CCLP testifies in support of conversion therapy survivors

CCLP testifies in support of conversion therapy survivors

by Annie Martínez| Mar 31, 2026

Legal Advocacy, Legislative Updates, Research and Policy Analysis, Testimony

On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Annie Martínez, Litigation Director at CCLP, provided testimony in strong support of House Bill 26-1322, Civil Actions for Conversion Therapy Survivors. The bill would remove the statute of limitations for conversion therapy survivors, ensuring they are legally protected no matter when the incident may have occurred.

Members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Annie Martínez and I'm an attorney and hold a doctorate in public policy and administration and am here on behalf of Colorado Center on Law and Policy, an anti-poverty organization advancing the rights of every Coloradan, and we are here in support of House Bill 26-1322.

This bill is important because trauma does not always reveal itself on a predictable timeline, and survivors of conversion therapy should have access to the courts, to justice, and accountability.

HB26-1322 allows claims for people injured by sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts to be brought without a limitations bar cutting them off before survivors are ready or able to come forward.

HB26-1322 is especially important right now because Colorado's underlying ban on conversion therapy for minors is currently before the United States Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar, with an opinion coming down this term.[1] If the Court narrows or overturns states' ability to regulate this practice, the need for survivors to have a meaningful civil remedy becomes even more urgent.

This bill is measured. It focuses on licensed mental health professionals and those who employed, supervised, or negligently enabled them. It does not eliminate the need to prove harm but actually calls out the type of expert testimony needed in the proceedings.

As introduced, HB26-1322 says that a conversion-therapy survivor's civil claim "may be commenced at any time without limitation," but the bill's applicability section narrows how that works for older claims. Injuries that accrue before the bill taking effect only applies if the claim was not already time-barred under prior law as of July 1, 2026. So, the bill does not fully reopen every claim from the past; rather, it ensures that survivors whose claims are still legally viable on July 1, 2026, and survivors harmed going forward, are not cut off by an arbitrary deadline that fails to account for delayed recognition of trauma.

With respects to the impact on the judiciary, the state's fiscal note projects only a minimal impact on court workload and specifically points to the relatively small number of conversion therapy cases and the high evidentiary burden required to prove them. So, this is not a floodgates bill. It is a targeted remedy for a real but limited group of survivors.

Survivors of conversion therapy deserve a meaningful path to justice. I urge you to vote yes on HB26-1322.

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[1] Whitehurst, Lindsay. (2026, March 31). Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ+ kids. Associated Press.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-conversion-therapy-colorado-92b34295f9ef497a4a1cbeb56c9b74c6

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