Republicans claim to be fierce defenders of free speech until that speech supports LGBTQ+ peoplehttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/09/republicans-claim-to-be-fierce-defenders-of-free-speech-until-that-speech-supports-lgbtq-people/ 🔗Alex Bollinger (17 Sep 2026)
Conservatives don't care about free speech, but they could stand to be a little less obvious about it.
A federal appeals court is allowing the state of Florida to sue three medical associations for their statements in support of gender-affirming care for trans youth. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) sued the American Academy of Pediatrics, the WPATH, and the Endocrine Society this past December, saying the medical associations' statements violated state laws against false advertising and racketeering (as in, organized crime).
The lawsuit said that the groups' rhetoric promoted "reprehensible and immoral" procedures to "sell lucrative surgeries and drugs that irreversibly mutilate and chemically alter children's bodies without providing any credible medical benefit."
Obviously, I disagree with Uthmeier on the substance here. The three medical organizations in question back gender-affirming care for trans youth because that's where the science is, and I don't think an anti-vaxxer crank like Uthmeier has a better grasp on the relevant research than the literal American Academy of Pediatrics.
But also, this raises my hackles. It hasn't even been six months since the right was celebrating the Supreme Court's decision in Chiles v. Salazar, where the Court ruled that therapists have a First Amendment right to practice conversion therapy on children. Banning state-licensed mental health professionals from telling minors that they can become straight or cisgender if they pray hard enough, the Court ruled, is a violation of the therapists' First Amendment rights.---------------------------
@Sarah B
