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Opinion: Sessoms’ Soapbox – State legislature geared to go after trans adults

Staff photo by Robin Rudd / State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, speaks at a Hamilton County Pachyderm Club meeting at the Chattanooga Masonic Center on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Watson, in a recent interview, suggested the state legislature could seek to restrict gender-affirming care for trans adults in Tennessee.
Staff photo by Robin Rudd / State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, speaks at a Hamilton County Pachyderm Club meeting at the Chattanooga Masonic Center on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Watson, in a recent interview, suggested the state legislature could seek to restrict gender-affirming care for trans adults in Tennessee. Staff photo by Robin Rudd / State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, speaks at a Hamilton County Pachyderm Club meeting at the Chattanooga Masonic Center on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Watson, in a recent interview, suggested the state legislature could seek to restrict gender-affirming care for trans adults in Tennessee.

After enacting a law in 2023 that restricts gender-affirming care for transgender youth — legislation that is currently being litigated by the U.S. Supreme Court — the Tennessee state legislature appears to be at it again.

In a recent interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press, GOP state Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson, when discussing the anti-trans law, made an absurd and ignorant comparison to Mary Shelley’s 1800s novel “Frankenstein.”

“Man’s influence on the creations of God can have disastrous effect, if you want to take a broad perspective of Mary Shelley’s work,” Watson said, explaining how his views on transgender people are informed by his Christian faith.

When asked if he would follow this logic and support a ban on gender-affirming care for adults, Watson said, “Depending on how that all settles out, that may be something the legislature takes up. But that’s not been something there’s been an interest in at this point. But I can understand the argument.”

As we’ve written on this page before, this anti-trans law and Watson’s ignorant viewpoint have nothing to do with protecting children. In fact, it’s the opposite.