President Joe Biden issued a statement Wednesday condemning states banning sex-change treatments for minors, saying the laws are part of the 600 “hateful” measures “targeting the LGBTQI+ community.”
Biden’s statement was part of a larger proclamation on Pride Month. The president began by describing the context of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, in which police clashed with LGBT protesters, and said the country is currently facing another “inflection point.”
“Transgender youth in over a dozen States have had their medically necessary health care banned,” Biden said in the statement. “Homophobic and transphobic vitriol spewed online has spilled over into real life, as armed hate groups intimidate people at Pride marches and drag performances, and threaten doctors’ offices and children’s hospitals that offer care to the LGBTQI+ community. Our hearts are heavy with grief for the loved ones we have lost to anti-LGBTQI+ violence.”
The president also condemned schools banning books about the LGBT community, without mentioning a number of those banned feature pornographic content. (RELATED: School District’s Removal Of Sexually Explicit Books Potentially Violated Students’ Civil Rights, Biden Admin Says)
Sixteen states have banned so-called “gender affirming care” for children, according to U.S. News. The medical procedures for minors can include puberty blockers, chemical castration and the removal of healthy sex tissue.
“Despite these attacks, the LGBTQI+ community remains resilient. LGBTQI+ Americans are defiantly and unapologetically proud. Youth leaders are organizing walkouts at high schools and colleges across the country to protest discriminatory laws. LGBTQI+ young people and their parents are demonstrating unimaginable courage by testifying in State capitols in defense of their basic rights,” Biden continued.
Biden has previously said he thinks states should not “have the right” to ban sex-change treatments. He has also broached the idea of a federal law protecting youth transitions. (RELATED: ‘Close To Sinful’: Biden Floats Possibility Of Nation-Wide Transgender Law)
“It’s not like … a kid wakes up one morning and says, ‘you know, I decided that I want to become a man or I want to become a woman … I mean, what are they thinking about here? They’re human beings, they love, they have feelings, they have inclinations,” Biden said in April.
“And the way we do it is we make sure we pass legislation like we passed on same-sex marriage. You mess with that, you’re breaking the law and you’re going to be held accountable,” he added.
The White House has said lawmakers should not decide the “appropriate” age for sex changes and should leave the decision up to parents.