Democrats Who Make Their States 'Safe Havens' For Transgender Kids Could Be in Trouble

Blue states that give shelter to minors from other states who want to get sex changes without parental consent may be violating the Constitution, experts say. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D.) last week signed "safe haven" legislation, which offers protection to minors who cross state lines to undergo gender surgery or have an abortion and legal shields to doctors who perform the procedures. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D.) signed a similar law last year, and Washington State is poised to follow suit. But while popular among progressives, these bills may be on shaky legal ground.

"All it’s going to take is one parent whose minor child has been shielded from them, and this [policy] will fall under a constitutional challenge," Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation told the Washington Free Beacon. "Absolutely, these are violations of the 14th Amendment. Every time we see the state standing in loco parentis, or trying to step into the shoes of the parent, that immediately raises constitutional red flags."