Arkansas Republicans are being lambasted for introducing a bill that could punish people for supporting transgender youth's social transitions, such as the use of preferred names or pronouns, and giving gender-nonconforming haircuts.
House Bill 1668, the "Vulnerable Youth Protection Act," would allow minors and their parents to sue anyone who acknowledges another minor's gender identity.
Social transitioning is defined by the bill as “any act by which a minor adopts or espouses a gender identity that differs from the minor’s biological sex as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the minor, including, without limitation changes in clothing, pronouns, hairstyle, and name."
The bill, sponsored by Republican Representative Mary Bentley of Perryville, Arkansas, states that it authorizes "civil action for social transitioning" and falsely equates gender-affirming care with "castration, sterilization, or mutilation of a minor."
Penalties include up to 15 years, with minimum damages of $10,000 per defendant, or up to $10 million for those alleged to be involved with gender-affirming care.
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Social media scoffed at the ridiculousness of the bill.
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GOP Representative Jeremiah Moore stated the bill's definition of social transition was too broad.
“If a parent takes their daughter to a barbershop… and [the barber] gives that haircut per the child and the parent’s wishes, and that haircut is not a ‘girl’s haircut,’ this language seems to be holding him potentially liable for the next 20 years of his barber career,” said Moore.
Caitlin Tannehill Oxford, the president of the Washington County Democrats, was one of nine people opposed to the bill who was able to speak up against H.R. 1668.
“If my son and I agree that he can get a piercing, that could also be defined as mutilation and I could be held liable,” said Oxford, adding:
"My daughter does not dress girly. She loves jeans, not dresses. Would that hold me liable to legal action for allowing her to wear what she likes?"
"By the way, my children are not trans. However, I have many friends and family who are, and I’m here today to support them.”
Bentley stated she would amend the bill to “work on some of the definitions and make it clearer.”
Arkansas was one of the first states to pass a law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors in 2021.
Also co-sponsored by Bentley, Act 626, or the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, prohibited doctors from providing hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or surgery to anyone under 18.
A U.S. district judge struck down the law in June 2023, stating that SAFE discriminated against transgender people and violated the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Shortly after, the state passed the Protecting Minors from Medical Malpractice Act, which created a civil liability of 15 years for doctors providing gender-affirming healthcare to minors.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas condemned the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act and issued a statement claiming that it "fosters a climate of fear, where doctors, teachers, and even parents risk financial ruin simply for supporting transgender youth" and that it is "a blatant overreach of government power, attempting to control private decisions and to circumvent our constitutional rights, including free speech, religious exercise, due process, and equal protection."
The nonprofit civil rights organization continued:
"These cases would be extremely unlikely to hold up in court, but the bill’s intent is to scare people into silence and deter them from providing respect, dignity, and care to LGBTQ youth."
"The ACLU of Arkansas strongly opposes HB1668, a cruel and unconstitutional attack on transgender youth, their families, and medical professionals."
"This bill seeks to deter life-saving healthcare through baseless lawsuits, forcing transgender youth into unsafe conditions and increasing their risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide."
"It is state-mandated bullying that violates our basic individual freedoms," the group concluded.
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