The 3 - April 30, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes two stories relative to continued flashpoints on issues related to gender identity: federal officials have filed suit against an American state, Tennessee, to try to prevent a law to protect minor children from dangerous surgeries to try to change their biological gender.  And, Kansas lawmakers have passed strong legislation, overriding the governor's veto, to ensure privacy protections for women in the face of gender identity trends.  And, in Texas, one of the legislative chambers has voted to place the 10 Commandments in public school classrooms. 

Federal officials sue state of Tennessee over child protection bill

It's being described erroneously as a threat to health care for those who identify as transgender.  It's essentially a bill to protect minor children in Tennessee, and The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family reports:

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued the state of Tennessee over its law protecting minors from harmful and experimental transgender medical interventions.

The DOJ is suing over Tennessee’s new law (SB1) that prevents healthcare providers from performing medical procedures on minors that enable “a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”

It is astonishing that, as this article points out, that a minor becoming a victim of experimentation under the premise of changing one's biological sex is somehow being denied health care.  The Daily Citizen piece notes:

“No person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement.

From Assistant Attorney General Clarke’s statement, you’d think that transgender-identified individuals were being denied annual physicals, medications, and routine surgeries because they are “transgender.”

No. This is certainly not “necessary medical care.”

The writer, Zachary Mettler, continues by saying: "SB 1 only prohibits irreversible and harmful puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones and surgeries from being performed on minor children, who cannot consent to these harmful interventions." He also points out that, "Of note, the idea that gender-confused children will commit suicide if their chosen identity is not fully embraced and affirmed is wrong for a myriad of reasons, and various studies bear this fact out."

Kansas defines "woman" in new bill

While there has been cultural confusion over what a "woman" is, the state of Kansas, despite an attempt by its female governor to veto the bill, the "Women's Bill of Rights" passed the Legislature and both chambers of that body voted to override Gov. Kelly's veto.

Liberty Counsel, on its website, noted on Friday:

The Kansas legislature passed a “Women’s Bill of Rights” yesterday which legally defines male and female based on a person’s reproductive anatomy at birth, and stipulates Kansans must use public restrooms that correspond to their biological sex.

The report states:

The law attributes the “distinction between the sexes” as “substantially related to the important governmental objectives of protecting the health, safety and privacy of individuals,” the bill reads.

It says that the bill "specifically protects women in restrooms, locker rooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters, and rape crisis centers." And applies, according to Liberty Counsel to "'other areas,' an intentionally broad term to cover a myriad of situations where 'biology, safety, or privacy' justify separate spaces for men and women."

The new law also provides that government uses "biological sex" in its "vital statistics."

Texas Senate passes requirement for 10 Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms

You could make a strong case that if you want to teach young people in schools how to be good citizens and to understand the basis for our laws, then a reminder of the influence of the 10 Commandments would be helpful.  Lawmakers in Texas are attempting to require the display of the Commandments in public school classrooms, and a proposed bill has cleared its first hurdle with passage in the Texas Senate.

FoxNews.com reported that: "Texas public schools would be required to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year under a bill that was approved by the Texas Senate...The legislation, Senate Bill 1515, will now head to the state House for consideration."

The article notes...

...Sen. Phil King said during a committee hearing earlier this month that he wanted the state to bring the Ten Commandments back into the classroom because they are a crucial part of the American heritage.

"[The bill] will remind students all across Texas of the importance of the fundamental foundation of America," King said during the hearing, according to the Texas Tribune.

The Senate also passed a bill, according to Fox, that "would allow public and charter schools to adopt a policy that would set aside time for students and employees to pray and read religious texts like the Bible at school."  In response, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick made a statement, which included these words: "Allowing the Ten Commandments and prayer back into our public schools is one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs..."