FRANKFORT, Ky. — Senate Bill 150 drew hundreds of protestors to the Kentucky Capitol this legislative session.

One of the loudest voices against the measure, which includes a section effectively banning gender transition care for children, was Mason Chernosky of Lexington.

What You Need To Know

  • Earlier this year, lawmakers overrode the governor's veto of Senate Bill 150  

  • The law includes a section banning gender transition care for youth

  • Transgender children and their parents filed a lawsuit arguing the law’s ban on puberty blockers and hormones is unconstitutional

  • U.S. District Court Judge David Hale granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking enforcement of Section 4(2)(a) and (b) of Senate Bill 150, while the lawsuit goes through the court process 

In March, Chernosky testified that the bill would harm transgender children and begged the Republican-controlled legislature to reconsider.

“I can’t hear from another parent that they think their kid is going to die,” he told a House committee. “I can’t do it anymore. Please!”

After lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto of SB 150, seven transgender children and their parents filed a lawsuit arguing the law’s ban on puberty blockers and hormones is unconstitutional.

Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge David Hale granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking enforcement of Section 4(2)(a) and (b) of Senate Bill 150, while the lawsuit goes through the court process. 

“Based on the evidence submitted, the Court finds that the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some transgender children under the evidence-based standard of care accepted by all major medical organizations in the United States,” Hale wrote.

Opponents of the measure felt a “huge sense of relief,” said Chernosky.

“For trans kids and trans people out there, this proves that even though they have decided that we’re the target that they want to attack right now, it’s not going to last,” he told Spectrum News 1. “These bills are just them trying to throw something at the wall and see what sticks and it’s not going to stick.”

In a statement Wednesday, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, R-Ky., the Republican nominee for governor, called the judge’s decision “misguided” and promised to defend the law.

“Senate Bill 150 is a commonsense law that protects Kentucky children from unnecessary medical experimentation with powerful drugs and hormone treatments,” he wrote. 

Senate Bill 150 sponsor State Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, issued a statement Thursday, saying the judge’s opinion “reads more as a medical opinion on policymaking than sound jurisprudence. I anticipate a swift appeal to the Sixth Circuit. Through the efforts of the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, I trust this case will ultimately play out in the best interest of Kentucky’s children.”

Chernosky, a 25-year-old transgender man, said hormone replacement therapy has been lifesaving for him.

“Going on those hormones really made me feel like there was hope and that I could see myself living a life where I got to grow up and be an adult, and a happy adult living a long life,” he said. “And I think that’s something I really want for every child.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, dial 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 

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