I was blessed to meet and hear our new AG, Jonathan Skrmetti yesterday. From what we have already seen just in the past few weeks, I think we are in for some impressive work.
Nashville, TN - Jonathan Skrmetti was sworn in as Tennessee's 28th Attorney General on September 1, at a private ceremony attended by his immediate family. "It is the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Tennessee as their Attorney General and Reporter," said General Skrmetti. Attorney General Skrmetti was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term on August 10th.
Prior to becoming the Attorney General, Skrmetti served as Chief Deputy Attorney General to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III since December 2018. In that role, he coordinated and supervised the work of the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, including general management of the office and supervision of the office's fifteen litigating divisions. While still in Memphis, he served as president of the Memphis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. In years past, he taught cyberlaw as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Jonathan graduated from Harvard Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and was an officer of the Federalist Society and the Law School Republicans. He earned undergraduate degrees from the University of Oxford and George Washington University.
Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti Leads Coalition of GOP AGs in Letter Demanding DOJ Respect Rights of Critics of Children's Trans Surgeries
After the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Children's Hospital Association asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate critics of transgender surgery for minors, Tennessee's Attorney General is leading a coalition of his peers in responding.
"We, the undersigned State Attorneys General, write to express our deep concern with the recent letter you received from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and the Children's Hospital Association asking you to investigate and prosecute people who question the medical establishment's current treatment of children struggling with gender dysphoria," says the letter penned by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, and co-signed by 12 other attorneys general. "You cannot and should not undertake such investigations or prosecutions."
"We emphatically agree that anyone engaged in violent crime or threats of violence should be investigated and prosecuted by the appropriate authorities," says the letter. "But the medical organizations are asking you for much more than that. They are asking you to direct the criminal enforcement power of the federal government not only at those committing or threatening violence but also at those whose speech may 'provoke' such threats."
It continues:
We respectfully demand that you stand down and allow the national conversation to continue. Now is a time for more speech, not less. Each side must have the opportunity to marshal evidence, make its case, and attempt to persuade the American people of the rightness of its position. This is the process most likely to attain the truth and promote effective policymaking. Silencing critics of current gender dysphoria treatment practices for minors will not make children any safer or healthier. Instead, it will lead to bad decision-making and erode public confidence in both the federal government and the medical community.
In the letter, the Attorneys General note that countries like Britain, Sweden, Finland, and France have all restricted medical treatment for gender dysphoria in children, due to the fact that the effect of the drugs given to children to "transition" can be irreversible.
"Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, a blue ribbon investigation led to the closure of the country's only dedicated gender identity clinic and raised serious concerns about the use of puberty blockers," the letter says. "And the National Academy of Medicine in France advises caution in pediatric gender transition and expresses concern over the existence of epidemic-like case clusters of adolescent gender dysphoria."
"The right to disagree stands as the most fundamental American right," said Skrmetti in a press release. "Government can never criminalize criticism. Especially when something as important as our kids' long-term well-being is at stake, we need to allow for open discussion and constant questioning."
Tennessee's attorney general is leading the charge against a proposed change to Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare).
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will lead a coalition of 20 states in filing a public comment against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's (DHS) plan to change the wording in Section 1557 from "sex" to "gender identity."
"This regulation seeks to rewrite the law without going through the legislative process. That's not how our system works," said Skrmetti. "This sort of unilateral action deprives the people of a voice in the process and undermines the legitimacy of federal law."
The current wording says that Section 1557 "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex in covered health programs or activities."
The new wording would add qualifying language, and would state in full that Section 1557 "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex" (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), in covered health programs or activities."
The Public Comment coalition points out the following as areas of concern:
Fans of AMC's popular television show The Walking Dead who bought a ticket in hopes of attending a "Fan Fest" event in Nashville a few years ago are finally able to receive refunds from the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, AG Jonathan Skrmetti announced Friday.
Attorney General Skrmetti recently launched a consumer restitution program to provide refunds for canceled "Fan Fest" events organized by Walker Stalkers, LLC, for fans to meet famous actors and artists associated with the popular AMC television program as well as other well-known television shows.
"The opportunity to make things right for fans is the best possible outcome in a case like this," Skrmetti said in a statement. "I appreciate the hard work of our Consumer Protection Division throughout this legal process."
In 2013, Walker Stalkers' CEO, James Frazier, founded the company and organized dozens of "Walker Stalker Con" and "Fan Fest" events in the United States and London. A number of conventions were canceled in 2018, however, and refunds were not issued to ticketholders and vendors.
After the Tennessee Attorney General's Office sued Walker Stalkers in 2020, James Frazier consented to an Agreed Final Judgment.
New Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined Dan Mandis on Nashville's Morning News, broadcast weekday mornings on Nashville radio station 99.7 WTN to discuss Vanderbilt University's transgender surgeries on minors, America's fentanyl crisis, and Title IX gender identity executive order.
Mandis: Going to go right to the newsmaker hotline and welcome into the program the new Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. Jonathan, how are you?
Skrmetti: Great, Dan. How are you?
Mandis: I'm good. So I appreciate you joining us. You have been a very busy man. You just were sworn in on September 1, so about what, three weeks ago?
Skrmetti: Yes, it's three weeks today.
Mandis: So you've seemingly done a lot in the last couple of weeks, so you definitely hit the ground running. I want to ask you, first of all, just here in the last couple of days, this Vanderbilt story blew up. Matt Walsh and The Daily Wire, they were just on here in one of the previous segments exposing Vanderbilt University Medical Center of gender mutilation with trans surgeries on minors.
Governor Lee and others calling for investigations. Let me first off, I know you've been quoted as saying that you've got some concerns. What's your perspective on all of this?
Skrmetti: Well, there are a number of concerns that have been raised and there's some evidence that's been put out there relating to a number of potential things. I've heard from the governor's office about this, and I am concerned.
I don't want to get over my skis talking about what might happen, but I've got four kids and I'm very concerned about situations that may be causing irreversible harm. To the fullest extent that state law applies to activities, I think it's important that we make sure there is compliance.
Live from Music Row, Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy - broadcast on Nashville's Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. - host Leahy welcomed the new Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti in studio to discuss his background and the administrative state, usurpations of power, rights for the states, and rights for the individual.
Leahy: We are not doing News Potpourri today. And the reason is because in-studio, the Attorney General of the state of Tennessee, Mr. Jonathan Skrmetti, is here. Welcome.
Skrmetti: Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Leahy: It's a delight to have you here. And congratulations on being named by the Tennessee Supreme Court as the attorney general for the state of Tennessee. It's an eight-year term.
Skrmetti: Yes, sir.
Leahy: And you were sworn in on September 1st?
Skrmetti: I was. So we're over two weeks in now.
Leahy: Well, what are these two weeks been like?
Skrmetti: They've been really busy. It's been good to get back to the attorney general's office. I worked there for about three years as the chief deputy attorney general, and the office covers a very, very wide range of legal issues representing the state and all sorts of matters both defensive and proactive.
And, in part I had forgotten how busy it was, and in part I've learned about parts of the office that I just didn't really deal with in my prior job.
So it's been very educational and just a great opportunity to serve. I love the people over there. I love the state, and there are a lot of good fights worth fighting.
Leahy: And you are a very distinguished attorney, a graduate of Harvard Law School.
There can be no doubt that the loss of human life to death by suicide is a tragedy of extreme proportions. For heartless corporations like Amazon, however, providing the instruments to cause these tragic losses is nothing to lose sleep over.
Amazon is currently facing a lawsuit on behalf of the families of two young men who died by suicide after purchasing a substance on Amazon that has no household purpose in such a concentrated form - but has been linked to at least 50 deaths by suicide.
According to the law firm representing the young men who lost their lives to suicide, Amazon also recommends alongside the poisonous substance that purchasers buy other items that could be used in a suicide attempt; one item is the Amazon edition of a suicide manual. The attorney also asserts that Amazon removed 1-star reviews on the product from grieving family members seeking to raise awareness.
The argument could be made that Amazon was previously unaware that the substance being sold would lead to these tragedies - but even after being notified, the corporation is still actively fighting to continue selling it. Amazon is seeking to dismiss the case on the grounds that corporations are immune from liability for suicide. Other companies like eBay and Etsy, however, have already banned the sale of the substance in order to avoid selling it to people experiencing suicidal thoughts.
It is ironic that Amazon refused to terminate its sale of a substance that has been linked to suicide while having banned other far less threatening items in previous years for the sake of ideological differences.
In 2021, Amazon stopped selling Ethics and Public Policy Center President Ryan T. Anderson's book "When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment" on the basis that the company would no longer be offering books that "framed LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness." Of course, Amazon is willing to censor a book with which it ideologically disagrees on the transgender movement - but suicide manuals and substances to accompany them are fair game for sale?
Also in 2021, Amazon took down the popular documentary "Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words" during Black History Month, without providing an explanation to the many customers who complained. It is clear that Amazon can and will remove products when it chooses - so why is contributing to suicides an insufficient reason to do so?
