TACOMA, Wash. – In a victory for free speech, Washington state officials agreed Thursday to not enforce a counseling censorship law against a licensed family and marriage therapist while his case proceeds, allowing Brian Tingley to speak freely in his profession for the first time in five years.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Tingley filed his lawsuit, Tingley v. Brown, against Washington state officials in May 2021. Tingley has more than 20 years of experience counseling adults and minors, including many who seek his help because they share his Christian worldview. However, in 2018, the state enacted a counseling censorship law that prohibited Tingley from helping young people with gender-related distress who voluntarily seek to grow comfortable with their bodies. The law also prohibited Tingley from counseling minors who seek his help to live consistently with their moral beliefs about sexuality.
“There is an epidemic of mental health issues among young people today. They and their parents often come to Brian Tingley because they feel most comfortable with a counselor who shares their faith, yet the state prohibited these voluntary conversations,” said ADF Senior Counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse. “We’re pleased Washington has agreed that Mr. Tingley should be free to speak. It will allow young people to get the help they desperately need while his case proceeds.”
The state’s agreement to not enforce the censorship law against Tingley follows a federal district court’s decision in July to reopen his case. Tingley had appealed his case all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear it in 2023. Then, in March 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in another ADF case, Chiles v. Salazar, that counseling conversations are protected speech. The high court also found that a materially identical Colorado law discriminated based on viewpoint by censoring speech-only counseling that helps kids accept their bodies or live consistently with their moral beliefs.
- Pronunciation guide: Widmalm-Delphonse (VEED’-malm Del-FONS’)
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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