public enemy

Greg Abbott can’t wait to force trans kids to de-transition, eagerly awaits the arrival of SB 14 on his desk

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Greg Abbott is taking a brief pause from using immigrants as political pawns to attack trans kids in yet another Republican-led effort to harm LGBTQ+ people in America.

The gay-hating Texas governor announced yesterday that he plans to sign Senate Bill 14 into law ASAP. The bill, which is currently en route to Abbott’s desk, blocks trans kids from receiving gender-affirming care and effectively forces those already in the process of transitioning to de-transition and start over after they turn 18.

“I’m not going to make any secret about it. I’ll be signing it. This is about protecting children,” he misled reporters on Thursday. “A person under 18, they don’t have the mental capacity to make a life-changing decision.”

Per Texas Tribune:

Authored by New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell, SB 14 would prohibit trans Texans under the age of 18 from accessing transition-related medical treatments including puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries — though surgeries are rarely performed on kids.

The bill would also require trans youth who are already getting this care to be “weaned off” in a “medically appropriate” manner. This is slightly out of step with the abrupt cutoff mandated by the version the Senate approved last month, but the upper chamber has chosen not to ask for a conference committee to iron out the difference.

Other states have passed similar legislation but the laws have been stalled in the courts. The same will likely happen in Texas as the ACLU, Transgender Law Center, and Lambda Legal have already announced plans to sue, citing the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

“These laws are patently unconstitutional,” Paul Castillo, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, told reporters this week. “They interfere with the decisions of families in consultation with their doctors, and certainly no care should be stopped.”

Given the number of these laws being passed, as well as the number of lawsuits challenging them, it’s likely the matter will eventually end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, where things have gotten so chaotic that it’s hard to say which way the high court might rule on it.

Pollsters say the wave of bills targeting transgender healthcare in red states could backfire on Republicans in 2024 the same way the Roe v. Wade debacle backfired on them in 2022.

Things are certainly backfiring on Abbott and his colleagues on Twitter right now. Here’s what folx are saying…

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