Michigan Attorney General and 19 Others Sign Amicus Brief in Trans Youth Cases

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, D, has become the latest state attorney general to join an amicus brief in cases seeking to overturn laws that ban transgender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee and Kentucky.

“The Tennessee and Kentucky laws serve to further marginalize a community that often feels invisible,” said Nessel in a statement. “These laws shove the state government between minor patients, their parents, and the recommendations of trusted medical specialists their families have chosen to care for them. I proudly stand with my colleagues in opposing these laws that do not comport with the way we should treat our children or our LGBTQ+ community.”

A total of 20 attorneys general have now signed the brief, led by Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The brief outlines arguments for why the laws violate the Equal Protection Clause and are harmful to minors who identify as transgender.

The Kentucky law was briefly blocked before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled at the end of July that it could be enforced while litigation occurs. Earlier in the month, the same court issued the same ruling for the Tennessee law, allowing it to be enforced even as lawsuits challenging its constitutionality go forward.