Supreme Court justices on Wednesday used the preferred honorific of the first openly transgender-identifying person to argue before the high court during oral arguments in a landmark case on the ability of states to regulate hormone-based therapies for minors with gender dysphoria.
Chase Strangio, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Rights Project, presented oral arguments on behalf of several families who sued against Tennessee’s law, Senate Bill 1, that prohibits the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries for minors based upon their self-diagnosed gender identity.
Strangio, a biological female who identifies as a man, uses male pronouns.
The court documents addressed Strangio as “Mr.,” in line with court custom of using the preferred honorifics of people appearing before the bar.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett also referred to Strangio as “Mr.” in oral arguments.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The use of preferred pronouns has proved controversial in federal courts before. Judge Kyle Duncan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, for example, in 2020 wrote an advisory opinion dismissing a transgender defendant’s preferred pronouns.
The outcome of the case, United States v. Skrmetti, will have significant implications for the more than 20 other states with similar laws on the books.