THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

According to CNN, the appeals court granted a stay of a lower-court injunction, which had been blocking enforcement of a part of the state's ban. The ban (originally passed in March) prohibits healthcare providers from performing gender-affirming surgeries and administering hormones or puberty blockers to transgender minors, pending the duration of the appeal.

A stay is "an order suspending, modifying, restoring, or granting an injunction while an appeal is pending," per the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit website.

"Because Tennessee is likely to succeed on its appeal of the preliminary injunction, we grant the stay," a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 8.

Pro-LGBTQ+ organizations decried the ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union called the lifting of the injunction "a heartbreaking development" in a statement.

In a statement Windy City Times received, inclusion tennessee Founder Phil Cobucci said, "This irresponsible ruling from the Sixth Circuit is a ruling layered with assumptions about transgender lives and gender-affirming care. We continue to affirm that this law is unconstitutional and will ultimately be overturned—and Tennessee families deserve a more thorough examination of this outrageous policy."

—Andrew Davis