This discussion was from a lunch event at SBC25 in Dallas about one of this summer’s most consequential United States Supreme Court cases—U.S. v. Skrmetti, which is about a Tennessee law that empowers the state to protect minors. The event was held just a week before the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision upholding a Tennessee law that prohibits gender transition procedures for minors. This ruling is a major victory as shared by ERLC President Brent Leatherwood:
“The protection of children from harmful transgender surgeries and interventions is not only an entirely appropriate action by the state, it is desperately needed in a culture that believes a person’s identity can be divorced from biological realities simply on a whim. Southern Baptists have been unequivocally clear about the dangers of ‘gender transition’ procedures and interventions on minors and the devastating effects they have on children.”
Watch ERLC President Brent Leatherwood speak to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Alliance Defending Freedom’s Vice President Ryan Bangert about:
- why this case matters,
- protecting our kids with helpful legislation,
- and how the ERLC advocates for Southern Baptist interests before the courts.
“. . . it is not only entirely appropriate, but constitutionally permissible, for the state to intervene to protect these vulnerable minors.”
Brent Leatherwood
Southern Baptists desire to see children protected from a culture that has bought into a sexual revolution intending to separate them from God’s good design for their lives. In October of 2024, the ERLC filed a brief before the Supreme Court alongside the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, advocating for Tennessee’s law to be upheld and children to be protected from experimental gender transition procedures. Southern Baptists have been unequivocally clear about the dangers of gender transition drugs and procedures on minors and the devastating effects they have on children.
The ERLC has been standing for God’s good design across multiple fronts in Congress, federal rulemaking, and the courts and will continue to do so to ensure that vulnerable children are protected.
Additional Resources
Learn more about the United States v. Skrmetti case and how the ERLC has stood for God’s good design on behalf of Southern Baptists:
