Amelia Simpson
The K.C. Potter Center for LGBTQ life, as photographed on Aug. 28, 2022. (Hustler Multimedia/Amelia Simpson)
UPDATE: This piece was updated on March 19 to include a comment from Vanderbilt College Democrats.
Editor’s note: This piece includes anti-trans comments.
Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost C. Cybele Raver and Vice Chancellor for Outreach, Inclusion and Belonging André Churchwell announced the creation of a task force to address recent Tennessee legislation affecting transgender and gender-nonconforming people in a March 6 email to the Vanderbilt community.
The announcement came four days after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed SB 3, which restricts public adult cabaret shows, effective April 1, and SB 1, which bans gender-transition care for minors, effective July 1. Youth will no longer be able to access gender-affirming care beginning July 1, and youth already receiving care will lose access after March 31, 2024.
The bills overwhelmingly passed through the state legislature, backed by Republican super-majorities in both chambers. The university’s email stated that it is “deeply concerned” by these laws, as well as by other bills currently moving through the Tennessee legislature and nationwide.
“At Vanderbilt, we are now, and will always be, committed to supporting the success, health and well-being of our LGBTQI+ community,” Diermeier said. “We will continue to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for all members of our community.”
The national American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee and Lambda Legal stated that they plan to challenge these two laws in court. In a message to The Hustler, the ACLU of Tennessee urged anyone who may have been “harassed or negatively affected” as a result of the laws to contact them.
Tennessee is the first state to restrict drag performances and the fourth state to ban gender-affirming care, after Utah became the first to do so in January 2023. As referenced in the university’s email, over 380 bills concerning the LGBTQ+ community have been considered by state legislatures across the country as of March 2023 — more than the total number proposed in 2022. All but seven states have introduced anti-LGBTQ+ bills this legislative session according to the ACLU.
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