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      NC Legislature Overrides Vetoes of Republican Bills That Launch 'All-Out Attack' on Trans Youth

      NC Legislature Overrides Vetoes of Republican Bills That Launch 'All-Out Attack' on Trans Youth

      "Extremist legislators are trying to gain political power by harming vulnerable young people and their families."

      Jake Johnson
      Aug 17, 2023

      North Carolina's Republican-dominated Legislature voted Wednesday to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes of several GOP bills attacking trans youth, a move that rights advocates called a "devastating" assault on the rights of vulnerable young people.

      One of the measures enacted Wednesday over the governor's opposition outlaws gender-affirming care—including puberty blockers and hormone therapy—for trans minors, making North Carolina the latest state to attack healthcare access for trans youth.

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      The Indiana State Capitol.

      Use State Courts to Defend Trans Rights

      Three types of provisions unique to state constitutions—state-level Equal Rights Amendments, privacy rights protections, and healthcare freedom amendments—could all be wielded to strike down anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

      Quinn Yeargain
      Jul 18, 2023

      Republican-led states have passed a deluge of anti-trans legislation over the last few years, including bans on gender-affirming care, trans athletes participating in sports, and drag shows. In response, civil rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have challenged the constitutionality of these new laws, primarily raising claims under the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes. Their claims have seen some early success, with Democratic- and Republican-appointed judges on federal district courts around the country handing down preliminary injunctions against the enforcement of these laws. State constitutions, however, may provide advocates with greater opportunities for pushing back against anti-trans legislation.

      Given the uncertainty of how both circuit courts and the Supreme Court will come down on the constitutionality of these laws, the near-exclusive focus on federal constitutional claims is somewhat surprising. The most common argument raised by LGBTQ+ rights advocates in this litigation is that anti-trans legislation constitutes impermissible gender-based discrimination and thus runs afoul of the Equal Protection Clause. But this argument is not guaranteed to win. As the Sixth Circuit recently noted in reversing a district court’s injunction against Tennessee’s trans healthcare ban, the challenge to the law “seek[s] to extend the constitutional guarantees” under the Equal Protection Clause “to new territory.”

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      trans rights
      Protesters show support for transgender youth

      'Heartbreaking': Court Reinstates Tennessee Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

      "We want all the transgender youth of Tennessee to know this fight is far from over and we will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Tennessee is made a safer place to raise every family," legal advocates said.

      Kenny Stancil
      Jul 09, 2023

      A 2-1 split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Saturday that Tennessee can enforce its ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors—reversing a lower court's preliminary injunction, ignoring the guidance of every major medical organization in the United States, and delivering a crushing blow to trans youth and their supporters.

      Last month, U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson found that S.B. 1—which prohibits doctors from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other forms of gender-affirming care to minors and requires trans youth currently receiving such care to stop within nine months—discriminates on the basis of sex and is therefore unconstitutional, siding with plaintiffs who sued Tennessee. The Trump administration appointee blocked large swaths of the law, which was set to take effect on July 1, from being implemented.

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