KANSAS CITY — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a lawsuit against Jackson County, challenging a recently enacted ordinance that he claims infringes on the First Amendment rights of licensed counselors and limits the therapy options available to children seeking guidance on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Bailey, in his lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, contends that the Jackson County ordinance, along with a similar Kansas City ordinance passed in 2019, censors counselors by compelling them to affirm certain views on gender identity, regardless of their professional judgment or religious beliefs.
He argues that the measures unlawfully restrict free speech and force counselors to conform to a government-imposed ideology.
“Our children have a right to therapy that allows for honest, unrestricted conversations, free from transgender indoctrination,” Bailey said in a provided statement. “These ordinances represent a dangerous overreach, forcing children and counselors to conform to a radical transgender agenda."
Bailey said the ordinance violated Missourians' religious liberties.
"I will not stand by while Jackson County violates Missourians’ constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty," Bailey said.
The lawsuit asserts that the ordinances prohibit licensed counselors from engaging in conversations that help minors reconcile their gender identity with their biological sex or reduce unwanted same-sex attraction, while allowing and even encouraging counselors to assist minors in pursuing gender transition.
This, the suit claims, creates an unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech.
The Kansas City ordinance (K.C. Ord. § 50-234) and Jackson County ordinance (Jackson Cnty. Ord. § 5575) prohibit counselors from engaging in therapy that does not affirm a client’s preferred gender identity.
The lawsuit also challenges Kansas City’s Public Accommodation Ordinance (K.C. Ord. § 38-113), which Bailey argues compels counselors to provide services that conflict with their religious convictions and forbids them from referring clients to other professionals who share their beliefs.
The plaintiffs in the case include the State of Missouri and Christian counselors who practice in Jackson County and Kansas City.
These counselors, according to the lawsuit, regularly receive requests from parents to help minors navigate gender identity and sexual orientation issues.
The complaint highlights that one counselor, identified as Eisenreich, has had to avoid certain conversations with clients to avoid legal consequences under the ordinances.
The lawsuit states that violations of the ordinances could result in fines ranging from $500 to $1,000 per instance, and in some cases, jail time of up to 180 days.
Counselors could also be subject to additional financial penalties, including damages and attorney’s fees, under the Public Accommodation Ordinance.
Bailey is seeking a court declaration that the ordinances violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as an injunction preventing their enforcement.
The lawsuit argues that the government should not dictate the content of private counseling conversations or penalize professionals for expressing certain views on contentious social issues.
“The U.S. Constitution protects the freedom to speak and to hear—even in the counseling office and even when the message spoken is one that may now be disfavored by some governments,” the lawsuit states. “Government-mandated speech is especially egregious in the counseling office because the counseling relationship hinges on complete trust and transparency.”
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri case number: 4:25-cv-00084