Welch

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE: MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Plaintiffs Donald Welch, Anthony Duk, and Aaron Bitzer seek to enjoin enforcement of Senate Bill 1172 (“SB 1172”), which prohibits mental health providers in California from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts (“SOCE”) with minors. The court previously granted plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction after finding they could likely show that SB 1172 violated their rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Characterizing SB 1172 as a regulation of therapeutic treatment, not expressive speech, the Ninth Circuit held that SB 1172 did not violate free speech rights and thus reversed the court’s order granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. See Pickup v. Brown, 740 F.3d 1208, 1229-32, 1236 (9th Cir.2014). The Ninth Circuit also held that SB 1172 is not unconstitutionally vague or overbroad and does not violate First Amendment expressive association rights or the fundamental rights of parents seeking SOCE for their minor children. Id. at 1232-36 .

*1082 Because the court’s previous order concluded that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim asserting that SB…