A federal judge blocked a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> district attorney from enforcing the state’s law shielding children from sexually explicit performances ahead of a “Pride” event after he was sued by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Civil Liberties Union</a>. 
The judge’s <a href="https://www.wate.com/news/blount-county-news/district-attorney-blocked-from-enforcing-anti-drag-law-ahead-of-pride-event/#:~:text=U.S.%20District%20Judge%20Ronnie%20Greer,ruled%20unconstitutional%20by%20a%20federal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a> comes after the ACLU filed a lawsuit this week against Blount County DA Ryan Desmond, who sent a letter to Blount County Pride saying that any explicit performances in front of children would not be allowed at a “Pride” event on September 2 just south of Knoxville. Video has emerged from “Pride” events across the country of explicit drag performances with children present and looking on. 
“It is certainly possible that the event in question will not violate any of the criminal statutes,” Desmond <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/national/ap-us-news/ap-aclu-sues-tennessee-district-attorney-who-promises-to-enforce-the-states-new-anti-drag-show-ban/?email=84885943124850418dccfffa5f984fb2b1450cf1&amp;emaila=6cb861e5998d3d6a1ce8452947dee058&amp;emailb=78504d1586e2066c8a05f4b619c2e64c552dbc337ec8d9ba2cb59caa7c91ecac&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Curated%20Evening%20Headlines%202023-08-31&amp;utm_content=evening%20headlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “However if sufficient evidence is presented to this office that these referenced criminal statutes have been violated, our office will ethically and justly prosecute these cases in the interest of justice.”
Desmond had a temporary restraining order placed on him by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer meaning that he is blocked from enforcing Tennessee’s Adult Entertainment Act. Also part of the suit was Flamy Grant, who has been <a href="https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/01/federal-judge-blocks-da-and-police-from-interfering-with-blount-pride/70741487007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">portrayed</a> in the media as a “Christian” drag performer. 
The law has previously been blocked before by a federal judge in Memphis, but could be enforced outside of Shelby County. In late June, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee blocked the law after Friends of George’s, a self-described “LGBTQ theatre company” based in Memphis, filed a suit challenging the law.
Blount County Pride, being represented by the ACLU, claims that Desmond’s letter to the “Pride” group was “a naked attempt to chill free speech.” 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1693504018745000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1RMMjCvCBOBYdpkw5O_njE">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“Had Defendant Desmond merely wished to notify the public that he intends to enforce the [law], he could have issued a public statement,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, he sent a letter targeting Blount Pride and the drag artists who are scheduled to perform,” the lawsuit from the ACLU said. 
Tennessee’s law has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/18-state-coalition-legal-group-appeal-ruling-that-deemed-tn-law-shielding-kids-from-sexually-explicit-performances-unconstitutional" target="_blank" rel="noopener">been supported</a> by an 18 state coalition and America First Legal in court, who say that the law is necessary to protect children. 
“Protecting children from obscene and lewd behavior is not a new idea. We need to let kids be kids, and the state has legal authority to ensure their protection,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release.

UK – Culture – Gay and lesbian Pride Parade through central London

Tennessee District Attorney Blocked From Enforcing State Law Shielding Kids From Explicit Performances

ACLU

Courts

Drag Queens

Politics

Social Issues

Tennessee

The far-left <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Civil Liberties Union</a> (ACLU) faced intense backlash on Friday after it defended convicted pedophile and murderer Duane Owen who was executed by the state of Florida.
&#8220;The state of Florida never provided medically necessary gender-affirming care to Duane Owen — causing her enormous suffering,&#8221; the ACLU <a href="https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1669705153316880385" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a>, &#8220;and violating her right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment for the more than 30 years she was in state custody.&#8221;
Owen&#8217;s lawyers tried to get him taken off death row by claiming that he was insane, which the state Supreme Court rejected. They also claimed that he was a delusional schizophrenic and was transgender.
Expert psychiatrists testified that Owen showed no signs of either of the mental illnesses — schizophrenia and gender dysphoria, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-executes-duane-owen-1984-killings-karen-slattery-georgianna-worden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>. The report said that the psychiatrists believed that it was an &#8220;act.&#8221;
Owen was sentenced to death for raping and stabbing a 14-year-old to death and raping a 38-year-old, who he beat to death with a hammer — both in 1984. He also attacked two other women, but they both survived.
The tweet elicited strong reactions online from people who called out the insanity of the matter.
&#8220;If HE had been executed in a timely manner, it wouldn’t have been a problem,&#8221; actor James Woods <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1670083194446839808?cxt=HHwWgIDU5aP0qa0uAAAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;Then the loved ones of HIS murdered victims wouldn’t have been the ones who actually suffered for thirty years.&#8221;
Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey <a href="https://twitter.com/conservmillen/status/1669876760995831810?cxt=HHwWhICx3aKEzKwuAAAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, &#8220;The only injustice in Owen’s case is that it took the state 40 years to execute him.&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-36700">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Gays Against Groomers <a href="https://twitter.com/againstgrmrs/status/1670095190667718656?cxt=HHwWgMCzzcaur60uAAAA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, &#8220;The @ACLU is very upset that a man who raped and murdered a 14 year old girl was never given &#8216;gender affirming care&#8217; in prison before he was executed. This is not parody. Holy f*** these people are monsters.&#8221;
&#8220;The ACLU is working tirelessly to ensure that a delusional echo chamber &#8212; in which the suffering of a male serial rapist and murderer of women denied &#8216;medically necessary gender affirming care&#8217; takes priority over his victims &#8212; encompasses the world and is mandated by law,&#8221; writer Wesley Yang tweeted.
&#8220;Try to imagine the mindset of the person who would read that tweet and bow their head in sorrow, shame, and indignation on behalf of the inhumane treatment of the male rapist and murderer of a mother and her 14-year old daughter denied &#8216;medically necessary gender affirming care,’” Yang added. &#8220;The ACLU fully inhabits that mindset and is sparing no expense to inflict it through the law everywhere in America.&#8221;

Duane Owen

ACLU Slammed For Tweet Defending Pedophile And Murderer Who Was Executed In Florida

Crime

Florida

Murder

U.S.

A federal judge has partially blocked an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/indiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana</a> law meant to protect children from life-altering transgender procedures, temporarily stopping a prohibition on giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors. 
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Judge James Patrick Hanlon <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4054349-federal-judge-blocks-indiana-gender-affirming-health-care-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placed</a> a preliminary injunction Friday on Indiana SB 480 after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-left-wing-legal-groups-backing-trans-procedures-on-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Civil Liberties Union sued</a> on behalf of several parents who claimed the law was unconstitutional. The injunction does not block the law&#8217;s prohibition on surgeries like double mastectomies for girls who identify as boys or genital surgeries. 
Indiana officials have promised to fight for the law, which was signed earlier this year and set to go into effect on July 1. 
“The Court openly acknowledges evidence showing the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers and hormone therapy are uncertain and unsettled,” a spokesperson for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told The Hill. “It also recognizes that the State has shown there are good reasons for regulating gender transition procedures for minors.”
“So, our office will continue to defend the democratically passed laws of the Indiana General Assembly, and we will continue to fight for the children,” the spokesperson said, adding that the federal ruling wouldn’t be the “end of the story.” 
Indiana is one of the 20 states that has moved to protect children from life-altering transgender procedures in the last several years. Indiana’s law was challenged by the ACLU just hours after it was signed by Republican Governor Eric Holcomb, which filed similar lawsuits in other states. 
Ken Faulk, the ACLU of Indiana’s legal director, celebrated the preliminary injunction. 
“Today’s victory is a testament to the trans youth of Indiana, their families, and their allies, who never gave up the fight to protect access to gender-affirming care and who will continue to defend the right of all trans people to be their authentic selves, free from discrimination,” Faulk <a href="https://www.aclu-in.org/en/press-releases/federal-court-blocks-indiana-ban-gender-affirming-care-trans-youth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We won’t rest until this unconstitutional law is struck down for good.” 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1686769858594000&amp;usg=AOvVaw29MU9w81PAp3j3uHg4Fp5m">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Those in support of transgender procedures on children have pursued an aggressive court strategy, with state laws shielding children from the procedures being blocked in several states including Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida. 
In Florida, Judge Robert Hinkle issued a ruling against Florida’s ban on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones that was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-florida-ban-on-prescribing-puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-to-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">steeped in activist language</a>. 
“The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset,” he wrote in a 44-page ruling. “Gender identity is real. The record makes this clear.”
President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has weighed in as well, suing the state of Tennessee over its ban on transgender procedures.

President Biden Meets With Business Leaders & Governors On American Manufacturing & Supply Chains

Federal Judge Blocks Indiana Law Protecting Children From Life-Altering Transgender Procedures

Indiana

transgender surgery

Republican Missouri Governor Mike Parson <a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-missouri-republican-govenrnor-sports-d0d3ef01544dc7c22592d8ca2464138b?taid=6480bd9fd4faf0000139a7db&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> two bills Wednesday that will ban transgender treatments for minors and prevent men from competing in women’s sports.
SB 49, known as the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, will ban puberty blockers, hormones, and sex change surgeries from being prescribed to minors and prohibit Medicaid from covering transgender treatments for adults.  
The Republican governor released a <a href="https://governor.mo.gov/press-releases/archive/governor-parson-signs-legislation-protect-missouri-children-and-female" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> saying the bill will “protect Missouri children from harmful, irreversible treatments and procedures. These decisions have permanent consequences for life and should not be made by impressionable children who may be in crisis or influenced by the political persuasions of others.”
Missouri Republicans in the state House and Senate often disagreed on how far the restrictions in the SAFE Act should go, with each chamber passing its own version of the bill. Ultimately, the House adopted the Senate’s version, which allows minors who are already receiving treatment to continue to do so. The SAFE Act is set to expire in 2027 as part of a Republican compromise with state Senate Democrats.
The Act’s passage comes a day after a federal judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-florida-ban-on-prescribing-puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-to-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted</a> a preliminary injunction against a similar Florida law to allow three minors already undergoing transgender treatments to continue receiving them. 
The other piece of legislation signed by Parson, SB 39, will strip all state funding from any public or private school that allows biological men to play in women’s sports.  The law applies to all schools from kindergarten through college.
“Women and girls deserve and have fought for an equal opportunity to succeed, and with this legislation today, we stand up to the nonsense and stand with them as they take back their sport competitions,” Parson said. “In Missouri, we support real fairness, not injustice disguised as social righteousness.”
The ACLU of Missouri said it would “explore all options to fight these bans and to expand the rights of trans Missourians.” 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685885459858000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AFvCLn4CIt7S8nPLjhrIg">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a> 
In anticipation of the SAFE Act’s passage, Planned Parenthood’s clinics in Missouri have been ramping up appointments and holding pop-up clinics so more patients can initiate treatment before the law takes effect.
“We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all patients are supported, seen, and cared for,” said Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, in a statement. “Any patient wanting to continue their gender-affirming care in a state that welcomes people of all identities: our Fairview Heights, Illinois, health center is open to you and we are here to help you make plans to get care.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson Holds Press Conference On Planned Parenthood License

Missouri Governor Signs Bills Banning Transgender Treatments For Minors, Protecting Women’s Sports

Missouri Governor Signs Bills Banning Transgender Treatments For Minors, Protecting Women's Sports

Missouri

Planned Parenthood

Transgender

Women's sports

The grassroots pushback against Target that sprang up at the beginning of the Left’s revered holiday of pride month is the result of an awakening in the everyday American. Parents and grandparents are rightfully realizing that the progressive left’s number one goal is targeting our children.
But while everyone is focused on the slick marketing of pride month and the grotesque drag shows performed in front of young audiences there is a larger threat that the Left is engaged in — weaponizing state law against parents.
Our nation and its success is founded firmly on the belief that states are best suited to stop the federal government from intruding upon our individual freedoms. States are in a unique position to challenge overreach when it occurs and to stop unwanted outside influences, from both government and non-government entities.
The unique power that rests within our states can be an unmatched force for good, but left in the wrong hands, it can become a force for evil. Nowhere is that more evident than in the state of Ohio, where radical Left-wing groups are currently attempting to hijack the state constitution and foist an extreme anti-parent agenda upon Ohio families. These groups have cleverly disguised their war on parents as a ballot measure focused on “reproductive freedom.” 
The measure would amend the Ohio constitution with language that starts with the assertion that “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.” The ensuing vagueness and broad strokes of the full amendment’s text all but guarantees it would be used to strip parents of the right to be notified if their child is seeking an abortion or even sex-change surgery.
As Washington Post columnist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/31/post-roe-abortion-laws-south-carolina-ohio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathleen Parker</a> notes, the language in the ACLU’s proposed amendment “could be extrapolated to protect access to all sorts of medical interventions, including sex-change surgery or sterilization, and not just for adults.”
Groups that have long fought to dismantle parental rights, including the ACLU, United for Reproductive &amp; Gender Equity (URGE), and their out-of-state allies, are leading this charge in Ohio. And if we don’t stop it now, they will bring the same fight to a state near you next.
The ACLU has fashioned itself as the legal attack arm for the anti-parent movement. This movement and its allies believe your children belong to the state, teachers, school counselors — everyone but you.
With the ACLU leading its charge, the anti-parent movement has spent years challenging <a href="https://protectwomenohio.com/2023/03/aclu-admits-anti-parent-ballot-initiative-puts-parental-rights-on-the-line-in-ohio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parental consent and notification laws</a> that apply to minors seeking an abortion, fighting against <a href="https://www.acluohio.org/en/news/opposition-proposed-state-board-education-resolution-support-parents-schools-and-districts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parents who want to be involved</a> in questions about gender or sexuality that their children might be grappling with, and even overturning curriculum transparency laws that give parents greater insight into what information their children are absorbing in classrooms.
The ACLU’s full-throated endorsement of the so-called “reproductive freedom” amendment in Ohio is a logical next step in their quest to dismantle parental rights. After attacking parents in the courtroom and classroom, they’re now using the Ohio constitution to cut parents out of any number of life-altering decisions involving their children.
The ACLU’s partner in crime, <a href="https://protectwomenohio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/URGE_-_Backgrounder.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">URGE</a>, has an equally lengthy rap sheet when it comes to undercutting parental rights. For years, the group has publicly <a href="https://twitter.com/URGE_org/status/1284188869634723842">proclaimed</a> that “parental involvement laws are unethical and must be abolished” <a href="https://twitter.com/URGE_org/status/1155995971798462466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and</a> that “we need policies that get rid of parental involvement laws…” URGE, a member of the Ohio coalition promoting the amendment, is heavily backed by a coterie of well-established progressive institutions, including the New Venture Fund, the Packard Foundation, Planned Parenthood, and many others.
Left-wing groups and politicians remain sickeningly aligned in their war against parents, with support coming from the very top. At the same time the ACLU and URGE are pushing anti-parent policies in states like Ohio, the Biden Administration is unapologetically advancing its own anti-parent agenda. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/critics-shred-biden-claiming-our-nations-children-are-all-our-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Biden</a> has said that “there is no such thing as someone else’s child,” a sentiment echoed by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/kamala-harris-catches-flak-saying-students-are-our-children-late-night-talk-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vice President Harris</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/karine-jean-pierre-slams-bans-trans-treatment-minors-kids-belong-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre</a>.
We must stop this madness. Guiding a child’s life and helping them make decisions that are in their best interest are responsibilities that belong to parents, not the government.
What is happening in Ohio is a harbinger of what extremist, anti-parent groups will do across the country if we don’t band together to stop them now. A group of pro-family, pro-parent leaders have already formed <a href="https://protectwomenohio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Protect Women Ohio</a>, a coalition to stop the anti-parent movement in Ohio. The group launched a $5 million ad campaign featuring <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTAVESDkxQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio parents and their real concerns</a> about being cut out of their child’s life if this amendment passes.
Every parent in the country — every American for that matter — would be well-served to tune in to what is happening in Ohio. There, we have an opportunity to send a clear message to these extremist groups: that families are the backbone of our society, and our responsibility is to protect them, not elevate government bureaucrats and progressive activists over parents.
Mark Meckler is president of Convention of States.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Ohio Statehouse

The ACLU’s Campaign To Remove Parental Notification Rights By Amending Ohio’s Constitution

The ACLU's Campaign To Remove Parental Notification Rights By Amending Ohio’s Constitution

Abortion

Ohio

Readers Pass

Lawyers for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Civil Liberties Union</a> (ACLU) wrote a letter raising concerns about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a>’s raid of the homes of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/project-veritas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project Veritas</a> employees in connection to a diary that was reportedly stolen from President Joe Biden’s daughter. 
The letter, penned by ACLU attorneys Brian Hauss and Brett Kaufman, was written on behalf of the ACLU, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. It urges a judge presiding over a federal case on the FBI raids to consider the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/first-amendment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">First Amendment</a> rights of reporters in his ruling. 
The organizations “write in support of neither party to urge the Court to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess expressive materials on matters of public concern, even if those materials were unlawfully obtained by a third party,” the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.569823/gov.uscourts.nysd.569823.140.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter begins</a>. 
The authors argue that journalists should have the right to receive, possess, and publish materials that were stolen by another party.
“But, amici respectfully submit, the Court should affirm that the First Amendment necessarily protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess, as well as publish, documents, like the diary, that touch on matters of public concern and that were previously stolen by a third party,” the letter says. 
“Opening the door for criminalization of journalists’ receipt or possession of expressive materials would result in censorious prosecutions under existing law and inspire legislators to conjure up disastrous new ways to thwart journalists seeking to expose malfeasance. Amici urge this Court to affirm that the First Amendment protects a reporter’s right to receive and possess documents on matters of public concern that were unlawfully obtained or disclosed by a third party,” the letter concludes.
The letter references a case before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61377333/in-re-search-warrant-dated-november-5-2021/?filed_after=&amp;filed_before=&amp;entry_gte=&amp;entry_lte=&amp;order_by=desc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involving</a> the FBI raid of the homes of Project Veritas employees, including then-head <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-okeefe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James O’Keefe</a>, in November 2021. 
Project Veritas had reportedly obtained a copy of a diary belonging to Ashley Biden but had decided not to publish it, instead handing it over to authorities. Other outlets later covered aspects of the diary, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10929171/Tucker-Carlson-blasts-Joe-Biden-setting-FBI-woman-sold-Ashley-Bidens-diary.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> the Daily Mail. 
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
O’Keefe, who was ousted from his role at Project Veritas earlier this year, praised the ACLU for writing the letter. 
“We are going to continue for the First Amendment,” O’Keefe said in a video response. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: ACLU Letter to federal court SIDES with our journalism in the Biden Diary case following the FBI raid of myself, reporters Eric Cochran and Spencer Meads’ home. ACLU cites “undisputed” facts. 
“Amici urge this Court to affirm that the First Amendment protects a… <a href="https://t.co/OsicPu6xmd">pic.twitter.com/OsicPu6xmd</a>
&mdash; O’Keefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/OKeefeMedia/status/1665881421007970306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In August 2022, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-plead-guilty-in-theft-of-biden-daughters-diary-which-contained-disturbing-entries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a man and a woman pleaded guilty</a> to selling the stolen diary, a proceeding that appeared to verify the authenticity of the journal, which reportedly contained disturbing passages.
Aimee Harris, 40, and Robert Kurlander, 58, told a federal judge in New York that they conspired to transport the diary from Florida to New York, selling it for $40,000 to Project Veritas just before the 2020 presidential election.

DALLAS, TX – NOVEMBER 29: James OKeefe, founder of Project Veri

ACLU Raises First Amendment Concerns In Project Veritas-Ashley Biden Diary Case

First Amendment

James O'Keefe

Project Veritas

As red states have moved to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-states-with-restrictions-on-medical-child-sex-changes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shield children</a> from life-altering transgender procedures, several leftist legal groups have been working to block new laws protecting gender-confused young people from surgical and hormonal interventions.
Two of the most prominent groups leading the charge against the laws, the ACLU and Lambda Legal have ties to liberal foundations and are backed by powerful corporations, meaning that red state laws are facing the full power of Left-wing legal action.
Together Lambda, the ACLU, or Lambda and an ACLU affiliate, have challenged bans on child sex changes in states including <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/newsroom/walker_al_20220411_families-sue-over-felony-ban-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-adolescents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama</a>, <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/brandt-et-al-v-rutledge-et-al" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://www.losangelesblade.com/2023/05/02/aclu-lambda-legal-sue-oklahoma-over-trans-healthcare-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3936335-aclu-sues-indiana-over-law-banning-transgender-care-for-youth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana</a>, and <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/newsroom/tn_20230420_lgbtq-advocates-sue-tennessee-to-block-dangerous-transgender-healthcare-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a>. 
Additionally, ACLU affiliates have promised to sue over similar laws in <a href="https://capitol-beat.org/2023/03/fight-over-medical-care-for-transgender-youth-moves-from-gold-dome-to-court/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a>, <a href="https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/law-justice/2023-04-05/aclu-of-idaho-says-it-will-sue-to-halt-transgender-healthcare-ban#:~:text=The%20ACLU%20of%20Idaho%20said,in%20a%20statement%20released%20Wednesday." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Idaho</a>, <a href="https://www.wdrb.com/news/aclu-of-kentucky-plans-lawsuit-over-new-law-banning-gender-transition-for-those-under-18/article_309a6fe0-d313-11ed-a557-4fbb76b4dc71.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kentucky</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/montana-genderaffirming-care-trans-minors-b48aae69e2d46e7d59cab62a3ac72bc6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Montana</a>, <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2023/1/30/23578529/transgender-gender-affirming-care-surgeries-lawsuit-aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utah</a>.
<h2>Lambda Legal</h2>
Lambda Legal, which was founded in 1973, <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/staff-board/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> its mission as working “to change laws, policies, and minds so that LGBTQ+ Americans and everyone living with HIV can live with full equality.”
Its current CEO is Kevin Jennings, who worked in the Obama administration as assistant secretary of education, and has been associated with several LGBT groups in the past. 
His leadership of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) brought controversy in 2000 after a Boston chapter of the network <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/mass-ed-dept-criticized-for-taped-session-on-gay-sex/2000/05" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosted talks</a> like “Ask the Transsexuals” and “What They Didn’t Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class,” which contained graphic descriptions of sex. 
“This was a politically motivated witch hunt,” Jennings said at the time. “This one workshop is being seen as typical and that is not the case.”
Also on the executive team is Marco Chan, who is the chief of planning and program management. Chan has previously worked as a consultant for the World Bank and worked as a policy adviser for a variety of positions in the Canadian government, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwtchan/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to his LinkedIn page. 
Another member of the executive team, Jennifer Pizer, was instrumental in overturning state laws that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. She <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/staff-board/jennifer-c-pizer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also</a> “co-authored a series of friend-of-the-court briefs explaining the threats to LGBT people of the religious challenges by Hobby Lobby.” 
Jim Ferg-Cadima, the <a href="https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.20201.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">child</a> of an illegal immigrant and deputy legal director for the group, was also an Obama administration alumni. He <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jferg-cadima2023/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked</a> as the acting deputy assistant for policy for the Education Department before he became the chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission by far-Left Governor J.B. Pritzker. 
Other management team members also have ties to Left-wing activism including <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/staff-board/kristine-kippins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristine Kippins</a> (tied to the radical pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights), <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/staff-board/michael-shutt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Schutt</a> (starting LGBT and other diversity groups at Emory University and the University of Georgia), and <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/staff-board/camilla-taylor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Camilla B. Taylor</a> (working to strike down state laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman). 
Lambda Legal also receives backing from major <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/sponsors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corporate sponsors</a>, including banking giant JPMorgan &amp; Chase, international law firm Kirkland &amp; Ellis, Mastercard, Paycom, The Financial Times, Comcast NBCUniversal, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Ron Klain-linked law firm O’Melveny, Clinton-linked law firm Perkins Coie, alcohol company Southern Glazer, and Toyota.
Though most of its donors are not publicly known, it appears  several Left-leaning organizations, including George Soros’ Open Society Foundation have backed Lambda. 
The Open Society Foundation has consistently given six-figure grants to the group, beginning in 2016, the most <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=lambda+legal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent</a> being a$125,000 donation in 2021. 
Lambda has also been the beneficiary of large donations from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, most recently <a href="https://www.haasjr.org/grants/search/all/2018/2023/any/any/Lambda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">receiving</a> $20,000 from the group in 2021 and generous donations from the <a href="https://www.overbrook.org/advancing-reproductive-and-gender-rights-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Overbrook Foundation</a> through its “Advancing Reproductive and Gender Rights” program. 
<h2>ACLU</h2>
Though no surprise, the other legal group leading the charge against bans on transgender procedures is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its state level affiliates. Founded in 1920, the ACLU <a href="https://www.aclu.org/about/aclu-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> that its purpose is to fight “government abuse and to vigorously defend individual freedoms including speech and religion, a woman’s right to choose, the right to due process, citizens’ rights to privacy.”
Well known cases brought by the ACLU include the 1925 Scopes trial which centered on the teaching of evolution in the classroom, Supreme Court cases in the early 2000s where the ACLU challenged restrictions on pornography, and cases of all sorts challenging religious actions at public schools. 
The organization has a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/report/aclu-2022-annual-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">massive budget</a>, with total net assets reaching well over $600 million in fiscal year 2022. The ACLU and its affiliates have also received the backing of large foundations like the Ford Foundation which gave a <a href="https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?q=%22American%20Civil%20Liberties%20Union%20Foundation%20(ACLUF)%22&amp;p=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hefty $2,400,000 donation</a> this past April. At the state level, the Tawani Foundation — the foundation for the mega-wealthy Pritzker family — <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> the ACLU-TN $164,205 for the purpose of “legal work in TN to advance and defend justice for transgender individuals.”
The arguments from the ACLU generally say that the bans on trans surgeries for kids violate the constitutional rights of the students, arguing they are being denied equal treatment under the law.
“Politicians have no right to put themselves between patients and their doctors, and this law threatens the future of thousands of trans youth across the state,” <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/montana-health-care-providers-and-families-challenge-law-banning-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-youth">said</a> ACLU staff attorney Malita Picasso, referencing a recent lawsuit filed in Montana with the assistance of attorney from the ACLU, the ACLU of Montana, Lambda Legal, and Perkins Coie. 
The judicial approach has worked in two states so far, with judges blocking bans on trans procedures for minors in both Alabama and Arkansas.
It remains to be seen how this approach will play out, especially with Biden’s Department of Justice filing suit against Tennessee on similar grounds. But like many issues in the past, from abortion to guns, the final call may go to the Supreme Court.

transgender flag blowing

Here Are The Left-Wing Legal Groups Backing Trans Procedures On Kids

finance

George Soros

J.B. Pritzker

Leftists

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pentagon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pentagon</a> worked closely with experts on facial recognition technology that could be used to identify people on footage captured from street cameras or drones.
New information about the government’s research was revealed in a trove of thousands of documents released as part of an open records lawsuit filed by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Civil Liberties Union</a> (ACLU) against the FBI, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/07/facial-recognition-fbi-dod-research-aclu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>. The facial recognition technology sought would significantly boost the government’s surveillance capabilities.
The program was underwritten by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA), part of the U.S. Intelligence Community. An IARPA program manager described the goal of the project in 2019 as to “dramatically improve” U.S. facial recognition tools with “scaling to support millions of subjects.”
The FBI is “committed to responsible use of facial recognition technology ensuring it appropriately respects individuals’ privacy and civil liberties,” the bureau told the Post in a statement. The Department of Defense did not immediately return The Daily Wire’s request for comment.
The research into facial recognition technology has alarmed some on Capitol Hill. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced legislation on Tuesday that would prohibit the government from using facial recognition technology and other biotech tools, according to <a href="https://www.nextgov.com/technology-news/2023/03/lawmakers-intro-bill-ban-government-use-facial-recognition/383691/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nextgov</a>.
“The year is 2023, but we are living through 1984. The continued proliferation of surveillance tools like facial recognition technologies in our society is deeply disturbing,” Markey said in a statement. “Biometric data collection poses serious risks of privacy invasion and discrimination, and Americans know they should not have to forgo personal privacy for safety. As we work to make our country more equitable, we cannot ignore the technologies that stand in the way of progress and perpetuate injustice.”
Concerns over government use of facial recognition technology are bipartisan. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio <a href="https://fox59.com/news/republicans-and-democrats-concerned-about-facial-recognition-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2021 that law enforcement could be risking civil rights violations by utilizing the technology.
“There are serious first amendment, fourth amendment concerns about the use of FRT by law enforcement,” Jordan said.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
The ACLU <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/31/aclu-sues-fbi-doj-over-facial-recognition-technology-criticizing-unprecedented-surveillance-secrecy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> the FBI over the research into facial recognition technology in 2019.
“These technologies have the potential to enable undetectable, persistent, and suspicionless surveillance on an unprecedented scale,” ACLU attorneys wrote at the time. “Such surveillance would permit the government to pervasively track people’s movements and associations in ways that threaten core constitutional values.”

Surveillance camera

FBI, Pentagon Researched Facial Recognition Tech To Handle ‘Millions Of Subjects,’ Documents Say

Facial Recognition

Pentagon

Technology

Washington D.C.

As a bill to ban sex-change procedures for minors makes its way through the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tennessee</a> legislature, leftist groups in the state have promised legal action to stop the enforcement of the proposed law, which protects children from life-altering and irreversible procedures. 
Gender activists have used a similar playbook in other states, with judges blocking laws protecting children in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arkansas</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama</a>. Now with laws working through the Tennessee legislature to ban gender procedures on children (HB/SB 1), children’s exposure to explicit performances (HB 9/SB 3), and not allowing state dollars to fund gender surgeries through TennCare (HB 1215/SB 1339), leftists groups like the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACLU</a> of TN and Lambda Legal are already planning legal action. 
The efforts of groups like the ACLU-TN are in part funded by the world’s first transgender billionaire, Jennifer Pritzker (born James), an Illinois-based investor whose family has been <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/billionaire-family-pushing-synthetic-sex-identities-ssi-pritzkers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">known</a> to financially back the transgender movement <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/08/trans-activisms-long-march-through-our-institutions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through</a> American academic, legal, and medical institutions.
Although Pritzker has not appeared to publicly come out against the recent crop of gender-related legislation, the billionaire has backed groups opposing the law and threatened monetary retribution in the past if Tennessee moved forward with legislation deemed not “inclusive.” 
Why does a native Chicagoan have such a dog in the fight in Tennessee? Largely for two reasons. Pritzker has lived in Clarksville, Tennessee, and the state is home to the Pritzker family trust, something which the billionaire cousin of Illinois Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/j-b-pritzker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.B. Pritzker</a> (D-IL) has <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2021/04/12/lgbt-chamber-pritzker-conventions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> could be moved.
Perhaps the clearest link between Pritzker and the transgender movement in Tennessee is the billionaire’s support of the ACLU-TN, with six-figure donations coming in both 2021 and 2022 from Pritzker’s Tawani Foundation.
The first came in July 2021 when Pritzker announced a $101,000 donation through the Tawani Foundation to the ACLU of Tennessee to “fight Tennessee’s anti-transgender laws in court.” 
“Anti-LGBTQ laws harm the economic well-being of the state, while respect for diversity and inclusion attract our nation’s best and brightest,” Pritzker <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/07/20/2266015/0/en/Col-Jennifer-Pritzker-Announces-Six-Figure-Donation-to-ACLU-to-Help-Fight-Anti-Trans-Laws.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a>. “I stand ready to continue the good fight as necessary, including conferring directly with Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee Legislature to find truly humane and just solutions to the issues raised by transgender equality.”
This donation followed Pritzker <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2021/04/12/lgbt-chamber-pritzker-conventions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that the state was not being “inclusive” and threatening to pull the private family trust from the state, assets which former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam had reportedly worked hard to bring to the state. This came as Tennessee pursued a law that would prevent males from competing in women’s sports if they identified as female. 
Despite the threats, Lee still signed a series of Republican-backed transgender bills in May 2021 and the spring of 2022, and Pritzker <a href="https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=96150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> $4,300 to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-lee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lee</a>’s re-election campaign. 
However, Pritzker has continued to back the ACLU-TN for legal and educational purposes in the Volunteer State. In 2022, the Tawani Foundation <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gave</a> the group $164,205 for the purpose of “legal work in TN to advance and defend justice for transgender individuals.”
The Daily Wire Wire reached out to the Tawani Foundation for further clarity on how money is dispersed to the ACLU-TN, but at least part of it <a href="https://www.aclu-tn.org/transcend-tennessee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">goes toward</a> the group’s TRANScend Tennessee’s “educational initiatives.” 
“The TRANScend Tennessee program leverages public education, community outreach and support, and political engagement to help change the overall narrative about trans people in Tennessee from a negative, distanced one to a positive, empathetic one,” the program’s website says. 
A stated purpose of the program is to prevent “anti-trans legislation and rhetoric” from becoming part of public policy in Tennessee. The group has also <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/advocates-promise-legal-action-in-defense-of-transgender-youth-in-tennessee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> to take “immediate legal action against proposed restrictions on their health care currently being considered by the state legislature.”
On February 13, ACLU-TN staff attorney Lucas Cameron-Vaugn claimed that gender procedures on children were “necessary” and “effective.”
“Politicians are risking the lives of young people by forcing their way into family decision-making, a fundamental right which has traditionally been protected against government intrusion. Gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth is safe, effective, and necessary care. ACLU-TN stands ready to defend the freedom of families to make these decisions for their children. Should this dangerous legislation pass, we will see the state in court,” Cameron-Vaugn claimed. 
Interestingly, the Tawani Foundation also designated $75,000 in 2022 to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/">grant</a> which was categorized as coming under the “gender and human sexuality” category. 
Vanderbilt’s gender clinic has come under fire for performing mastectomies on teenage girls and providing so-called hormone therapy to children. The Daily Wire has reached out to the Tawani Foundation for further details on the grant but has not yet heard back. 
Other beneficiaries of the Tawani Foundation in 2022 include $12,500 for <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Athlete Ally&#8217;s</a> “transgender athlete research project,” $25,000 for trans and “non-binary” <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">youth camps</a>, two grants totaling $100,000 for the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (a group that has <a href="https://twitter.com/tldef/status/1395489323911426053" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeled</a> the actions of Gov. Lee “dangerous”), and $15,000 to the <a href="https://www.tawanifoundation.org/our-grants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kinsey Institute/IU Foundation</a>. 
Pritzker has also been a player in state politics, donating to the campaigns of a number of Tennessee state Democrats and Republicans in recent years, including Democratic State Rep. <a href="https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=108208" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caleb Hemmer</a> whose <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/matt-walsh-testifies-in-favor-of-tennessee-bill-banning-child-gender-mutilation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back and forth</a> with Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt Walsh</a> at a hearing over HB 1 went viral. Other Democrats who questioned Walsh who have been on the receiving end of financial support from Pritzker are Rep. <a href="https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=96558" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Ray Clemmons</a> (who received $1,600 in 2021) and Rep. <a href="https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=97317" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bo Mitchell</a> (who also received $1,600 in 2021). 
In recent years, Pritzker has also <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=Jennifer+pritzker&amp;order=desc&amp;page=1&amp;sort=D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">given</a> to Rep Mike Stewart (Democrat), Rep. Brenda Gilmore (Democrat), Sen. Page Walley (Republican), former Rep. Eddie Mannis (a Republican who was <a href="https://wpln.org/post/tennessees-only-openly-gay-lawmaker-speaks-out-against-ban-on-transgender-athletes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">critical</a> of the trans sports bill), former Rep. Jason Potts (Democrat), Sen. Heidi Campbell (Democrat), Sen. Sara Kyle (Democrat), and Rep. Jason Hodges (Democrat). 
Pritzker’s funding for various trans initiatives, not only in Tennessee, but also around the country, shows how money can be used to push the ideology that has spread throughout the country, in places from ruby-red Tennessee to deep-blue California, so quickly. 
Pritzker’s previous threats to pull the family trust out of the state are also indicative of the role that big business can have in attempting to intimidate conservative states from backing down on legislation (the Tennessee Pride Chamber of Commerce <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthernEqual/status/1622689872833118208" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> a protest against the Republican-backed bills this month). 
Many Republicans in the state appear to be unfazed by potential pressure coming from business and legal groups. Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth, who sponsored HB 1, told The Daily Wire that his ban on “sexual mutilation” was common sense and should be supported across the political spectrum.
&#8220;An overwhelming majority of Tennesseans agree that children should be protected from sexual mutilation and adult performances with sexual content. This should not be a partisan issue,” Lamberth said in a statement to The Daily Wire.
Lamberth added that he is confident that Tennessee, where many companies have <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/more-california-headquarters-choosing-to-move-to-tennessee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> in recent years, will continue to retain its reputation for being a strong business state. 
“Tennessee is a strong pro-business and pro-family state. Conservative ideas put into action over the past decade have helped our people, our businesses, and our economy thrive,” he said. “New businesses and families are flooding to our state because they know we offer better opportunities, lower taxes, and a great quality of life. I have absolutely no concerns about that trend slowing down as a result of legislation we pass in the General Assembly.”
Still, Lamberth’s bill will likely need to survive court challenges if it becomes law. And where the court battle goes is anybody’s guess.

Surgical lamps in operation room

Big Money: How The World’s First Trans Billionaire Could Impact Tennessee’s Fight To Protect Children

Big Money: How The World's First Trans Billionaire Could Impact Tennessee’s Fight To Protect Children

Chicago

A hospital in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/memphis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis</a>, Tennessee, is being threatened by the American Civil Liberties Union (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACLU</a>) with a possible complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights unless it performs transgender surgeries.
The warning comes as Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare paused the surgery planned for 19-year-old Chris Evans, whom the ACLU claims is suffering from gender dysphoria.
“In recent weeks, some care providers voiced questions about patients receiving gender affirming procedures at a facility affiliated with our health system,” said Rachel Powers, a spokeswoman for the hospital. “This resulted in a temporary pause to review current practices.”
The ACLU claims that this pause could be a violation of federal law.
“Ending medically necessary healthcare for one particular group of people based on sex, whether by formal written policy or simply in practice, is discrimination and violates federal law,” ACLU attorney Lucas Cameron-Vaughn <a href="https://www.wfmj.com/story/47865620/memphis-hospital-halt-to-trans-procedures-is-temporary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “We will evaluate whether we need to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights once we have a response from the hospital.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
Transgender procedures have been a focus of Tennessee lawmakers for the upcoming legislative session after Daily Wire host Matt Walsh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-unthinkable-matt-walsh-discusses-shocking-revelation-about-vanderbilt-university-medical-center-with-tucker-carlson?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=mattwalsh">publicized the fact</a> that certain transgender procedures had been done on minors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). After Walsh&#8217;s report, Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) called for an investigation of the Pediatric Transgender Clinic at VUMC.
“We should not allow permanent, life-altering decisions that hurt children or policies that suppress religious liberties, all for the purpose of financial gain,” Lee&#8217;s office <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gov-bill-lee-calls-for-investigation-of-vanderbilts-pediatric-transgender-clinic-following-matt-walsh-bombshell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We have to protect Tennessee children, and this warrants a thorough investigation.”
At the time, Walsh appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson to discuss the revelations.
&#8220;We know for a fact, this is an absolute fact, that Vanderbilt, they perform double mastectomies on minor girls, on children; they chemically castrate children, and they give them irreversible hormone drugs that change their bodies permanently. They’re doing all of that to kids,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MattWalshBlog</a> on Tucker after exposing Vanderbilt&#39;s abuse of children: &quot;They perform double mastectomies on minor girls. They chemically castrate children. That&#39;s happening all across the country in every single state.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/WV9RgTzcjR">pic.twitter.com/WV9RgTzcjR</a>
&mdash; American Firebrand (@AmFirebrand) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmFirebrand/status/1572744018819416064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In November, Tennessee Majority Leaders William Lamberth and Jack Johnson, both Republicans, introduced the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act, which would effectively bar doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and performing gender-related surgeries on minors for the purpose of medical transition.
“This bill is about protecting children,” said Johnson. “Under no circumstances should minors be allowed to undergo irreversible elective procedures to mutilate body parts and intentionally harm their reproductive systems. This practice comes with lifelong health complications that children are not capable of understanding.”

Hands of operating room staff performing surgery

ACLU Threatens Hospital If It Doesn’t Perform Transgender Surgeries

ACLU Threatens Hospital If It Doesn't Perform Transgender Surgeries

South Carolina&#8217;s Republican governor has asked a federal court to protect the state&#8217;s right to partner with faith-based foster care groups to provide homes for children in need.
Gov. Henry McMaster sent a letter following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the governor seeking to penalize the state&#8217;s work with religious foster agencies.
“Over 3,500 of South Carolina’s children are currently in foster care and we need all the help we can get to see that they are placed in loving homes,” McMaster said in the <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20221118155059/2022-11-17-Defs-MSJ.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>.
“This lawsuit is a shortsighted attack against every South Carolinian’s constitutionally-protected religious liberty. We will continue to fight against any attempt to stop our private partners from being able to help provide these critical services simply because they choose to do so in accordance with their faith,” he added.
South Carolina’s Department of Social Services works directly with families seeking to foster and adopt children in crisis. McMaster issued an executive order in 2018 to protect the religious freedom of foster agencies, including Miracle Hill Ministries, which chooses to partner with families that share its Christian faith.
Becket Law, the legal group representing Miracle Hill&#8217;s 80-year tradition of recruiting and serving families, <a href="https://www.becketlaw.org/media/south-carolina-fights-back-against-aclu-attempt-to-shutter-faith-based-foster-agencies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> the ACLU used social media to recruit individuals who did not share Miracle Hill’s faith to apply to foster with the agency. The ACLU sued South Carolina and the federal government, alleging that allowing Miracle Hill to serve foster families violated the law. 
“Faith-based agencies are effective at placing children in loving homes, and the Supreme Court unanimously protected their rights,” said Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “This attempt to shutter faith-based agencies means fewer choices for foster parents and fewer homes for kids. South Carolina decided it could do better, and it shouldn’t be hauled into court for doing the right thing.”
Becket noted in a statement that the Supreme Court recently affirmed in <a href="https://www.becketlaw.org/case/sharonell-fulton-et-al-v-city-philadelphia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fulton v. Philadelphia</a> to protect Catholic Social Services’ right to stick to its religious beliefs and continue serving foster children in Philadelphia. South Carolina licenses many private agencies seeking to help children in need while also protecting the religious freedom of the people of South Carolina. 
Miles Coleman, a partner at Nelson Coleman, also joined in the statement from Becket.
&#8220;South Carolina’s efforts to protect all avenues of foster care should be applauded, not forced into a courtroom,” Coleman said. “Too many places around the country have shuttered religious foster care agencies, making it harder to find children a home. South Carolina is doing all it can to prevent that.” 
The controversy involving Miracle Hill has been the focus of legal conflict since 2018. Four years ago, the ministry was criticized for refusing to work with LGBTQ volunteers while still receiving state funding.
The lawsuit from the ACLU was first launched in 2019 in Rogers v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al.

Henry McMaster

South Carolina’s Governor Fights As ACLU Targets Faith-Based Foster Agencies

South Carolina’s Governor Fights Against ACLU’s Attempt To Shut Down Faith-Based Foster Agencies

Children

South Carolina

The American Civil Liberties Union (<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">ACLU</a>) filed a motion on Wednesday that urges <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">election</a> officials in <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Pennsylvania</a> to count <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mail-in-voting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mail-in-voting" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">mail-in ballots</a> missing a handwritten date on the envelope.
The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that mail-in ballots without the required date on the return envelope should be counted. However, after the Supreme Court vacated the decision, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman issued a <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/state-details.aspx?newsid=536" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/state-details.aspx?newsid=536" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">statement</a> claiming that the opinion was “not based on the merits of the issue and does not affect the prior decision.&#8221;
The ACLU is therefore seeking to intervene in Ball v. Chapman, a lawsuit pushing for election officials to refrain from counting ballots without a date on the envelope, and contends that thousands of voters’ disenfranchisement is at stake.
​​“Throwing out valid votes because of a minor paperwork error is undemocratic, illegal, and smacks of desperation,” ACLU attorney Ari Savitzky said in a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-advocates-file-intervene-pennsylvania-mail-ballot-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “This effort threatens thousands of Pennsylvanians, most of them senior citizens and longtime voters, with disenfranchisement. Under Pennsylvania state law and federal law, a ballot cannot be tossed if a voter simply forgets to handwrite an inconsequential date on the outer return envelope. These votes must be counted.”
The <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/ball-v-chapman-application-intervention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a>, backed by voting rights groups such as the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference and the Black Political Empowerment Project, argues that any new restrictions would unduly interrupt the midterm election cycle.
“Election officials know when ballots are sent to voters and when they are received,” League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Executive Director Meghan Pierce added. “A voter adding a handwritten date to their return envelope does not add a verification of any sort. This latest attempt to disenfranchise voters for the simple mistake of not dating their return envelopes attempts to undo the progress Pennsylvania has made in making elections more accessible.&#8221;
Strife over the commonwealth’s laws regarding undated mail-in ballot envelopes emerged between Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, who competed to secure the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania Senate race earlier this year. The Oz campaign <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/following-the-democrats-playbook-oz-campaign-blasts-mccormick-for-trying-to-count-undated-mail-in-ballots-in-deadlocked-pa-senate-primary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> McCormick for “following the Democrats’ playbook” and eroding voter confidence in the election by pressing officials to count the disqualified ballots. Voters will choose between Oz and Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman, a Democrat, next month.
The Republican National Committee, which joins plaintiff David Ball in the <a href="https://prod-media-assets.protectthevote.com/media/document/news/PA_Kings_Bench_Undated_Ballots_0xgwfo47.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, argues that returning a mail-in ballot with an undated envelope violates state law. The group asserts that the Supreme Court’s opinion made sufficiently clear that such votes should not be counted and said that Chapman was wrongly usurping the high court in her attempt to disregard the ruling.
“Republicans are holding Pennsylvania Democrats accountable for their brazen defiance of the Supreme Court and the rules duly set by the legislature,” state and national Republican officials said in a <a href="https://gop.com/press-release/rnc-nrcc-pagop-sue-commonwealth-of-pennsylvania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Pennsylvania Democrats have a history of election integrity failures and Pennsylvanians deserve better: this lawsuit is the latest step in Republican efforts to promote free, fair, and transparent elections in the Keystone State.”
The Senate race between Oz and Fetterman is among the most competitive in the country and could help Democrats retain control of the upper chamber. According to a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprising-group-of-voters-is-helping-dr-oz-narrow-the-gap-against-john-fetterman-in-pennsylvania-senate-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Emerson College and The Hill, the former candidate is supported by 43% of the voting population, while the latter is supported by 45%.

Voters Across The Country Head To The Polls For The Midterm Elections

‘Smacks Of Desperation’: ACLU Files Motion Over Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots

Menu