A federal judge on Monday declared unconstitutional a Florida law from 2023 that prohibited gender affirming care for minors transgender and severely restricted treatment of adults.

Robert Hinkle, a senior judge, said that the state had gone too far by preventing transgender minors to be prescribed hormonal and puberty blocking treatments with parental consent. He also prevented the state from insisting that only doctors could treat transgender adults, and not registered nurses or other qualified medical practitioners. He also stopped the state from banning online treatment for adults who are transgender.

Hinkle stated that transgender individuals are entitled by the constitution to receive the treatment they require. Citing the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. compared those opposed to it with those who once were against equal rights for women and minorities.

Hinkle wrote that “some transgender opponents use religion to justify their position just as others once used religion to justify their racism or misogyny.” In his 105-page ruling. Transgender opponents have the right to believe what they want. They are not allowed to discriminate based on gender identity.

He continued, “Discrimination against transgender people will decrease over time, just like racism and misogyny has decreased.” To paraphrase an advocate of civil rights from a previous time, “the arc is long but bends towards justice.”

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office issued a statement blasting Hinkle’s ruling. They called it “erroneous” and promised to appeal.

The statement stated that “Through their elected officials, the people in Florida took action to protect the children of this state and the Court erred by overriding their wishes.” As we have seen in Florida, United Kingdom and throughout Europe, there are no solid evidences to support chemical and physical mutilation. These procedures cause permanent and life-altering harm to children. History will look back at this fad with horror.

But those who sueded the state were happy with the ruling.

Lucien Hamel is a transgender person who issued a statement. “I am so relieved that the court found there was no medical basis to this law. It was passed only to target people like me, and to try to push us to leave Florida.”

“This is home.” “I’ve lived here all my life,” he replied. This is the home of my son. I can’t move my family across the country. “The state has no right to interfere in private medical decisions. I am relieved that I will be able to get the care I need in Florida.”

The mother of a child who filed a lawsuit said: “I won’t be forced to watch my daughter suffer needlessly because I cannot get her the medical care she needs.”

The woman said, “Seeing Susan’s anxiety about this ban was one of the most difficult experiences we’ve had as parents.” To protect their privacy, she was only identified as Jane Doe in court documents and her daughter Susan Doe. “All we wanted to do was to remove that fear and help her to continue to be the happy child she is today.”

DeSantis signed the law in 2017, as he prepared for a presidential race that would be heavily based on cultural wars.

It’s only been two weeks since we did something like this in human history. “Now this is something?” He told a crowd of cheering supporters, as he signed a bill. They’re making third graders pronounce pronouns?” “We’re not having the pronoun Olympics here in Florida.”

Florida’s lawyers conceded at trial that the state could not stop someone from pursuing transgender identity but claimed it can regulate medical treatment.

Minors are only allowed to receive cross-sex hormones and treatments that block puberty. For example, giving testosterone to a woman who was born a girl. The law allowed those who were already receiving treatment at the time of its adoption in May 2023 to continue. The law still prohibited minors from having surgery, which is a rare procedure.

Adults could still receive treatment, but only by a doctor and not an advanced practice registered nurses or another professional. The patient had to sign the consent form while they were in the same room as the doctor. This meant that the treatment could not be performed via video call or any other online method. Violators could face criminal charges and medical providers’ licenses could be revoked.

Hinkle wrote in his article that Florida has long permitted treatment of gender dysphoria – the feeling that a person’s gender identity doesn’t match their sex at birth.

Hinkle wrote, “But then the winds of politics changed.” Bill Clinton, the Democratic president at the time, appointed him to his bench in 1996.

Hinkle writes that for 99% of the population, both their biological sex as well as their gender identity is the same. For some, however, the two are different. Hinkle stated that the state admitted this during the trial even if many won’t believe it, and think transgenders are choosing between “reading Shakespeare or Grisham”.

He said that “many people who hold this opinion tend to be against all things transgender, and therefore oppose any medical care which supports it.”

He said that even though the state admits it can’t constitutionally prevent people from identifying themselves as transgender or presenting themselves in any way they choose, several legislators have made it clear through their comments that it is their goal.

Most of these states are facing lawsuits because they have passed laws that restrict or ban gender affirming medical care.