‘Conversion therapy’ bans in KC, Jackson County a ‘dangerous overreach,’ AG Bailey says
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A new federal lawsuit takes aim at local ordinances in Kansas City and Jackson County that censor the free religious speech of licensed professional counselors who counsel minors struggling with gender identity or same-sex attraction.
Two licensed professional counselors, Wyatt Bury and Pamela Eisenreich, have filed a federal lawsuit against Kansas City, Mo., and the Jackson County government, alleging the unconstitutionality of ordinances that censor the private conversations of counselors and their minor clients who may be struggling with sexual development or behavioral issues. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, argues that these laws banning “conversion therapy” violate the First Amendment by censoring the biblical perspective of human sexuality, and by compelling counselors to push a pro-LGBTQ viewpoint.
The plaintiffs are professing Christians who are licensed professional counselors in Missouri and who practice in the Kansas City area. The counselors regularly receive requests from parents to help minors confused about their sexual feelings or behavior. Sometimes, the minors ask for help identifying with their sex or redirecting their sexual desires toward the opposite sex.
Michael K. Whitehead and Jonathan Whitehead, a father-son legal team from the Kansas City area, represent the plaintiffs, along with attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a public interest law firm based in Lansdowne, Va. In addition, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has joined the lawsuit on behalf of the State of Missouri.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey
“These ordinances force counselors to either violate their deeply held religious beliefs or face severe penalties, including fines up to $1,000 and even jail time,” said Michael Whitehead. “That’s a clear violation of the First Amendment’s protections for free speech and religious liberty.”
“The measures threaten to punish licensed counselors who help minors to affirm their biological sex and their biblical faith,” Jonathan Whitehead said. “Such content-based restrictions are unconstitutional.”
ADF attorneys added: “The City and County are pushing 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.”
Attorney General Bailey concluded: “Our children have a right to therapy that allows for honest, unrestricted conversations, free from transgender indoctrination,” Bailey said. “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.”
Bans on “Conversion Therapy”
At the heart of the case are ordinances passed by Kansas City (K.C. Ord. § 50-234 and § 38-113) and Jackson County (Jackson Cnty. Ord. § 5575) that prohibit licensed counselors from engaging in so-called “conversion therapy” for minors. Conversion Therapy or Reparative Therapy is defined by the ordinances as “any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same-gender or any therapeutic intervention imposed with the intent of promoting a particular sexual orientation and/or gender as a preferred outcome.
Pamela Eisenreich
On the other hand, the ordinances state that Conversion Therapy “shall not include counseling that provides support and assistance to a person undergoing gender transition, or counseling that provides acceptance (and) support…(of a person’s same sex orientation).
Impact on Counselors and Clients
The lawsuit argues that these laws effectively ban certain viewpoints while compelling others, placing Christian counselors and their clients in an untenable position.
“Licensed counselors holding a biblical world view should be free to help young people pursue the counseling goals they desire—whether that means embracing their biological sex or working through unwanted same-sex attraction, Jonathan Whitehead explained. “The government has no business censoring those conversations.”
The lawsuit highlights the real-world consequences of these laws. One of the plaintiffs, Pamela Eisenreich, doing business as Hope and Healing Counseling, is a licensed counselor who regularly works with minors facing gender confusion and same-sex attraction. The complaint states that she has had to self-censor during sessions and even avoid critical conversations to comply with the law, despite clients seeking her faith-based guidance.
The plaintiffs argue that by preventing counselors from offering the support their clients seek, the ordinances actually harm those in need. Many young people struggling with these issues want counseling that aligns with their faith. These laws take away their right to receive the help they want.
Wyatt Bury
Plaintiff Wyatt Bury has a Master of Arts in Counseling from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and practices in Kansas City. The lawsuit says that several parents have contacted Bury since the counseling bans were passed and have asked him to counsel their minor children with respect to the minor’s sexual behaviors and anxieties. The parents asked Bury because they shared his religious beliefs and sought a counselor whose beliefs aligned with theirs. They have asked Bury whether he would be able to change, reduce, or eliminate these issues with the child. Bury knew that he could not address the child’s sexual behavior as requested without violating the Counseling Laws, so he has referred this prospective client to another counselor.
He concluded: “The counseling bans deprive youth in Kansas City and Jackson County of safe, desired, and helpful therapies. Depriving therapy to those who need it is ultimately harmful.”
Other Cases
Legal precedent is split in similar cases around the country. A ban in Boca Raton, Florida, was struck down by the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals in 2020), Then a ban in Washington State was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, holding that “therapy” is conduct, not speech, and professional conduct can be regulated by the government.
Meanwhile, Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado, who helps clients with various issues—including gender identity and sexual orientation—is asking SCOTUS to review her case, Chiles v. Salazar, following a loss in the Tenth Circuit US Court of Appeals.
If SCOTUS does not take the Chiles case, the Whiteheads believe the Kansas City case may become a good vehicle to raise these issues in the US Supreme Court in the future.
Next Steps in the Case
The lawsuit asks the federal court to declare the ordinances unconstitutional and block their enforcement during the pendency of the lawsuit, and then permanently at the end of the case. If successful, the case could set a major precedent for religious liberty and free speech protections nationwide, particularly for Christian professionals working in counseling and therapy.
ADF Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart
As the case moves forward, the plaintiffs and their legal team remain committed to defending the rights of Christian counselors to speak freely and provide the faith-based support that many families seek. “This isn’t just about counselors—it’s about the fundamental freedoms of speech and religion for all Americans,” Jonathan Whitehead said.
The outcome of this case could have wide-ranging implications for religious liberty, counseling practices, and the authority of local governments to regulate speech in professional settings.]
Pushing Children Toward Dangerous, Life-Altering Drugs and Surgeries
“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.”
MBC and CLC Efforts to Influence Policy.
The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) Christian Life Commission (CLC) lobbied against the county ordinance by writing a letter to the nine legislators dated March 16, 2023.
Attorneys Michael K. Whitehead and Jonathan Whitehead
The CLC letter argued that the bill “will violate providers’ and counselees’ rights and sincerely-held religious beliefs, protected by Free Speech, Free Exercise and Equal Protection clauses in our Bill of Rights. Such an infringement—with a threat of punishment for communicating about certain ideas—is both unconstitutional and immoral. Central to the Christian faith is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the power of God to produce life change in all who trust and obey Christ. Christians call this ‘conversion.'”
The CLC also warned the legislation “will infringe on parental rights by effectively limiting legal guardians’ medical and counseling options for their minor children.” (See an article about this letter in the The Pathway here. In an editorial, The Pathway also opined that the bans “criminalized the gospel in Jackson County” for counselors speaking to minors. Read the editorial here: https://tinyurl.com/2t4d57yz. Another report is available here: https://tinyurl.com/2baktvvo.)
The MBC, at its annual meeting in 2023, adopted Resolution 8 on Conversion Therapy Bans. See MBC Annual Book of Statistics 2023, p 24.
The case name is Wyatt Bury, LLC et al v. City of Kansas City, Missouri et al, Case Number 4:25-cv-00084-JAM, US District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
A copy of the lawsuit complaint is here.