Federal Judge Blocks Tennessee Law That Requires Labeling of Transgender-Inclusive Bathrooms

“Particularly repugnant to the First Amendment is when the government forces a private party to voice the government’s compelled message, not merely in private or in direct dealings with government itself, but in public, as an involuntary instrument for fostering public adherence to an ideological point of view,” Trauger wrote. “On its face, the Act unambiguously mandates that the plaintiffs and other regulated parties speak a particular message, in public, that they have shown, with evidence, that they earnestly consider to be anathema to their beliefs and values. It even tells them what colors to use: red and yellow, like a hazard sign. That the First Amendment would look askance at such a practice, therefore, should surprise no one.”