Tennessee legislation allows victims of gender transitioning to sue for damages

Everyone is talking about how Ron DeSantis won Florida by 20 points, by using a combination of competent policy and social conservatism. But there are other good states with really good conservative legislatures, and legislators. And they are not scared about passing laws to protect vulnerable children from the selfishness and greed of adults.

Daily Wire has the story:

Tennessee Majority Leaders William Lamberth and Jack Johnson, both Republicans, introduced the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act on Wednesday, November 9, which would effectively bar doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and performing gender-related surgeries on minors for the purpose of medical transition. It would also allow patients and their families to sue for damages and let the courts impose an additional $25,000 penalty for each violation.

You might think that Republicans are scared to pass socially conservative legislation. That’s what a lot of people who don’t follow politics closely would say. “Both parties are the same” or maybe “Republicans never do anything about social issues”. But it’s not true in Tennessee. A recent report by the American Conservative Union found that Tennessee had the #1 most conservative legislature – more conservative than even Florida:

Conservative State Rankings of Lgislatures

Back to the Daily Wire article. Here are some comments from the bill’s authors that show their motivation.

Read this:

“This bill is about protecting children,” said Johnson. “Under no circumstances should minors be allowed to undergo irreversible elective procedures to mutilate body parts and intentionally harm their reproductive systems. This practice comes with lifelong health complications that children are not capable of understanding.”

[…]“Interfering or destroying the healthy, normal reproductive organs of a child for the purpose of altering their appearance is profoundly unethical and morally wrong,” Lamberth said. “Tennesseans across our state have demanded an immediate call to action.”

“Through the passage of House Bill 1/Senate Bill 1, Tennessee will protect vulnerable children who cannot give informed consent for adult decisions they aren’t ready for,” Lamberth added.

They’re going to get sued by the pedophilia-supporting legal groups, but they don’t care. They got sued for banning men from women’s sports, too, but that didn’t stop them from passing the law. They got sued for passing  a ban on all abortions after 6 weeks. Tennessee doesn’t care about the secular left bullies. And as soon as Roe v. Wade was repealed, they banned all abortions. These are serious, serious conservative legislators.

Two key parts of the law. First, children who sustained injuries due to medical transition can sue for damages. And second, since this is a criminal law, the government can get involved when the law is violated:

The Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act would also create a private right of action, allowing a minor or the parent of a minor who sustained injuries due to medical transition to sue for damages. Additionally, it would enable a child to bring a civil cause of action against a parent if that parent helped to facilitate their child’s medical transition.

The bill would allow courts to impose a $25,000 penalty per violation and the state attorney general to bring an action against a healthcare provider for knowingly violating the law within 20 years of the offense. The proposed bill would require the state attorney general to establish a process for reporting violations of the law.

The secular leftists are evil, but even they understand money leaving their pockets. This is the way to stop them – take their money.

The Daily Caller adds:

The legislation comes after a bombshell report revealed that Vanderbilt University’s Dr. Shayne Taylor said in 2018 that providing sex change surgeries to minors was a “big money maker” and clarified that individuals who were against these surgeries due to religious beliefs would face “consequences”…

I’ll bet Dr. Shane Taylor is sorry now that she ever made that video! Instead of religious parents facing consequences, it’s the transgender profiteers who are going to face consequences.

My impression of Tennessee from watching their legislation is that they seem to get upset whenever blue states pass legislation they don’t like, and they pass legislation to go in the opposite direction of these blue states. Like, they point at New York and go “look, they are supporting infanticide! We should probably ban all abortions” or maybe “look California is banning guns! We should loosen restrictions on concealed carry permits!” And then they do it. They are not just trying to slow down secular leftists. They are on the offense, passing laws to make the state even more conservative. Why do you think the Daily Wire people chose to move to Nashville? Nashville is the new headquarters of the conservative movement.

If you missed it, Ben Shapiro recently interviewed the governor of Tennessee for his Sunday Special:

Tennessee now has 8 Republican congressmen out of 9 possible districts. If you’re looking for a conservative state, put Tennessee on your short list.

Why I admire people in the armed forces more than famous entertainers

I’ve noticed that many Christians can tell me a lot about famous entertainers. It doesn’t matter if it’s singers, musicians, actors, athletes, etc., they seem to know details of their biographies, achievements, etc. And it doesn’t really matter if those people are Christians, or whether they have performed actions consistent with a Christian worldview in their private lives.

Anyway, speaking for myself, I mostly admire two kinds of people. The first kind is the kind I blog about here all the time: Christian scholars engage non-Christians intellectually using logic and evidence. The second kind, as you can tell from my reading list, is people who distinguish themselves in conflict with those who oppose the principles and policies that allow me to live out my Christian life. And I am especially interested when people who are fighting evil (imperialists, Nazis, socialists, communists, leftists, etc.) exhibit Christ-like character in risking their lives to save others, or in giving their lives to save others.

Lt. Walt Chewning charges unto burning F-6F Hellcat to save trapped pilot
Lt. Walt Chewning charges unto burning F-6F Hellcat to save trapped pilot

I have a war story to tell you that happened on November 10th, 1943.

Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Commander) Walter Lewis Chewning of Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, steps on the burning fuel tank of an F6F-3 Hellcat flown by Ensign (later Lieutenant) Byron Milton Johnson of Potter, Nebraska to effect a successful rescue of the pilot on November 10, 1943. Johnson had flown out to USS Enterprise from Barbers Point, Hawaii, enroute to Makin Atoll in the Gilberts to support the United States Army invasion, which occurred on November 20, 1943. The afternoon of November 10, Johnson took off in F6F Hellcat Number 30 for a routine training exercise. He immediately developed engine trouble and requested an emergency landing. He was waved off three times as he struggled to maintain control, but his tail hook caught the third arresting gear wire, and Johnson’s Hellcat was slammed into the deck, coming to rest in the port catwalk. The plane came to rest on its external belly fuel tank, which started to leak. As the engine vibrated horribly as the propeller bent itself on the deck, sparks ignited the fuel. The hard landing had jammed Johnson’s canopy closed, shearing the retaining pin; he could not exit the plane. Chewning, who had joined the ship October 2, 1943 as Enterprise new catapult officer, scrambled out of the catwalk and came through the smoke. Stepping on the burning belly tank, he forced open the canopy and pulled Johnson to safety.

He received the two highest non-combat medals available:

Chewning was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his actions.

He was a well-educated and accomplished person before joining the Navy:

Chewning played soccer and Lacrosse at Cornell while studying Mechanical Engineering, breaking his rib and left ankle in one game. He graduated in 1936 and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the Navy in January 1941. He was the assistant to the Chief Engineer at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before joining USS Enterprise. He served as Enterprise’s catapult officer until December 1944, when he transferred to Dutch Harbor Naval Air Station in Alaska as ordinance officer. Chewning served in the Navy until December 1949; he also was awarded the Bronze Star. After the war he assisted research and development for various aeronautical companies, the United States Air Force, and the fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Motion picture film of the crash, taken from Enterprise’s bridge, was shown as part of the television program “Victory at Sea” on January 25, 1953. Chewning and Johnson gave interviews to several newspapers about the accident after the program aired.

You can see a video clip of the rescue here, from 5:35 to 6:00. I found a colorized version of the picture above here:

Lt. Walt Chewning charges unto burning F-6F Hellcat to save trapped pilot
Lt. Walt Chewning charges unto burning F-6F Hellcat to save trapped pilot

This image was colourized from the original by Paul Reynolds.

What I thought was interesting about Chewning was how he had everything going for him in terms of his education and career, but he chose to join the Navy anyway, in order to defend his country from Japanese imperialism. Those who understand how the Japanese treated prisoners and conquered peoples will know which side of that conflict was good, and which side was evil. Chewning wasn’t some sort of loser who took risks for fun and thrills. It had to be a risk where the prize was worth the risk. And he had the humility to consider others better than himself, so that their life was worth the risking of his own. Many people on the secular left who like to talk about how generous, compassionate and virtuous they are are unable to make moral judgments against evils like Japanese imperialism – much less take self-sacrificial action against them.

I just think that it’s important for young Christians to have the right kind of heroes. The heroes who are promoted to young Christians by the cultural elites are not usually the right role models. And there is a reason for that. The secular leftists don’t want young Christians to be emulating people who excel according to the standards of the Christian worldview. We are in a religion where self-sacrificial love is the centerpiece. Taking trouble on yourself for someone else. Doing your job, when it goes against your own self-interest. Let’s not allow a bunch of godless socialist celebrities to pick and choose who we hold in high regard.

Amid disappointing night for Republicans, DeSantis delivers 20-point landslide win

At time of writing, it does not look good for Republicans to take the Senate, although they may narrowly win the House. What I am hearing is that many of the candidates endorsed by Donald Trump won in their primaries, but lost narrowly in the general elections. But there was one VERY bright spot. Florida governor Ron DeSantis beat his Democrat opponent like a bongo drum.

Here is the story from The Blaze:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis easily won reelection Tuesday, as multiple news outlets called the race with unexpected ease as the night’s vote-counting began.

DeSantis, who was initially elected in 2018 by an extremely narrow margin over Andrew Gillum, had a much easier time in 2022 against Democrat Charlie Crist, who has formerly lost statewide races as a Republican, an independent, and a Democrat and who is widely unpopular statewide due to his transparent political opportunism.

DeSantis’ reelection campaign was viewed by many as a trial balloon for a potential 2024 presidential campaign after DeSantis established himself as a national figure by bucking restrictive federal COVID guidance issued by former President Donald Trump’s COVID czar, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Under DeSantis’ guidance, Florida was among the first states to insist on sending children back to public schools for in-person learning and to reject vaccine and mask mandates.

These policies, which have since been adopted virtually nationwide, earned him the ire of the vast majority of the national media, who frequently invited Fauci on television to rebuke him. However, they made him a national celebrity with conservatives who chafed under Fauci’s policies and contradictory messages.

DeSantis also garnered national attention by championing legislation that prevented sexually explicit instruction for children grades K-3, which was falsely labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” law by Democrats and their allies in the media. DeSantis made parental rights in education a cornerstone of his reelection campaign, repeatedly hitting on the issue on the stump and in debates.

DeSantis’ easy victory also broke the trend of Republican candidates underperforming some expectations on election night.

This is very good news. If we want to take back the White House, the candidate with the proven record is right here. Florida is a swing state, but somehow this guy went from a swing state margin of 0.4% to a margin of 19.61%. How did he do it? He did it by producing results as the governor of a state.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump was busy on election night. Except he was cheering on the loss of a Republican candidate for Senate in Colorado.

Daily Wire reports:

Former President Donald Trump (R) cheered as Republicans lost a potential pickup in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night.

Trump made the shot on his social media platform against Joe O’Dea (R) in Colorado as many Republicans across the country underperformed expectations.

“Joe O’Dea lost BIG!” Trump said. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

[…]O’Dea lost to incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) in a race that had grown unexpectedly close in recent days with the RealClearPolitics average recently indicating that the race had moved from “lean Democrat” to “toss up.”

Reporter Alex Roarty noted how Trump had approached the race vs. how Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) approached the race. “Going to be a topic of conversation moving forward that Trump told his supporters not to vote for O’Dea — while DeSantis recorded a robo-call for him,” Roarty tweeted.

I am not sure that we should be looking to Donald Trump for candidate selection or leadership of the Republican party at this time. Many Trump selections lost badly on Tuesday night. But DeSantis won. I think we need to pick candidates who win, and not candidates who lose. People who lose while fighting still lose. If DeSantis is our candidate in the general election in 2024, he will win the election.