Over 311 statements of fact were established in the Arkansas gender affirming care ban case. Not a single fact was found in the state's favor, and several major talking points were debunked.
This is a huge development in the fight against trans-phobic disinformation and the attempt to erase our transgender friends and family members. Hopefully we can all soon resume our lives without fear of such egregious attacks. Every doctor involved in these attacks, including Florida’s surgeon general Ladapo and his cherry picked medical board should be prosecuted for gross malpractice and lose their licenses. And it should be settled once and for all that legislators and religious zealots have no role in establishing medical guidelines, whether for GAC, abortion, or any other medical issue.
Does anyone else feel like...a renewment of hope? Like given the state of encroaching fascism and you know the genocidal rhetoric etc etc, I myself at least maybe 6 to 8 months ago was a lot more fatalistic and these past few and especially this one in Arkansas no less has kind of given me another hit of hopium to keep going.
I’m so glad to see these judges so expertly pushing back on the disinformation and revealing the lack of expertise as well as motives of the “experts” for the states banning this care. It’s such a relief after witnessing the clear corruption in these meetings and bills. I’m so impressed with this and our judge in Florida with how incredibly detailed they were in debunking the misinformation piece by piece. So so hopeful now. Thank you Erin, as always you broke this down beautifully and thoroughly.
The Annual Transgender March in Fayetteville AR will be held this Friday. 🏳️⚧️This ruling has made those of us in Arkansas very happy and hopeful. Some of the plaintiffs are from this area of the state. Thank you Erin for your expert analysis of Judge Moody’s ruling.
Let Judge Moody hear how grateful we are. I was the first supportive call they received all day. 501-604-5150. It only takes a minute to make the call to suppory his staff who are receiving hate calls all day and will be receiving them for weeks.
I always knew that the wins would come in the courts. Let’s hope that the Supreme Court won’t be willing to be on the wrong side of history with the facts completely against them.
This is unequivocally good news for Arkansas. Among the best features is the judge’s thorough debunking of all the cruel misinformation points spread by opponents. Going forward, we need favorable judicial rulings re. gender affirming care covering other states and regions. Also we need some good rulings counteracting the intensely cruel and unfair laws about gender ID and legal recognition.
Incredibly thorough reporting as always Erin. Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis. This article is a great resource for all of us debunking the arguments of friends and relative who spout false conservative talking points.
Findings of fact, even those made by a judge following a bench trial, are ordinarily entitled to deference on appeal. So the focus on appeal will be on the application of the law to those facts. I would not expect the Circuit Court to do much in the way of unwinding those factual findings. Also, if and when those "experts" are proposed as such in other cases in other jurisdictions the fact that they were rejected as unqualified in this case will follow them for purposes of qualifying as an expert.
Thank you so much for the excellent breakdown of this opinion. It's easy to see the headline and just focus on the (very good!!) news that the bill was ruled unconstitutional, but the DETAILS here are just amazing. Really appreciate your work!! ❤️
This is incredible news. I downloaded the opinion; I haven't read it yet. But it appears scathing -- and not just in tone. I think the reason for the voluminous findings of fact may be that findings of fact are not reviewable on appeal, and I'm guessing the reason for the number of findings of fact was that the judge really didn't like their substituting religion for science and wanted to rub their noses in it and make sure it stuck. I guess we'll see! This opinion may become famous, a model for others to follow. It looks like the attorneys really did their job.
Thank you, Erin, for a really great analysis. I wonder what they'll say about this on Fox News. Perhaps they'll just ignore it. 😊
Thank you for this detailed article- it’s honestly one of the only things that’s given me any hope at all in a long while. It gets so disheartening feeling like you are always screaming into the void. Good to know that there are still judges out there who judge on the merits of the case and not whatever “facts” they feel like making up that day.
This is a huge development in the fight against trans-phobic disinformation and the attempt to erase our transgender friends and family members. Hopefully we can all soon resume our lives without fear of such egregious attacks. Every doctor involved in these attacks, including Florida’s surgeon general Ladapo and his cherry picked medical board should be prosecuted for gross malpractice and lose their licenses. And it should be settled once and for all that legislators and religious zealots have no role in establishing medical guidelines, whether for GAC, abortion, or any other medical issue.
311 statements of fact is a big statement, great to hear that. Hopefully it holds in the circuit court
Its such a precedent setter
Does anyone else feel like...a renewment of hope? Like given the state of encroaching fascism and you know the genocidal rhetoric etc etc, I myself at least maybe 6 to 8 months ago was a lot more fatalistic and these past few and especially this one in Arkansas no less has kind of given me another hit of hopium to keep going.
You're not alone!!
I’m so glad to see these judges so expertly pushing back on the disinformation and revealing the lack of expertise as well as motives of the “experts” for the states banning this care. It’s such a relief after witnessing the clear corruption in these meetings and bills. I’m so impressed with this and our judge in Florida with how incredibly detailed they were in debunking the misinformation piece by piece. So so hopeful now. Thank you Erin, as always you broke this down beautifully and thoroughly.
The Annual Transgender March in Fayetteville AR will be held this Friday. 🏳️⚧️This ruling has made those of us in Arkansas very happy and hopeful. Some of the plaintiffs are from this area of the state. Thank you Erin for your expert analysis of Judge Moody’s ruling.
Let Judge Moody hear how grateful we are. I was the first supportive call they received all day. 501-604-5150. It only takes a minute to make the call to suppory his staff who are receiving hate calls all day and will be receiving them for weeks.
Perfect act of gratitude!
I always knew that the wins would come in the courts. Let’s hope that the Supreme Court won’t be willing to be on the wrong side of history with the facts completely against them.
This is unequivocally good news for Arkansas. Among the best features is the judge’s thorough debunking of all the cruel misinformation points spread by opponents. Going forward, we need favorable judicial rulings re. gender affirming care covering other states and regions. Also we need some good rulings counteracting the intensely cruel and unfair laws about gender ID and legal recognition.
Glad to see the truth prevailing, thus far. We've got to keep up the fight.
Incredibly thorough reporting as always Erin. Thank you so much for your thoughtful analysis. This article is a great resource for all of us debunking the arguments of friends and relative who spout false conservative talking points.
Findings of fact, even those made by a judge following a bench trial, are ordinarily entitled to deference on appeal. So the focus on appeal will be on the application of the law to those facts. I would not expect the Circuit Court to do much in the way of unwinding those factual findings. Also, if and when those "experts" are proposed as such in other cases in other jurisdictions the fact that they were rejected as unqualified in this case will follow them for purposes of qualifying as an expert.
Thank you Erin!!!
Thank you so much for the excellent breakdown of this opinion. It's easy to see the headline and just focus on the (very good!!) news that the bill was ruled unconstitutional, but the DETAILS here are just amazing. Really appreciate your work!! ❤️
This is incredible news. I downloaded the opinion; I haven't read it yet. But it appears scathing -- and not just in tone. I think the reason for the voluminous findings of fact may be that findings of fact are not reviewable on appeal, and I'm guessing the reason for the number of findings of fact was that the judge really didn't like their substituting religion for science and wanted to rub their noses in it and make sure it stuck. I guess we'll see! This opinion may become famous, a model for others to follow. It looks like the attorneys really did their job.
Thank you, Erin, for a really great analysis. I wonder what they'll say about this on Fox News. Perhaps they'll just ignore it. 😊
Thank you for this detailed article- it’s honestly one of the only things that’s given me any hope at all in a long while. It gets so disheartening feeling like you are always screaming into the void. Good to know that there are still judges out there who judge on the merits of the case and not whatever “facts” they feel like making up that day.
Thank you, for your extensive coverage on all issues gender-affirming care related! I appreciate you so very much!
Thank you for the clear and very concise reporting Erin. Super appreciated!