Florida's same-sex counseling ban challenged

A Christian law firm is calling a ban in south Florida on counseling to help those with same-sex attractions unconstitutional.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver wants to hold county and city officials legally accountable for their problematic ordinances promoting the LGBT agenda – and harming those who need help.

"We're going to be at a federal court hearing because we filed suit against Palm Beach County and the City of Boca Raton," Staver informed. "They both passed ordinances that ban counselors from providing – and clients from receiving – any counsel regarding unwanted same-sex behavior, orientation or identity."

If anyone wants to change unwanted same sex attractions, behavior or identity because he or she is suffering from gender confusion, the Christian leader maintains that counselors cannot provide that counsel – nor can a client receive that counsel … even if that is what the client desires.

"This is clearly unconstitutional!" Staver exclaimed. "The good news is that during the end of June, when the NIFLA case came down from the U.S. Supreme Court – that was the case involving the crisis pregnancy centers in California, some of which we represent in that case – the Supreme Court actually commented on these very kinds of issues and said that there is no such new category as professional speech that gets lesser protection, and that's been the argument that any kind of speech by a counselor is not entitled to the same level of First Amendment protection."

To put it another way, the Christian legal expert explained that the U.S. Supreme Court has already rejected that idea.

"So, it's just a matter of time before we take one of these cases up to the U.S. Supreme Court to establish this precedent nationwide," he adds. "But this is a very dangerous policy for the government to intrude into the privacy of the counseling room – between the counselor and the client – and dictate from the government's perspective what kind of counseling can be provided or received."