Gun safety groups criticize US v. Skrmetti SCOTUS decision

WASHINGTON — Today, GIFFORDS Law Center, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Team ENOUGH, and March For Our Lives, condemned the US Supreme Court decision United States v. Skrmetti that upheld a Tennessee law that makes it unlawful for doctors to administer gender-affirming medical care, even when individual patients, their parents, and their healthcare providers agree that such care is medically necessary. This decision threatens the mental health of young people in Tennessee and across the country and will make a population already pre-disposed to suicide (often via gun) more at risk. The groups filed an amicus brief urging the court to strike down the law. 

“The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold this shameful law threatens the health and well-being of young people in Tennessee and across the country. Laws that deny gender-affirming medical care endanger youth and put them at risk of suffering from gun violence, including suicide. The majority of justices have put many young lives at risk,” said Billy Clark, Senior Litigation Attorney at GIFFORDS Law Center. 

“The Supreme Court’s decision today in United States v. Skrmetti is a direct attack on LGBTQ+ rights and puts the trans community in danger nationwide. Trans youth already face a disproportionate risk of gun violence in our country — particularly firearm suicide — because of discrimination, oppression, and hate. We should be fostering a world that protects our trans youth and uplifts their identity; instead, the Supreme Court has denied them gender-affirming medical care, putting their lives at risk. Gun violence is already the number one killer of kids in this country. This Supreme Court decision endangers more children,” said Shira Feldman, Director of Constitutional Litigationat Brady. 

“The Supreme Court just handed extremists a loaded weapon to use against trans youth. Stripping young people of gender-affirming care in a country flooded with guns is a deadly combination – and the justices know it. This decision isn’t about protecting kids, it’s about sacrificing them to score political points. We refuse to stand by while young lives are put at risk,” said Jackie Corin, Executive Director of March For Our Lives.