President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) predictably filed suit against Tennessee over its ban on so-called “gender-affirming” care for minors.
These “treatments” include hormone therapies and gender-affirmation surgeries on children and teens. The DOJ was quite specific in its assertions against the Volunteer State’s attempt to protect children from mutilation.
The DOJ’s statement on the legal proceedings cited the Fourteenth Amendment. It declared that Tennessee’s “SB 1 makes it unlawful to provide or offer to provide certain types of medical care for transgender minors with diagnosed gender dysphoria.”
The agency claimed that the treatments and procedures are denied to transgender youth while non-transgender minors have “access to the same or similar procedures.”
“#Biden issues first presidential proclamation recognizing ‘Lavender Scare’ “
Well that explains why his DOJ went after Tennessee today for their new law that doesn’t allow gender mutilation of CHILDREN. #NewsBreak https://t.co/UbdblABUWD— TheKellyJaye (@KellyJaye) April 27, 2023
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement that “no one should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status.” Apparently, mutilative surgeries and puberty blockers are now “necessary.”
She added that Biden’s Justice Department will further “challenge all forms of discrimination and unlawful barriers faced by the LGBT community.”
For its part, Tennessee is not backing down.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee released a statement Wednesday night terming the DOJ legal action as “federal overreach at its worst.” He said the state will aggressively defend its position in court and stand up for the safety of its children.
State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti accused the DOJ of joining forces with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and “an elite New York law firm” in attacking a Tennessee law seeking to protect children “from irreversible harm.”
Skrmetti said the state welcomes the chance to settle these issues in court and defend young citizens of Tennessee.
The state was also targeted last week by a lawsuit from the ACLU and Lambda Legal. They assert that Tennessee’s blocking “gender-affirming” care, which includes hormones and puberty blockers, is damaging to transgender children and their families.
Adults who do not believe they are in the correct bodies can and do get these treatments, and no one bats an eye. But impressionable children are another matter, and these decisions are being made for the very young with alarming regularity.
Tennessee and several other states are standing up for the rights and health of their most vulnerable citizens. Whatever legal actions are brought by the Biden administration and radical leftist groups, it is a fight that is worth fighting.
