Michael Patrick Leahy, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, reacted to Monday’s announcement by the U.S. Supreme Court that it would hear arguments and rule on whether a Tennessee law that bans “gender-affirming care” on minors violates the Constitution.
In March 2023, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB1/HB1 titled, ‘The Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act’ into law, forbidding healthcare providers from performing or administering to underage children medical procedures or treatments for the purposes of enabling the child to identify with the opposite gender.
A legal challenge, L.W. v. Skrmetti, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and legal partners to the law soon followed.
In September 2023, a ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s preliminary injunction in L.W. v. Skrmetti and allowed the law to remain in effect.
The Sixth Circuit Court’s ruling was appealed by the U.S. Department of Justice which argues that the state law is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.
Leahy, on Monday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, said the 14th Amendment is “used and abused” by groups on the left and is not violated by Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors.
“The 14th Amendment – have you ever read it? It’s about 2,000 words in contrast to the one or two sentences of the 2nd Amendment and it’s used and abused by left wing groups all the time,” Leahy said.
“The idea that somehow identifying as transgender gives somebody superior rights is just ridiculous,” Leahy added.
Leahy also commented on the ACLU’s lawsuit on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Memphis-based medical doctor Dr. Susan Lacy.
“Oh, come on. Your 15 year-old daughter is transgender? Give me a break. That’s utterly ridiculous. This is mass psychosis. This is manipulation, cruel manipulation, of children for these bizarre political objectives…As if a teenage kid has a fully formed capability to understand the impact of basically genital mutilation upon them,” Leahy said.
To the plaintiffs’ argument that the Tennessee law is an “attack” on transgender youth, Leahy disputed the entire concept of transgender children.
“Transgender youth is a creation of the left. They’re trying to destroy the family by doing this whole transgender youth thing. It’s an abomination,” Leahy said.
Watch the full segment:
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Michael Patrick Leahy” by The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
