Dear John, This morning, the US Supreme Court released its opinion on US v Skrmetti, the case on Tennessee’s SB1, a ban on medically necessary gender-affirming care for transgender youth in the state. The 6-3 decision upheld Tennessee's law banning gender-affirming care, stating it is not subject to heightened scrutiny and therefore remains in place. In his majority decision, Chief Justice Roberts emphasized that the ruling primarily rested on the justices finding that the law did not violate the equal protection clause, not on an ideological opposition to trans rights. Today’s shameful decision is a cruel blow to doctors, transgender youth, and the loving parents of trans kids. Transgender people of all ages, like all people, deserve the healthcare they need when they need it, without barriers of discrimination. Loving parents who are doing their best to help their trans kids grow up to become thriving, happy, healthy adults should not be criminalized for that love. We concur with Justice Sotomayor’s dissent, in which she wrote, ‘By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. …It also authorizes, without second thought, untold harm to transgender children and the parents and families who love them.’ If you are based in DC or NYC, we have rallies for you to join today. At 3pm ET we’ll be on the steps of SCOTUS in Washington, DC. At 5pm ET we’ll be in Union Square in New York City. We hope to see you there, joining us in solidarity and courageous community. PFLAG National and the hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ people, parents, families and allies among our members and supporters will continue to fight for our transgender loved ones. To every transgender and nonbinary person and the families who love you: PFLAG’s got your back, now and always. We are proud to be in solidarity with you all. | 
