The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday to uphold a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors leaves the battle squarely in the hands of the states.

Some two dozen states have similar bans on transgender transition for minors. Meanwhile, 14 states, including Colorado, have enacted what sponsors described as “shield” laws in recent years meant to inoculate individuals traveling from states that have banned transition procedures for minors from being charged in their home state.

Transgender transition, particularly for minors, was a focal point of discussion during Colorado’s legislative session this year, during which lawmakers pushed several proposals, including House Bill 1312, which contains provisions regarding name and sex changes on legal documents, and House Bill 1309, which requires health insurance plans to cover “gender-affirming health care,” such as sex change surgery, hormones, and therapy.

Both bills sparked lengthy debates in the halls of the state Capitol and in the public sphere, with many of the conversations revolving around children. 

Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, a prime sponsor of HB 1312, said transgender people are being targeted more than “almost any community” in 2025. 

“When they are facing backlash and retaliation and fear, it is time for us to stand up and say it is time,” she told her colleagues on the Senate floor during a debate. “It is time to make sure that we are affirming that mistreating transgender folks is discrimination, and I hope that you join me in that.”

Gov. Jared Polis signed both bills into law. 

Two lawsuits have already been filed against the state alleging HB 1312 is unconstitutional.

The first, filed by organizations that included Colorado Parent Advocacy Network and Protect Kids Colorado, argues that requiring someone to call an individual by their chosen name or gender violates people’s First Amendment rights as compelled speech. The complaint also challenges, on speech-based grounds, the requirement that public accommodation cannot advertise that certain people are unwelcome based on their protected characteristics.

The second suit, filed by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the athleticware company XX-XY Athletics, makes a similar argument. ADF said requiring XX-XY to follow a person’s gender preference over biological identity puts the company at risk of violating Colorado’s law and that it faces cease-and-desist orders, expensive investigations, and civil and criminal penalties.

Hal Frampton, the senior counsel for ADF, told Colorado Politics that this law is another example of Colorado lawmakers violating the First Amendment rights of citizens and businesses.

“The law makes it illegal for (XX-XY) to use biologically accurate language with customers and prospective customers in their advertising and with members of the general public,” Frampton said. “Their core message is about biological reality and about the impact that has on women’s sports. So, if they are not able to speak with biologically accurate language, they’re not able to get out their full message.”

In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said Tennessee law is not a form of discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. 

“This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field,” he wrote. “The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound.” 

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote that she believes the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment, as it discriminates against both sex and transgender status.

“By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims,” she wrote. “In sadness, I dissent.” 

Ultimately, the court ruled that “questions regarding the law’s policy are thus appropriately left to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process.”