Advocates call for repeal of Alabama transgender youth law

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Advocates for Alabama’s LGBTQ community are standing against the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act. They met in Montgomery Monday morning to rally for the rights of LGBTQ Alabamians. They’re calling on legislators to completely repeal the law as it faces legal challenges in federal court.

“According to The Washington Post, 153 bills targeting trans people have been introduced in the states across the country in 2022 alone,” said Elisa Picard, an LGBTQ ally.

Protestors outside the federal courthouse say Alabama’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act is one of those bills. Passed during the 2022 legislative session, the law makes it a felony to provide medical gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

“Just hearing from our youth in the community, they are just nervous, they’re scared, they want to transition, but then they don’t want no one to get in trouble for them,” said Daronehia Duncan-Boyd with the organization Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering, or TAKE.

The law is currently blocked from going into effect, but ongoing litigation could remove that block.

“The court is starting to hear oral arguments, and so we wanted to make sure that we shared with the public that we feel that the right thing to do is for the court to strike down SB 184,” said Daye Pope, with TAKE.

According to the Nov. 8 scheduling order, both parties should be ready for trial by October 2023.

“We think it is likely to be struck down,” said Pope. “But you never know because there have been a lot of different rulings. and this is a current battle that’s unfolding in the courts and in legislatures around the country.”

The most recent argument for why this treatment should be banned is from the state’s attorney general.

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