The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery for anyone under 18. What does that mean?

The impact of this case, US v. Skrmetti, will have a tremendous impact on trans kids and their families living in the 27 states that have banned trans care in some way. Families with the means are likely to move to states where this medical care is legal. Those who can’t afford it may have no choice but to stay. The implications are serious.

It’s not good by any stretch of the imagination, but the ruling itself is narrow, legal experts and advocates say.

Protective laws in states like Washington are not “directly” affected by this decision, legal and policy experts say. This decision tells us nothing about other laws that discriminate against transgender people on the basis of sex, or how the Court is going to characterize those other laws. It also doesn’t tell us how the Court would rule in a case where it’s clear the law is motivated by animus, or hatred, a question before the courts in other trans rights cases.

Some Necessary Legalese

The question before the Court in US v. Skrmetti was whether Tennessee’s ban, SB1, violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

When a court is evaluating if a law like Tennessee's violates this clause, it must decide if it distinguishes between people on the basis of a protected characteristic such as race or sex. Different characteristics are given different levels of judicial “scrutiny.” The higher the level of scrutiny, the more a government must do to prove its law is in the necessary interest of the state, several legal experts told The Stranger.

“Suspect” cases that involve race, religion, national origin and lack of citizenship are held to the highest level of scrutiny. “Quasi-suspect” cases on sex and gender are in the middle. “Rational bias,” applied when there is no suspect class, is the lowest bar of judicial review.

It takes very little to survive rational basis review. All a government like Tennessee’s has to prove is that its law is “rationally” related to a legitimate interest like regulating health care, which is exactly what happened in Skrmetti.

The Court ruled that Tennessee’s ban, which allows cisgender and intersex kids to get the same hormonal and surgical treatments for different medical reasons, did not violate the Equal Protection Clause because the law did not discriminate against transgender people’s gender or sex. It discriminated against their age and medical diagnosis, which are not protected characteristics.

“This case carries with it the weight of fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy, and propriety of medical treatments in an evolving field. The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “The Equal Protection Clause does not resolve these disagreements. Nor does it afford us license to decide them as we see best.”

It’s tortured logic. There’s nothing fierce about the “debate” over trans medicine, which is neither new nor experimental. There are voices raising “concerns,” but they don’t carry the same weight as the scientific consensus that these treatments are safe and effective. The myth that trans youth are rushed into hormones and surgery has no basis in fact. Consider that Tennessee's one dedicated gender clinic for kids performed about five top surgeries a year before Republicans pressured it to pause all surgeries in 2022.

The Justices voted along ideological lines. In her dissent, liberal Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote the Court retreated from judicial review where it mattered most.

What Does This Mean For Other Cases?

Like the Dobbs decision on abortion, the Court has punted decisions about trans care for kids to the state legislatures, which has devastated trans people in red states.

But the decision doesn’t kill protective laws in blue states like Washington or prevent lawmakers from strengthening those protections.

It’s likely that opponents of trans care will argue the Skrmetti decision allows them to enact new laws without triggering heightened scrutiny, but an important legal question remains open, says Elana Redfield, Federal Policy Director at the Williams Institute, a think tank at University of California, Los Angeles School of Law that researches LGBTQ people.

“The Court notably, quite significantly, didn’t decide whether transgender status merits higher scrutiny, because in this case, they found the classification wasn’t based on transgender status,” she says. “Even though we saw some inklings from various members of the court as to how they might rule on the issue—its full factual development has not yet been presented to the Court.”

In fact, the Court noted repeatedly that it did not feel that intentional discrimination was raised in this case, which was striking, Redfield says. Discrimination was a big part of oral arguments, even if the Justices were ignorant of that discrimination. At one point, when Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised the possibility of creating a new “suspect” class for transgender people, she said she was unaware of any history of laws targeting transgender people before the military ban during Trump’s first term. ACLU Attorney Chase Strangio responded by reciting some of that history, including laws criminalizing cross-dressing and old statutes that threw gay and trans people into the same group.

“It seemed pretty clear that the parties were arguing that these bans were a form of discrimination,” she says. “It felt to me like a core component of the argument being made by both the US and the plaintiffs.”

Basically, if the court felt that wasn’t argued, the Equal Protection argument remains on the table for other trans medical cases, or for issues like sports and identification documents. There’s also the argument that even under rational basis, the law is motivated by a discriminatory animosity toward trans people.

There’s also the matter of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to ban all forms of gender-affirming care for people under 19, which Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota are now fighting in federal court.

Equal Protection is part of their case—not under the 14th Amendment, but Equal Protection in due process under the 5th Amendment—but so is federal overreach. The lawsuit argues Trump doesn’t have the power to criminalize medical practices in Washington or enact funding restrictions over Congress’s head.

“The actual holding of the case really says nothing about the many other issues at play in the many other cases challenging the Trump administration’s assault on trans people and their humanity,” says Vanessa Hernandez, Integrated Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Washington.

What Does This Mean for Washington?

The decision does not directly affect Washington’s laws.

In this state, transgender people are protected under the Washington Law Against Discrimination and the Gender Affirming Treatment Act, which requires health insurers in this state to cover any and all trans care from surgery to laser hair removal.

Transgender people are already moving to flee discriminatory laws in red states. Danni Askini, Executive Director of the Seattle trans advocacy organization Gender Justice League, says about 2,000 of them have reached out to her organization for support in the last year.

The state can expect more kids and their families to come from states with bans like Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. There are questions as to whether our healthcare infrastructure can handle that influx of new patients, or what other tricks the federal government has up its sleeves. Anecdotally, advocates say we’re far from a crisis point, but they have heard of longer wait times to see doctors. A recent Williams Institute study that analyzed data from 133 gender-affirming care providers in states without care bans found that more than half reported more demand from children and adults due to recent legislation. They reported seeing hundreds of out-of-state patients. While most reported short waitlists, some were staggeringly long: 4 percent said over 300 people were waiting for an appointment.

Askini, who co-teaches a class on gender-affirming care at University of Washington School of Medicine, says many hospital systems in the area are working to train residents on trans care and expand continuing education for doctors.

But even Askini hasn’t been able to reestablish gender-affirming care since moving back to Washington three months ago.

“I’m scrounging my last [hormone] patches, cutting them in half, stretching them out, because it’s really hard to find a gender-affirming primary care physician,” she says. “I’m one of the most known trans activists in Washington state and even I can’t get primary healthcare.”

Gender Justice League recently issued a call for trans people to stockpile their hormones. It has serious concerns about access, given the federal government’s aggressive stance on trans people generally..

“I don’t think there’s reason to panic,” Askini says. “I think the biggest concern that I have is this opens the door and emboldens our opposition to try and pass an adult ban.”

Jaelynn Scott, Executive Director of Lavender Rights Project, which provides services to Black and Indigenous trans people, is concerned about the continued threats to federal funding putting indirect pressure on hospitals to “chip at the wall” of gender-affirming care, she says.

Seattle Children’s, an enormous research institution that depends on millions in federal grants, has already flipflopped on offering transgender surgery for youth since Trump took office.

“The recommendation from our organization is to lean into leadership and not panic,” Scott says. “We are very privileged here with an attorney general and a governor and a state that is supportive of our communities—and we need to be leading the way on how to resist. Instead of panicking, we need people to go into action and to start paying attention to their siblings in other states who will be facing immediate loss of access to care.”

This story originally appeared in our Queer Issue on June 4, 2025.

Photos by Madison Kirkman

When I go out to low tides around Seattle, my gaydar pings incessantly. Am I imagining it? Is it wishful thinking? Or are there actually a lot of queer folks at low tides?

I asked fellow queer low-tide enthusiasts, like Wendy Elisheva Somerson, who goes by Wes, if they also noticed this queer phenomenon. 

“Oh, yeah, I do,” they confirmed. “You’re not making it up. There is 100 percent a connection, and there are always gaggles of queers down there.”

Happy first official day of summer! Take advantage of the extra daylight this weekend at cheap and cheerful events from the Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade to Georgetown Pride and from South Lake Union Saturday Market to the Camp Long Mountain Fest. For more suggestions, check out our top event picks of the week.

FRIDAY

SHOPPING

Black Night Market
If you need a quick refresher, Juneteenth commemorates the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865 (it was signed two years earlier!) in Texas at the end of the Civil War. The day was officially declared a federal holiday in 2021 and modern celebrations spotlight Black excellence and community, which is just what this Black Night Market aims to do during the two Fridays on either side of Juneteenth. Head to Pier 62 to shop from BIPOC vendors, hear from artists and entrepreneurs, and grab dinner or dessert from local food trucks. SHANNON LUBETICH
(Pier 62, Downtown, free)

Weather: Commenters have noticed I like whining about the rain. I’m sorry, but I can’t change for you people. I am who I am. So I’m a little bummed about the showers and thunderstorms rolling in around 5 p.m. on the summer solstice. Expect rain on and off through the weekend.

Seattle Police Negotiating With Barricaded Suspect: Police say when they responded to the call of domestic violence at a home in Washington Park this morning, they found a woman shot in the front yard. When they tried to take her from the scene to a hospital, a man fired from inside the house. Officers shot back, say police, who have closed off Madison Street between 32nd and 33rd Avenue. This is a developing story.

My Favorite Cocktail: Mary Ann Bliesner, 83, of Sunnyside was sentenced to three years probation and she and her former company, Vally Processing, ordered to pay a judgement of more than $742,000 for selling some seriously rank grape juice. In 2018, a Food and Drug Administration investigation of her facilities found visible mold, animal pee, animal poop, and rotting animal corpses in juice products. One inspector photographed a juice tank with a moldy crust so thick a rat was walking on top. The company admitted to blending the old juice and concentrate it stored outside for years with fresh stuff and selling that tainted product. It went to school lunch programs and elsewhere around the world for almost five years.

Don’t Try This: Investigators believe a 42-year-old man in Oak Harbor was killed by his own homemade fireworks on Tuesday. According to The Seattle Times, Mark Fakkema had been dismantling commercial fireworks in his kitchen to make his own in a workshop next to his parent’s. Fakkema didn’t have a license to do this. The explosion that killed him and reduced his shop to smoking ruins only took 1.5 to 2 pounds of pyrotechnics. He had 25 more pounds of “illegal explosives” at his house.

ICE’s New Rules For Congresspeople: Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants 72 hours notice before they visit ICE facilities. Under federal law, members of Congress can drop in for a site visit whenever they want to. Nevertheless ICE persisted. It’s already turned away Democrats from field offices in California, Illinois, and New York. Sen. Chuck Schumer accused Trump of a “fear of accountability” and says that Dems will keep showing up “whatever Secretary Noem and her lackeys scribble on a piece of paper.” Strong language. For sure. Works every time.

Dodgin’ ‘Em: Federal immigration agents wanted access to the parking lot outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Thursday. The Dodgers said no. The team said the agents were with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but ICE denied being there. Sources familiar with the matter told NBC News the federal agents arrived with detainees in their vehicles, who they processed just outside the parking lot. Homeland Security said the agents were riding in Customs and Border Protection vehicles, but that the “incident” had “nothing to do with the Dodgers.”

Appeals Court Rules that Trump Still Controls the National Guard in LA: The decision halts a lower court ruling that found Trump broke the law when he activated the guard against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom. According to the AP, this could have unspecified “wider implications” for the President’s power to deploy soldiers within the US. Not good.

He’s Trying to Find the Guy Who Wanted This: President Donald Trump seethed about Juneteenth on Truth Social yesterday. “Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our [sic] Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either!” Totally, man. Cool cool cool. So in 2020, Trump promised to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. He also honored the holiday all four years of his first term and bragged about that. In addition to being an authoritarian threat to our democracy, Trump is such a fucking dick who is really showing off his commitment to racism here.

Seattle Celebrated: People gathered in Seward Park, at the Northwest African American Museum's annual "Juneteenth Skate to Freedom Party" in Judkins Park, and the Africatown Community Land Trust's annual Summer of Soul celebration at Jimi Hendrix Park, and elsewhere. Our own Marcus Harrison Green talked to KUOW about the celebrations and the cultural significance of the holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the US and marks the day in 1865 that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free, more than two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Big Think: President Donald Trump says he’s going to mull over this whole war with Iran thing for a minute, but we can expect him to decide whether we will fight with Israel sometime in the next two weeks.

We’ve rounded up all of this week’s event announcements in one handy place. Pop-punk band All Time Low brings their Everyone’s Talking tour to Seattle this September. Noah Cyrus will hit the road after releasing her sophomore album, I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me. Plus, don’t miss out on next Wednesday’s ticket drop for K-pop quintet LE SSERAFIM. Read on for details.

ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 20

MUSIC

All Time Low
WaMu Theater (Tues Oct 14)

bar italia
Neumos (Tues Nov 11)

Between Friends – Wow! Tour
The Showbox (Sun Sept 28)

To the people who leave their dogs tied up outside of establishments, PLEASE stop. This frustration started by being woken up every Saturday and Sunday morning from dogs' nonstop barking outside of my window near a very popular bakery in Montlake. It starts as early as 8 a.m. and sometimes doesn’t stop until 12 p.m.

While I love that they’re getting so much business, I like to sleep in on my days off. I understand that living in Seattle comes with noise, and I love dogs. But when you’re spending 15-plus minutes inside without them, the stress barking is too much. And it’s so unfair to the dog.

This story originally appeared in our Queer Issue on June 4, 2025.

Y’all, money is scary. Given the state of the world, I find myself oscillating between caring about financial stability as a potential way to feel safe, and pondering if the US will continue to exist long enough for the dollar to be of little more use than wallpaper.

Even though this is a super weird time to think about your wallet, if you happen to be on the side of stability craving vs country escape plans, I’d love to share some clear, shame-free, and actionable financial basics. 

You’re not the only one who doesn’t understand money stuff. I sure as hell didn’t, and most don’t. That’s why we have crypto bros buying NFTs, grandparents mailing checks to TV salesmen, and high-powered financiers robbing us all. However, the more stability you build, the more power you’ll have to support your community and stand up for what matters.

More Misery for Microsoftees: It's hell over there in Redmond. Microsoft is planning to lay off "thousands" of employees next month as it pares back its numbers and funnels spending into artificial intelligence. Most of the cuts will hit the sales department. These layoffs follow the 6,000 jobs Microsoft axed in May. 

Powerless in South Seattle: Power outages struck Seattle City Light customers in Tukwila and South Seattle on Wednesday afternoon. A fallen branch is the likely culprit. 

Oh I forgot about this guy: Sorry, the news (and life in general) is so chaotic right now I completely forgot about the manhunt for the man who allegedly murdered his young daughters and fled into the Washington woods. The lead suspect in that Wenatchee triple homicide is still on the lam. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison believes he's still alive and evading search efforts. But he is confident that the suspect will be caught. As a reminder, the manhunt is now in its third week. 

WEDNESDAY 6/18  

Rocking with William Shatner & Neil deGrasse Tyson

(SCIENCE) Beam us up, Scotty. Actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise for over 25 years, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson are sitting down for a cosmically candid convo, spilling stories "from Earth, space, and their recent Antarctic journey." I had no idea these two were buddies, but it honestly tracks. And, their matching jackets are pretty sweet. I'm curious to hear more about Shatner's experience in space, which he wrote about in his 2022 book, Boldly Go. "I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things," he writes. "I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here." (McCaw Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages) JANEY WONG

Iran Refuses to Back Down: Yesterday, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to demand that Iran surrender. Well, at least he posted on Truth in all caps “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.” In another post, he threatened the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, writing, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Several news outlets are reporting on Trump’s “statements” as though these were official proclamations made via professional press releases and not unhinged social media posts spewed out by an elderly man with brain rot. Terrifying.

In Related News: “Iran Is Preparing Missiles for Possible Retaliatory Strikes on U.S. Bases, Officials Say.” Cue “This Is Fine” dog.

More Bad News! Sounds like the federal appeals court is cool with Trump using California’s National Guard to continue protecting ICE agents! This comes after a district court judge deemed Trump’s use of the National Guard illegal. And it's possible none of that will matter because Defense Secretary Pete Hedseth told a Senate hearing today that "we'll see" if the administration will follow a Supreme Court decision on military deployment in US cities. TOTALLY NORMAL COUNTRY WE’VE GOT HERE.

Posts to Reddit Monday alleged US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were expected to board state ferries on Tuesday.

One post on r/Kitsap said all ferry workers had received an email that ICE would start doing their “Gestapo impression” on ferries starting the next day. Another user wrote on r/Bremerton that they’d confirmed workers were sent an email about how to handle ICE, a “likely presence” in the days to come.

The posts were only partly right. Workers were sent an email about ICE. But Washington State Ferries (WSF) wasn’t warning of a possible raid or raids. The agency was recirculating legal guidance from the Washington Attorney General’s Office, wrote WSF Spokesperson Dana Warr in an email.

Mice 1961, Stacey Levine’s third novel, came very close to winning the 2025 Pulitzer for Fiction. It was one of the prize’s three finalists, but the judges selected a fourth-placed novel, Percival Everett’s James, due, apparently, to a stalemate at the top that couldn’t be resolved. Levine is a Seattle writer. She has lived and worked here for as long as I can remember (she was raised and born in St. Louis, Missouri). Her first book, My Horse and Other Stories, won the PEN/Faulkner Literary Award for Fiction in 1994. Her second novel, Frances Johnson, published in 2005, played a role in her winning The Stranger’s Genius Award for writing in 2009. Her latest novel, Mice 1961, is set in Miami during the month, April, that’s now remembered for US’s failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, the Bay of Pigs Invasion. 

Though this world-historical clusterfuck plays an important role in Mice 1961’s plot, particularly in its penultimate chapter, the greatness of the novel is not found in the story but in the way it’s told. And this is the way it should be. One doesn’t read literary fiction for narrative design—the sole function and art of the kind of detective fiction that counts Dorothy L. Sayers as a master of the interwar years (1920s and 1930s). The art found in Mice 1961, as well as Levine’s other novels and short stories, concerns language, the English language. Levine handles words and sentences with what can best be described by the German word for a form of care that’s philosophically (or existentially) sensitive, sorge. You will not find a neglected word, sentence, passage in this book. Such is her sorge.

What follows is a conversation I had recently had with Levine. I emailed her questions; and she emailed me her responses.

Dear Readers: I’m at a family event — a happy one — this week. This column originally appeared in July 2013. Back with a new Savage Love next week. — Dan

I’m a 26-year-old straight female. I’m writing because I need to ask someone what to think right now. I just fucked a guy while on holiday in Costa Rica. I thought I was sex-positive and adventurous, so why do I feel so ashamed? I’m dating a boy back in the US who I absolutely adore, but we’re not necessarily exclusive. The guy was a 22-year-old local—I thought he was so sweet. But he did that bullshit “fuck her and then get her out of bed and drive her home” shit. I told him it wasn’t okay, and he made excuses. I feel so fucking pathetic right now. Is this because I did something stupid? Is this a natural feeling? Or is it a result of some deep psychological self-induced slut-shaming? Why would he kick me out like that? Please help me wrap my head around this.

Truly Underestimated Risk In Sexy Travel Adventure

A sign hanging above the door of Shikorina Bakeshop & Cafe greets guests with the welcoming message: “You deserve a sweet little treat.”

If you heed its siren call and enter, you’ll find yourself ensconced in a cozy queer oasis with lofty ceilings and a soothing lavender interior. Lesbian and gay pride flags are proudly displayed front and center, and a pastry case beckons with enticing treats like homemade Pop-Tarts, cookies, banana bread, brownies, pie, and whimsically decorated cakes. You might hear Chappell Roan or SZA playing in the background.

Shikorina owner and pastry chef Hana Yohannes first fell in love with baking as a kid via the Betty Crocker mixes her Eritrean mom used to use, which were always crowd-pleasers. But it wasn’t until 2019, when Yohannes found the community bakeshop the Pastry Project, that she learned how to create a range of baked goods from scratch. “My mom’s an amazing cook, but in our country, we traditionally don’t have any desserts, so we were pretty limited in terms of our skills there,” she says.