Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bills to Ban 'Gender Transitions,' Drag Shows for Minors

Ashley Sadler : Feb 27, 2023
LifeSiteNews.com

"Children do not need these medical procedures to be able to flourish as adults. They need mental health treatment. They need love and support, and many of them need to be able to grow up to become the individuals that they were intended to be." -TN Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth

(Nashville, TN) — [LifeSiteNews.com] Tennessee lawmakers this week passed bills to ban "gender transition" surgeries and drugs for minors and to outlaw the performance of sexually-charged drag shows for children. The state's Republican governor is expected to sign both measures into law. (Image: Gov. Bill Lee /Screengrab via LSN/YouTube)

Both bills were passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill to ban transgender surgeries for minors cleared the House in a sweeping 77-16 vote. The measure banning drag shows for minors passed by a similar 74-19.

With Thursday's legislative actions Tennessee is on track to be the fifth state with a total ban on surgical and pharmaceutical gender interventions for children and the first to ban obscene drag shows for minors, according to The Hill.

Introduced by Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, the measure to outlaw so-called "gender-affirming" care for children will make it illegal to perform surgeries or prescribe puberty blocking or cross-sex hormone drugs to children under the age of 18 in the Volunteer State.

The language of the legislation makes it explicit that any surgical or pharmaceutical intervention "for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor's sex" would be illegal in Tennessee.

Children who suffer from real physical disabilities that require similar surgeries or medications are not excluded from accessing those interventions in the law.

"Children do not need these medical procedures to be able to flourish as adults," Lamberth said. "They need mental health treatment. They need love and support, and many of them need to be able to grow up to become the individuals that they were intended to be."

READ: Tennessee lawmakers introduce bill to ban puberty blockers, ‘sex change' surgeries for minors

For its part, the bill to ban drag shows for minors was brought by Senate Majority Leader Johnson and Rep. Chris Todd.

The proposal would add additional language to an existing law creating a 1,000-foot buffer zone between schools, public parks, or places of worship and "adult-oriented businesses," including "adult cabaret performances," The Hill reported.

Shows featuring "male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest" would be included under the new measure, as well as "[s]hows with topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers and strippers," according to the report.

Gov. Lee is anticipated to approve both laws... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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