—like the one now in Virginia—are threatening to chip away at those protections.

For more breaking developments on LGBTQ+ policy and legal battles across the U.S., stay with JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics USA.