Stay out of our states…
That is the message that Attorney General Merrick Garland received from red-state attorneys general.
A group led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called out Garland for taking orders from medical groups that want to promote child gender transition surgeries.
Too Far
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Medical Association (AMA), and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) asked Garland to take “swift action to investigate and prosecute” individuals responsible for what they alleged are “increasing threats of violence” against hospitals and physicians targeted for “providing evidence-based gender-affirming care.”
They continued, “From Boston to Akron to Nashville to Seattle, children’s hospitals, academic health systems, and physicians are being targeted and threatened for providing evidence-based health care.”
They added, “The attacks are rooted in an intentional campaign of disinformation, where a few high-profile users on social media share false and misleading information targeting individual physicians and hospitals, resulting in a rapid escalation of threats, harassment, and disruption of care across multiple jurisdictions.”
What we deem a threat and what these groups consider a threat are two different worlds.
They are literally trying to shut down free speech, and the AGs are not having it.
Skrmetti responded, “A free society cannot tolerate trusted professionals calling on law enforcement and big tech to suppress criticism.
“We are slipping into a dangerous orthodoxy where dissent is pushed further and further to the margins.
“America was founded through passionate disagreement, and the ongoing vitality of our Republic depends on our shared commitment to free speech.”
Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of medical watchdog Do No Harm, added, “Medical associations should follow the science, not try to stifle public debate – especially when they’re pushing a divisive ideology that could literally ruin children’s lives.
“The AMA demands that we follow their lead without question, yet these are the same forces who falsely equate psychological counseling for children to ‘conversion therapy’ in order to railroad minors into a predetermined path of drugs and surgery.
“The better path is to listen to these state attorneys general and let this conversation continue nationwide.”
The letter from the AGs stated, “We emphatically agree that anyone engaged in violent crime or threats of violence should be investigated and prosecuted by the appropriate authorities. But the medical organizations are asking you for much more than that.
“They are asking you to direct the criminal enforcement power of the federal government not only at those committing or threatening violence but also at those whose speech may ‘provoke’ such threats.”
It continues, “No doubt the medical associations object to the characterization of double mastectomies for minors as ‘mutilation’ or ‘cutting healthy breasts off teen girls,’ or of hormonal treatments as ‘chemical castration.’
“These descriptors may inflame and provoke. They are also entirely protected by the First Amendment.”
The letter concluded, “Americans frequently disagree about important issues. That is normal and healthy.
“But the answer to disagreement is never the criminalization of speech.
“Nothing matters more than protecting our children. We need to make sure we are doing that right.
“The only way to obtain that certainty is through rigorous interrogation of current practices. Criticism must be welcomed, not silenced.”
It is rather amusing how they continue to call us fascists, but it is liberals that are using fascist tactics to silence the right.
Source: Fox News
