Judge comes out hard against Florida's bigoted lawmakers in striking down care bans
Bans are "not rationally related to a legitimate state interest" says judge
In what will likely be seen as a win by transgender allies and activists, a Federal judge in Florida has issued an injunction against the law banning Gender Affirming Care for transgender children and teens, which includes puberty blockers, gender affirming surgeries, and hormone replacement therapy. And the best part is that the very animus of those who wrote the laws was used against the defendants.
The 44-page ruling is a scathing indictment against the obvious religious bigotry that Florida lawmakers exhibited in crafting the law. Bigotry such as:
Representative Webster Barnaby said to transgender Florida citizens who spoke at the hearing that they were “mutants living among us on Planet Earth.” He raised his voice and said, “This is Planet Earth, where God created men, male and women, female!” He continued: “The Lord rebuke you Satan and all of your demons and imps that come parade before us. That’s right I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world.” Finally, he said, you can “take him on” but he “promises he will win every time.”
Not so fast, says Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle.
The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset. Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear. The medical defendants, speaking through their attorneys, have admitted it. At least one defense expert also has admitted it. That expert is Dr. Stephen B. Levine, the only defense expert who has actually treated a significant number of transgender patients.
Put up or shut up
Defendants attempted to use expert witnesses who denied the reality of gender dysphoria and were promptly shut down by Judge Hinkle. Defense witnesses claimed gender dysphoria to be a “delusion” or “charade”, and medically proven gender affirming care to be “mutilation”.
Any proponent of the challenged statute and rules should put up or shut up: do you acknowledge that there are individuals with actual gender identities opposite their natal sex, or do you not? Dog whistles ought not be tolerated.
Florida lawmakers also attempted to claim that their laws follow “international consensus for gender affirming care”. The Judge wasn’t having it.
The assertion is false. And no matter how many times the defendants say it, it will still be false. No country in Europe—or so far as shown by this record, anywhere in the world—entirely bans these treatments.
“But but but follow the science” say bigoted lawmakers.
The overwhelming weight of medical authority supports treatment of transgender patients with GnRH agonists and cross-sex hormones in appropriate circumstances. Organizations who have formally recognized this include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College ofObstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, AmericanMedical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and at least a dozen more . . . as shown by this record, not a single reputable medical association has taken a contrary position.
I honestly don’t know what Florida’s lawmakers were thinking, or any of the lawmakers proposing over 450 laws banning gender affirming care across the country, 75 of which of passed. Judge Hinkle clearly shows how lawmakers were allowing their animus against trans people guide their actions, and that is why we have Constitutional rights in this country, which protects gender identity along with sexual orientation and racial background.
Judge Hinkle ruled that Florida SB 254 violates the Equal Protection clause as well as due process for the parents of transgender children. Parents that were thrown under the bus by Republicans, as well as medical professionals treating transgender patients.
Idaho’s laws are next
The ACLU is currently suing the government of Idaho for exactly the same reason, and have filed a lawsuit against the, citing the same kind of bigoted language as expressed by Florida lawmakers in their challenge of Idaho HB 71 which bans gender affirming care and criminalizes the provision of such care by medical professionals. Plaintiffs include a 16 year old girl who would be forced to detransition under this new law.
What this means is that the law is on our side. These gender affirming care bans are blatantly unconstitutional, violate numerous equal protection clauses, and use vile, dehumanizing language in their Biblically-based justifications.
These are the first of many inevitable lawsuits being filed.