Washington therapist's gender-counseling case sent back to court after Supreme Court ruling

In 2018 Washington enacted a law that prohibited counselors from providing gender-related support to minors seeking comfort with their biological sex, a provision that Brian Tingley challenged in 2021. After the district court dismissed his claim and the Supreme Court declined to hear it in 2023, the high court’s March 2026 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, which struck down a comparable Colorado statute as viewpoint-based censorship, created new precedent.

Alliance Defending Freedom filed a motion to revive Tingley’s case, and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington agreed on July 31, granting a preliminary injunction that restores his ability to counsel according to his beliefs. Senior counsel Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse described the move as a significant victory against forced-viewpoint legislation. State Senator Marko Liias, who sponsored the original bill, declined comment but said he would follow up later. The case now awaits further arguments, with the outcome poised to affect how Washington regulates gender-related counseling.