Tennessee lawmakers vow to ban gender-affirming surgeries at noisy anti-trans rally

Tennessee’s top lawmakers revved up a crowd of hundreds gathered outside the state capitol Friday to protest gender-affirming care for minors. They pledged to end “irreversible body altering surgeries on minor children,” though there’s little evidence many are occurring right now in Tennessee.

“One of the very first bills that’s going to be filed for the upcoming General Assembly is a bill to end the practice,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, said over the chants of counter-protesters. “We will get it done. You have our word.”

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, also spoke, flanked by a handful of Republican colleagues. He and Johnson say they’ve drafted legislation that will be introduced in early November. They did not describe any new limits on hormone therapy, which is much more common in minors.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn addressed the crowd too, though she was less specific about what she would try to accomplish at the federal level.

Each elected official praised Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, who organized the “Rally to End Child Mutilation” following his misleading “expose” published last month about Vanderbilt’s pediatric transgender care clinic. The 15-minute podcast and video segment makes a range of claims about profit motives and forcing employees to participate in care they find morally objectionable. Walsh also suggests “they now castrate, sterilize and mutilate children.”

Vanderbilt says it performs very few surgeries on minors — roughly five a year and only on patients 16 and older — and never on genitals. 

Blaise Gainey WPLN News

Rally speaker Mark Meckler, who leads a groups called Convention of States, exchanges words with counter-protesters. At times, state troopers stepped in to break up shouting matches during the rally.

Walsh’s event drew supporters from far beyond Nashville, across Tennessee and neighboring states. Nashville teacher Mandy Yates says she appreciates his rough language, even calling gender-affirming surgeries “butchering.”

“I think you need to call it what it is and call a spade a spade,” she says. “Everybody is so afraid of being offended, and we’re going to hurt somebody’s feelings. No, call it what it is.”

Walsh says he is attempting to end gender-affirming care for minors nationwide by highlighting the practices of specialty pediatric clinics, like Vanderbilt’s. The clinics appear to be following international standards of care, though those standards are allowing for younger patients to get care. Vanderbilt has agreed to pause the few surgeries it performs and follow any law passed by the legislature.

While the counter-protesters made it difficult — at times — for speakers to be heard, they do not have the ear of the state’s most powerful lawmakers. Still, many want to make their own point.

“A bunch of people who have no stake in the matter think that we’re mutilating [kids], but that just doesn’t make any sense,” says protester Zwil Ar. “I’m just here to try to say, ‘Yeah, you’re wrong.'”

Blake Farmer WPLN News

Dozens of counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the rally with signs, sirens and shouting.