LINCOLN, NE – Represented by Thomas More Society, two licensed Christian counselors sued the City of Lincoln, Nebraska, over an ordinance that censors what they may say to young clients who come to them for help. Thomas Dierks, a Catholic who has practiced as a licensed counselor for more than 27 years, and a second counselor named in the lawsuit as “John Doe,” who specializes in helping children and young adults, both use only talk therapy and let their clients set their own goals. When a child struggling with discomfort over his or her biological sex, or with unwanted same-sex attraction, asks for help living in harmony with his or her body and faith, Lincoln’s ordinance forbids these counselors from helping.

When young people seek out his help in a personal area of their lives, “It’s important not to be hindered by the various political winds blowing on a given day,” said Tom Dierks. “Some of the best counseling moments happen when both parties are able to speak freely.”

Lincoln’s ordinance allows counselors to assist a minor child toward “gender transition,” but a counselor who helps a child become comfortable with his or her God-given biology faces up to six months in jail, fines, and loss of his license. Yet the threat of prosecution has made their conversations more guarded and has made Dierks hesitant to let families know this help is available.

“When a child reaches out for help, Lincoln’s ordinance takes away the trusted adult he turned to and leaves him only one government-approved answer,” said Matt Heffron, Senior Counsel at Thomas More Society. “The Supreme Court made clear that the government cannot censor a counselor’s words because it disapproves of the viewpoint they express.”

In Chiles v. Salazar, decided 8-1 in March 2026, the Supreme Court held that Colorado’s nearly identical counseling ban discriminated based on viewpoint as applied to talk therapy, declaring that “the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.” Two weeks later, Thomas More Society put Lincoln on notice that its ordinance could not survive Chiles and requested that Lincoln repeal it. In July, attorneys sent the City a ruling from the Eighth Circuit, the federal appeals court that governs Nebraska, applying Chiles to a similar Kansas City ordinance, and gave Lincoln a final opportunity to avoid litigation by agreeing not to enforce its ban against talk therapy. Lincoln has chosen to leave the ban in place.

“The Supreme Court has spoken, and City of Lincoln officials should listen,” said Heffron. “If they won’t, we trust a federal court will help them hear.”

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, alleges that the ordinance violates the counselors’ First Amendment rights to free speech and religious exercise and is unconstitutionally vague under the Fourteenth Amendment. It asks the court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional and block its enforcement.

Read the Complaint in Dierks v. City of Lincoln here.