Kansas City counselors, MO attorney general sue city, county for censoring private conversations with clients
ADF attorneys represent two Christian counselors harmed by ordinances that push children and families toward dangerous transition drugs and surgeries
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Kansas City, Missouri, and Jackson County on behalf of licensed counselors Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich after the city and county passed ordinances that violate their freedom of speech and push children to reject biological reality. Specifically, these ordinances prohibit counselor-client conversations that explore the truth about a child’s sex but allow conversations that push children to live inconsistent with their sex and disfigure their bodies with transition procedures. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has joined the suit as a co-plaintiff to protect the freedoms of Missourians impacted by these ordinances.
In 2019, Kansas City passed an ordinance that prohibits counselors from having private, voluntary, and honest conversations with their clients on gender identity and sexual orientation that the city disfavors; Jackson County passed a similar ordinance in 2023. These ordinances interfere with counselors’ conversations with their clients and force them to adopt the government’s view of these topics in violation of their religious beliefs. The ordinances stop families from receiving counseling rooted in biological truth – even when children and families want this counseling.
“Our children have a right to therapy that allows for honest, unrestricted conversations, free from transgender indoctrination,” said Bailey. “These ordinances represent a dangerous overreach, forcing children and counselors to conform to a radical transgender agenda. I will not stand by while Jackson County violates Missourians’ constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty.”
“The government has no business censoring private conversations between clients and counselors, nor should counselors be used as a tool to push children toward dangerous, life-altering drugs and surgeries,” said ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “Kansas City and Jackson County’s ordinances violate Wyatt and Pamela’s freedom to speak, and the ordinances harm both them and their clients who come to them seeking help. The First Amendment protects every American’s freedom to speak and listen; these are some of the most fundamental elements that go into counseling. We are urging the court to respect the speech of these counselors and the goals of their clients. Now more than ever, families and children need counselors free to speak truth about the harms of gender ideology. Children deserve love and truth, not a government that censors their ability to pursue healthy, flourishing lives.”
The city and county ordinances prohibit any conversation between a counselor and a minor client in pursuit of a goal to assist a child to embrace his or her sex or reduce unwanted sexual attractions, even when those goals are set by the client. ADF attorneys explain in the complaint that, because of the ordinances, the counselors are often self-censoring their speech with clients and turning away potential clients to avoid penalties of up to $1,000 for each offense.
As the complaint also explains, the challenged ordinances prohibit counsel in only one direction: for example, counselors are free to steer a young person toward identifying as the opposite sex but prohibit conversations that aim to help a young person embrace his or her sex. ADF attorneys are representing Colorado counselor Kaley Chiles in a similar lawsuit.
ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit, Wyatt Bury v. City of Kansas City, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Mike Whitehead and Jonathan Whitehead, two of more than 4,800 attorneys in the ADF Attorney Network, are serving as local counsel on behalf of the counselors.
- Pronunciation guide: Neihart (NYE'-hart)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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