Hello and welcome to Outward Slate's podcast about queer politics and culture.

I'm Christina Cotarucci, a senior

writer at Slate, and I'm joined this week by my esteemed co-host, Slate editor, Brian Lauer. Hi, Brian.

Hi, Christina. I love being esteemed and steamed, like the pride flags that are all right now.

This now marks our second episode when we've been talking about your wrinkly pride flags that are all right now. This now marks our second episode when we've

been talking about your wrinkly pride flags. If you haven't already ironed or steamed them,

here's your reminder to do so. Yes. So this week, Brian, you and I are going to tag team on

the big news that's on everyone's minds, the Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Sermeddi, which upheld state bans on gender affirming care for trans youth.

It was not unexpected, I'll say, but it was certainly a devastating outcome for trans young people and their families in red states all over the country who've been,

you know, suffering the termination of their puberty blockers or hormone treatments or going to

extreme lengths to get them from other states. Chase Strangio, the trans lawyer, who argued the

case for the ACLU in court, had this to say on his Instagram. Today, the Supreme Court's decision is first and foremost devastating.

The court was wrong.

They were intellectually and analytically lazy and incorrect.

And also, that does not change.

That our resolve to keep fighting grows every single day. And so we are going

to keep fighting together. And I am sorry for the young people who are fighting so hard for their

health care with each branch of government turning against them at every step of the way.

But you know who isn't going to turn against you? You are a community.

And we're going to keep fighting. To help us unpack the Scrimetti decision. Brian's going to talk to

Mark Joseph Stern, one of Slate's top legal correspondence. And I'll sit down with Congressman Becca

Ballant, a lesbian from Vermont who's been one of the Democrats' most impassioned and vocal advocates for trans kids in Congress.

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