Death threats, sabotage, state harassment: Trans extremists are ruining my life for treating children trapped by their gender madness
Six years ago, Kaley Chiles's door was open to all.
A licensed counsellor, guided by her Christian beliefs, she would help anyone who came to her - those battling eating disorders or addictions, or simply needing someone to listen. By 2019, more and more people were coming to her confused about their sexuality, or questioning their gender. Chiles wanted to help.
Now, she says, she is forbidden from doing so.
A law signed into effect by Governor Jared Polis in May 2019 prohibits 'conversion therapy' for under 18s, which the state describes as 'efforts to change an individual's sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.' Colorado is one of 24 states to ban conversion therapy.
Chiles, 35, says the law is preventing her from doing her job, and is challenging it in the Supreme Court. Doing so has put her in the crosshairs of militant trans activists: she has received death threats, harassing phone calls and menacing emails.
But, she insists, it is a fight worth having.
'If I can only have half of a conversation, am I willing to have these conversations at all?' she said, speaking to the Daily Mail from her home in Colorado Springs. 'It so severely impacts the conversation when you suppress information, and you're literally not allowed to talk about certain things, that it becomes untherapeutic.'
Her fears are not baseless.
Chiles, 35, says the law is preventing her from doing her job, and is challenging it in the Supreme Court
She is currently being investigated by the state licensing authority after they received anonymous complaints - she has no idea whether the complainants ever set foot inside her clinic, or even if they live in the state. If found to be breaking the law she could be fined $5,000 and stripped of her license.
Her website is now deluged with negative reviews, with one accusing her of promoting 'psychologically damaging, barbaric, and ineffective' treatments, and another claiming she is 'not a real therapist.' She studied for a degree in Biblical studies and psychology at Dallas Baptist University, and completed a master's in clinical medical health at Denver Seminary.
And Colorado Springs does have a history of violent encounters: in 2020, a heavily-armed band of alpaca-farming militant trans-rights activists set up what they named the Tenacious Unicorn ranch in Westcliffe, 75 miles south of the city. They fiercely defended their property and encouraged others to move to the area, until bitter infighting ripped the group apart in 2023, and they were forced to move on.
The city was also home to one of the worst homophobic attacks in recent memory, when a local man opened fire on a well-known gay bar, Club Q, in November 2022, killing five and wounding 19.
Chiles, however, insists that she is simply defending her right to free speech. She says the term 'conversion therapy' is unhelpful, arguing that she merely wants to have an open and honest discussion.
'Before the law, we could treat the topic of sex and sexuality as we treat all other topics - which means we can speak freely; we can fully explore and talk through all aspects of a conversation,' she said. 'Pros, cons, devil's advocate, what's on this side, what's on that side, what are your doubts, what are you sure of - all those kinds of things. Since the law, we can still have that freedom with other topics, but not with sex and sexuality.'
Chiles says she is now being forced to turn away under 18s seeking her advice on their sexuality. If the topic heads in that direction, she has to shut the discussion down. She declined to give any examples, citing patient-client confidentiality, but in her court filings said she could be asked to assist a child 'seeking to reduce or eliminate unwanted sexual attractions.'
Her website is now deluged with negative reviews, with one accusing her of promoting 'psychologically damaging, barbaric, and ineffective' treatments
Pictured: Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court as SCOTUS heard oral arguments in Chiles v Salazar on October 7, 2025
'If I can only have half of a conversation, am I willing to have these conversations at all?' she told the Daily Mail
The state of Colorado argues that she is not being prevented from exploring any topics, but just stopped from trying to convince a young gay or trans person to change their identity.
Chiles does not buy their argument. And she rejects the suggestion that what she does is 'conversion therapy' - but says the law banning conversion therapy is too vague to protect her conversations.
'I think that term is actually pretty useless, because I don't even know what we're talking about,' she said. 'What I'm talking about is voluntary counseling between a licensed counselor and a minor.'
Is there not a risk that kids questioning their own sexuality are forced into her clinic by their conservative Christian parents?
'They make their own goals,' she said. 'And so, regardless of who brings them or what influences have led them to sit with me, while they're with me and we're having a conversation my obligation - ethically, legally, in all the ways - is that my client is the person sitting right in front of me, and that is who I work with.'
Chiles wrote an op ed in her local newspaper, The Denver Post, explaining that she had 'listened to those who regret being pushed too quickly into medical interventions.'
She added: 'Many say they wish someone had slowed down, asked better questions, and helped them find peace in their own bodies.'
Has she also spoken to those traumatized by counsellors who, conversely, try to push young people away from their innate sexuality?
'I think something that we should all be concerned about is bad counseling, right?' she said. 'And so I think we should listen to anyone who believes that they received counseling that violated those very basic things, like being pushed into something.
'The purpose of counseling is that the counselor does not impose their values, but rather assists the client in navigating life. And so the problem that I'm experiencing right now is: instead of me imposing my values upon the client, the state of Colorado is imposing their values through me on the client.
'That is an issue that I can't participate in.
'And that's why I can't see these clients right now, because I don't impose values, and I'm definitely not going to impose the values of the state of Colorado.'
The Supreme Court decision is expected by June.
