When the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Colorado couldn't punish Christian counselor Kaley Chiles for counseling minors without affirming their gender confusion, it pulled the legs out from under Washington state's similar law against so-called conversion therapy, upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals under reasoning SCOTUS rejected.

Christian counselor Brian Tingley is now asking the district court that denied his challenge to the Washington law to lift its judgment, which continues "forcing him to self-censor and chill his speech" or incur fines, suspension or loss of license, his lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom said in a motion for relief this week.

“Washington’s law bans voluntary conversations based on the state’s ideological crusade to impose gender ideology and to reject common sense. This is censorship pure and simple," ADF Senior Counsel Hal Frampton said.

"Washington’s law discriminates based on viewpoint and thus 'represents an egregious assault' on Tingley’s 'inalienable right to think and speak freely' when helping his clients achieve their goals," the motion says, quoting Justice Neil Gorsuch's majority opinion and applying it to the Evergreen State's law.

The same as Chiles in her practice, Tingley "never imposes his views on clients; rather, they come to him to work toward their chosen goals," often because they "share his Christian faith and desire a counselor who shares their worldview," including on accepting their sex "as God created them to be" rather than "pursuing their own feelings or desires," the motion says.

Because the district court hasn't lifted its judgment, Tingley has turned down at least six prospective clients whose goal is "avoiding same-sex behavior or developing comfort with their sex" and "avoided saying on his website that he offers counseling for young people on gender and sexuality issues consistent with his Biblical worldview."

Washington has nothing to lose from Tingley being able to speak freely with clients, since "the Supreme Court has clarified how the First Amendment applies to its counseling law" and, because Tingley brought a pre-enforcement challenge, the judgment involved no payment and Washington has no actions to undo "with respect to third parties."

"Basic justice" and science support Tingley, the motion says.

"As young people continue to struggle with gender confusion, more evidence indicates that pushing kids to identify as the opposite sex puts them on the path to medical interventions with unknown risks and serious known consequences, including sterilization," it says. They need counselors like Tingley to help them "grow comfortable with their bodies and realign their identity with their sex."