LGBTQ rights – Memphis Flyer

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard arguments in the case regarding gender-affirming care for Tennessee youth.

The case of United States v. Skrmetti challenges Tennessee’s ban on trans healthcare for minors in the state. This hearing marked the first time SCOTUS has heard a case regarding healthcare for the trans community.

In September of 2023, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed for the law restricting transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming medical care to remain in effect.

The ruling came months after the court initially blocked the law from taking effect in July of the same year.

The state law was signed by Governor Bill Lee in March of 2023 and prohibits healthcare professionals from administering gender-affirming care to minors. This legislation makes gender-affirming hormone therapy and puberty blockers inaccessible and trans people in Tennessee will not have access to this care until they reach the age of 18.

GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) said this is one of approximately 25 bans passed by Republican-led legislatures. They, along with other national and local leaders, said the court’s ruling could affect gender-affirming care for youth nationwide.

Prior to today’s hearing, Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) called the ban unconstitutional and condemned Tennessee leaders for “waging a costly legal battle” as opposed to addressing issues such as traffic and “unaffordable healthcare.”

“This political gamesmanship, funded by our hard-earned tax dollars, is not only cruel but also a violation of fundamental rights,” Campbell said in a statement. “Tennessee’s discriminatory ban is unconstitutional, and it does nothing to improve the lives of our citizens. Tennesseans deserve leaders who focus on solving real problems — not manufactured culture wars that harm families and divide our communities.”

In a release issued after arguments were heard, the office of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the case seeks to “protect vulnerable kids from risky and unproven medical practices.” Skrmetti added that his office reviewed medical evidence and cited instances in European countries where healthcare such as puberty blockers are restricted.

“The Office of the Tennessee Attorney General presented a robust legal and evidence-based defense of the State’s legislative response to the recent explosion of childhood gender-transition interventions. The law at issue restricts the provision of irreversible medical interventions to minors with gender dysphoria — a psychiatric condition marked by mental distress from a conflict between a person’s sex and asserted gender identity,” the statement said.

Skrmetti added that their arguments were based on “constitutional clarity and common sense.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said today’s arguments highlighted the lack of any legal or medical basis for denying transgender youth the same protections afforded under the U.S. Constitution. Robinson said despite Skrmetti’s team’s efforts to disprove this logic, “Transgender healthcare is best practice, medically necessary, and supported by almost every medical association in the country.”

“It’s healthcare, plain and simple, and no politician should be able to interfere in the healthcare decisions best made by families and doctors,” Robinson said. “Now the Supreme Court has the opportunity to follow the facts, the science, and the law, and affirm our constitutional promise of equal protection for all.”

The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision in this case by June.

In the wake of local gun incidents that have prompted potential emergency action from the Memphis city council, a Vanderbilt University survey demonstrates a favorable attitude statewide for new firearms legislation.

The semiannual Vanderbilt Poll, released on Wednesday, finds “significant bipartisan support” for government action on gun control. The poll also indicates support for “basic protections for abortion” and for provision of health care options for the LGBTQ community.

Though Governor Bill Lee has said he intends to call a special session of the General Assembly to consider new gun laws, the legislature adjourned its 2023 session last week without considering such legislation. Meanwhile, the Memphis city council may test the resolve of the Assembly’s Republican supermajority against new laws by passing its own gun ordinances.

The council’s action, signaled by Councilman Jeff Warren, is in response to the shooting of two people on Beale Street over the weekend, followed by a disturbed young gunman’s firing a round on Tuesday into the studio space of Fox-13 television.

The council will apparently consider action for a red-flag law, for banning assault weapons locally, and to require gun-carry permits. If it does so, it will challenge state government’s increasing emphasis on curtailing local options.

However the state might respond officially, its citizens would find such action agreeable, according to the Vanderbilt Poll.

The survey, conducted April 19-23 among 1,003 registered Tennessee voters, shows that 82 percent of those polled support Gov. Lee’s recent executive order on gun background checks, and that three-quarters of them desire “red flag” laws to that end.

Support for the governor’s executive order, issued in response to the recent Covenant School shootings in Nashville, which killed six people, was 81 percent among self-described non-MAGA Republicans, 91 percent among Democrats, and 78 percent among independents.

The survey indicates that gun control ranked as the third-most important issue on the minds of Tennesseans, just two percentage points behind education and three points behind the economy.

On abortion, 82 percent of those surveyed supported the right of abortion in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother.

Further, says a summary of poll results, “At a rate of 3 to 1, Tennesseans oppose the idea that a person should be charged with a crime if they help a Tennessee citizen get an abortion in another state. Opposition to this idea is again bipartisan, with 93 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Independents, 62 percent of non-MAGA Republicans and 53 percent of MAGA Republicans.”

And, though the survey indicates sentiment to control sexually suggestive entertainments in public, apparently including drag shows, “most voters oppose legislation that would restrict transgender individuals’ access to health care.” Such restrictions were opposed by 66 percent of those surveyed.

“It’s hopeful that while 58 percent of respondents view Tennesseans as divided, there is a fairly strong agreement on basic next steps in our most politically divisive issues,” said John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll and Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. “At the same time, 74 percent of registered voters say they’d prefer their elected leaders compromise across the aisle rather than strictly pursue their own values and priorities.”