A state statute that “prohibits licensed counselors in treating minors from engaging in ‘conversion therapy’ aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity” does not infringe on religious freedom, a federal district court has ruled.

Judge Robert J. Bryan, 86—appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan—ruled that “the object of the Conversion Law is not to infringe upon or restrict practices because of their religious motivation…. Plaintiff is free to express and exercise his religious beliefs; he is merely prohibited from engaging in a specific type of conduct while acting as a counselor.”