MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It is crunch time for the LGBTQ+ community as they race against the clock before a new law goes into effect in Tennessee July 1.
In May, the Mid-South saw a federal judge strike down the Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors. On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked one Tennessee law banning medical care for trans youth. However, for some, the damage is already done.
“I was really scared to embrace this journey for myself,” said Eli Williams, who began transitioning in 2018.
Williams took a leap of faith with a doctor after his primary care physician did not feel comfortable providing hormone replacement therapy.
“It’s really hard, it is a leap of faith, you are not just in your stretch zone, you are in your panic zone,” said Williams.
That access to healthcare may not be around much longer. Two new laws are expected to limit the rights of the trans community in Tennessee beginning in July. One will prevent people from changing their gender on the Tennessee driver’s license, and while a judge has blocked the second law that was going to ban gender affirming care for minors, the LGBTQ+ community is still concerned the law will go into effect in the future.
“A lot of gender-affirming care providers in our state have already paused this kind of care, stopped it all together, or just slowed down the number of patients,” said Molly Quinn, Executive Director at OutMemphis.
Throughout the past month, OutMemphis, an LGBTQ+ non-profit, and several others have been trying to help people across the state change the gender markers on licenses and have been organizing a pipeline for the trans community to find help in other states like Illinois.
“What we have been focused on is providing navigation, which includes information, financial support, emotional support, connection to providers out of state,” said Quinn.
After a drag limiting law was struck down earlier this month, people like Williams are cautiously optimistic the same will be done now for the remaining law.
“The more we speak up, and the more we defend our inner child, we are the retro-hope, let’s make a difference and let’s show that loving ourself does win. Using our voice does win,” said Williams.
ABC24 reached out to Sen. Jack Johnson, one of the Tennessee lawmakers who introduced the trans healthcare bill, multiple times for a comment, a response has not been issued.