A gay doctor who is one of Louisiana’s only specialist paediatric cardiologists has left the state after the introduction of a Don’t Say Gay copycat bill and a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Jake Kleinmahon, who was one of just three doctors specialising in heart transplants for children in Louisiana, chose to leave the state with his family, as they no longer felt safe.

Kleinmahon met and fell in love with his husband Tom in New Orleans, and the couple expected remain in Louisiana, even after retirement. However, he told CNN that the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation made him and his family feel unwelcome and that he ultimately “didn’t have a choice”.

  • archiotterpup@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    A teacher got fired under the bill for telling her class she had a wife. She would not have been fired if she told them she had a husband. What’s your response to that?

    • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      Can you point me at the case? Because the closest I’ve been able to find was a Texas teacher fired after referring to a woman as her future wife, and then winning a discrimination suit for $100,000 in damages. Which seems like the system working - bigot did stupid bigot thing, got sued, damages paid out. Also not in Florida, and thus obviously not fired under a Florida law.

      There was also a pansexual Florida teacher (she was married to a man) who had students create flags reflecting their sexualities and hung them up in class who was fired, but it’s a lot easier to argue that that is “classroom instruction” in an art class and it wasn’t merely telling her class she had a wife (not least of which because she doesn’t).

      And also a married lesbian teacher who resigned because she felt the law would be too restrictive, but she wasn’t fired or even challenged by the district or parents regarding her status according to the articles I’ve read.

      My Google-fu may simply be too weak to find the right case.