Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Anti-Trans Bill, Face Backlash from LGBTQ+ Organizations Over Intimidation
Tennessee’s GOP-controlled House passed a bill, S.B. 2782, that penalizes adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent. The LGBTQ+ organizations slammed them as intimidating.
Similar to the anti-abortion bill
The bill regarding trans youth is nearly identical to the so-called anti-abortion trafficking proposal the Tennessee GOP introduced only a day before. The proposal aims to make it illegal for adults to help minors get an abortion without parental consent. That includes victims of assaults or incest.
Tennessee has the highest number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws
Tennessee currently has 21 bills that are considered to be anti-LGBTQ+, and with S.B. 2782 and three more set to be signed soon, that number will rise to 24. Arkansas and Florida have 13, while Montana and North Dakota have 12.
Inside S.B. 2782
The bill passed the state Senate 25-4 and House 63-16. The previous version had criminal penalties, but those were replaced by civil penalties. It orders that no adult can assist a minor in receiving out-of-state gender-affirming without parental consent.
Tennessee banned gender-affirming care
Governor Bill Lee signed gender-affirming care for minors in March 2023. Three transgender children and their parents sued the state, but the court upheld the bill. Around 35 percent of trans youth live in states where gender-affirming care was banned.
Harsh criticism
LGBTQ+ charity OUTMemphis and Southern Equality shared on Instagram that the families have been seeking gender-affirming since the state ban, adding that the bill was created to intimidate families and trans youth. They reminded people that the legislation does not block parents from seeking health care out of state.
Broader implications of the bill
Tennessee GOP said the bill aimed to safeguard parental rights. Still, opponents claim it could lead to violations from talking to adolescents about care websites to helping them travel to states with more flexible gender-affirming care restrictions.
More bad news for the LGBTQ+ community
The Republican supermajority approved refusing to marry anyone regardless of their reasons, which only sparked concerns among LGBTQ+ couples. State Representative Monty Fritts, the bill’s sponsor, said the state must protect religious rights, while opponents claimed the state was going backward.
Anti-LGBTQ+ couples can adopt queer children
The Tennessee Senate introduced the Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act on April 2. If the bill passes, it could allow anti-LGBTQ+ parents to adopt a child in state custody who is part of the community. And many believe that’s a significant issue.
Fears over conversion therapy
Cathryn Oakley, senior director of legal policy for the Human Rights Campaign, said that this proposal is not focused on the best interests of a child and even warned of potential abuse and conservation therapy. This discredited practice of changing a child is not illegal in Tennessee.
The HRC condemned the state’s latest bill
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a statement claiming that Tennessee is legislating twice as many anti-LGBTQ+ laws as any other state, which is dangerous to its constituents.
Pushback from blue states
Maine lawmakers approved a protection law for providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought in other states. Sixteen states, including Tennessee, plan to take legal action. However, Democratic governor Janet Mills dismissed the threats.
Other states joined
Thirteen states protect medical providers from out-of-state investigations regarding abortions, and 12 states protect them with gender-affirming care. However, 24 states limit treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery for minors.
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