The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and other legal advocates are urging the Travis County District Court to significantly limit the Texas Attorney General’s demands for PFLAG National to relinquish information and documents. They also seek a permanent injunction to prevent the office from accessing member-identifying information and private communications.
"We were in court today to defend the constitutional rights of PFLAG National and its members to come together for support, advocacy, and community in their fight to protect transgender children," Chloe Kempf, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, stated in a press release. "All Texans and their families, no matter their gender, race, or background, must remain free to share ideas and associate together without the threat of government retaliation and invasions of their privacy."
According to PFLAG’s website, PFLAG is an LGBTQ+ alliance with hundreds of chapters across the United States. Its membership currently exceeds 325,000 individuals.
PFLAG is a plaintiff in two lawsuits aimed at opposing restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for adolescents in Texas. One case, Loe v. Texas, challenges S.B. 14, which bans gender-affirming medical care for minors in the state. The second case, PFLAG v. Abbott, contests a rule by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that mandates investigations into parents who collaborate with doctors to provide necessary medical care for their transgender children. In addition to the ACLU of Texas, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Transgender Law Center, and law firm Arnold & Porter are representing PFLAG.
According to a press release from these organizations, they secured a temporary injunction on behalf of PFLAG in March. They have requested that the court significantly modify the demands and permanently block the attorney general from accessing member-identifying information and private communications.
"In March, the court appreciated the burden that the threat of the Attorney General’s demands imposed on PFLAG National and its Texas members and quite properly concluded they warranted protection as we pursue our challenge in court," Karen Loewy, senior counsel and director of Lambda Legal said in a press release. "Today, the fact remains that the Attorney General is engaging in an unconstitutional, overbroad, and unlawful application of Texas’ consumer protection laws and must be stopped."
