Concerned Tennesseans Are Voicing That They Are Not Content With Waiting Until 2023 For Legislation That May Or May Not Be Presented Or Be Passed And Are Calling For The Tennessee General Assembly To Have A Special Session To Address This Issue Now.
Image Credit: vanderbilthealth.org
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Following Matt Walsh’s investigation that revealed that Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Transgender Clinic is performing radical surgeries on children in Tennessee, some legislators began calling on The Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation to prevent further “sexual reassignment” surgeries on minors.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge-District 5) and Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18) replied by stating they expect a bill dealing with “transgender medical care” to be sponsored when the 113th General Assembly convenes in 2023.
Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge-District 33) told The Tennessee Conservative that he has a bill in draft, which is similar to ones that were killed in the Senate last general session, but the push for its passage depends upon whether he is reelected to office.
However, concerned Tennesseans are voicing that they are not content with waiting until 2023 for legislation that may or may not be presented or be passed and are calling for the Tennessee General Assembly to have a Special Session to address this issue.
One such communication that was shared with us came from a couple in Lewisburg and was addressed directly to Governor Bill Lee.
Governor,
We are writing to ask that the Governor call a Special Session to address the issue of children being surgically modified, many would say ‘disfigured’ to change their sex.
We have seen several postings on social media by young adults who had these procedures done to them and were very sorry afterward. This confirms that no child should be trusted with a decision so life-altering at such a young age. If they are sure, then they can wait until they are 18, or otherwise emancipated from their parents. Furthermore, hospitals should not have to rely on these kinds of ‘elective’ surgeries to increase profits.
We are calling on you to help protect the futures of these children. Please call a special session immediately to address this situation.
Oklahoma recently had a special session to immediately address the same issue that has remained uncovered in Tennessee.
The bill that was presented for the OK Special Session “protects children from the practice of mutilation through gender reassignment medical treatment.”
Republican OK Representative Kevin West said, “This unbelievably harmful practice cannot be reversed, and has lasting physical and psychological consequences that can damage these children for the rest of their lives. Passing this legislation now will provide protections for children, and we can further expand those protections when we come back in the spring. The radical Left may be making a national push to try and allow the mutilation of our children to become mainstream, but here in Oklahoma, we have to stand up for our kids and say enough is enough.”
In Tennessee, several county GOP chairs have voiced that they might be interested in calling for a Special Session. However, there has been no word yet on whether Tennessee’s state Senators, Representatives or Governor would support such an effort.
In the meantime, 62 state House members have signed a letter that was sent to Vanderbilt stating, “The Vanderbilt Pediatric Transgender Clinic’s practices qualify as nothing less than abuse…We, the elected representative body of the state of Tennessee, ask members of the VUMC Board of Directors to take immediate action by halting all permanent gender transitioning surgeries being performed on minor children… Tennesseans across our state have demanded a swift response and a call to action. We agree that these revelations require the legislature to act immediately.”
Tennessee Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville-District 14) posted the letter on Twitter and wrote, “This is a time in which elected leaders must boldly lead and speak on behalf of the people. I’ve been joined by my esteemed @tnhousegop colleagues in formally requesting that Vanderbilt Medical halt all gender transition surgeries on minors.”
Zachary told WKRN that he is taking no further action until he either receives a response from Vanderbilt or 10 days pass. He also said he has met with representatives from the hospital but wouldn’t provide further details.
A spokeswoman for Governor Bill Lee told the Daily Wire, “We should not allow permanent, life altering decisions that hurt children, like we saw on display at VUMC. The Governor is in communication with Leader Johnson and Leader Lamberth about legislative solutions, and we look forward to working with them and many other Tennesseans who are passionate about protecting children.”
At the end of 2021, two Special Sessions were called for the General Assembly, the first being to discuss the details and approve hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funded incentives for Ford Motor Company to build “Blue Oval City” in Haywood County.
After a huge push by Conservative Republicans and constituents, a second Special Session was approved to address the loss of medical freedoms in the state brought about by the response to COVID-19.
In July of this year, there was talk of a Special Session being called to bring the Republican presidential convention to Nashville and possibly penalize the Metro Nashville Council for rejecting it.
It stands to reason that a session could be called to put a stop to “disfiguring” surgeries being done to children in the Volunteer state as well.
If you would like to contact your Tennessee Senator or Representative to ask them to Act Now on this issue, you can find their contact info HERE.
Contact Governor Bill Lee HERE or at (615) 741-2001.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
One Response
Here’s one solution. Shut it down.