07/10/23 07/10/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we recognize the cluster munitions created risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance this is what we do for the decision for as long as we could. but there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if russian troops and tanks roll over ukrainian positions and take more ukrainian territory and subjugate more ukrainian civilians.

amy: united states is facing outrage at home and worldwide over its decision to send cluster munitions to ukraine. we will speak with human rights watch and with norman solomon, author of the new book "war made invisible: how america hides the human toll of its military machine." then to tennessee. >> friday night a federal appeals court stated in injunction that has caused tennessee's anti-trans law that bans gender affirming care. now the law is in effect and families across tennessee are scrambling and families across the country are wondering what this means for their medical care. amy: we will speak with chase strangio about this major setback for trans rights. and with tennessee lookout editor holly mccall in nashville about how the state attorney general demanded vanderbilt university medical center hand over medical records for patients at its clinic for gender affirming care.

we will also speak to democratic state senator sarah mcbride, the highest-ranking trans elected official in the u.s. she is now running to be the first openly transgender member of congress. >> too many politicians what to divide as. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president biden declared the u.s.-u.k. relationship is rock solid as he meets with british prime minister rishi sunak in london today ahead of the two-day nato summit in vilnius, lithuania. over the weekend, sunak told reporters the u.k. opposes cluster munitions as a signatory to the international convention banning their use. biden's decision to send cluster bombs to ukraine has sparked intense criticism, including

from the u.n., due to the danger they pose to civilians. we'll have more on cluster munitions after headlines. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is stepping up his campaign for nato membership. on friday, he visited turkey as president recep tayyip erdogan stated ukraine deserves nato membership. zelenskyy said he hopes to expedite ukraine's accession to nato and get clear security guarantees during this week's summit. meanwhile, president biden told cnn sunday ukraine would not be ready to join the alliance until russia's invasion, which marked its 500th day saturday, was over. pres. biden: i don't think about whether or not to bring ukraine into the nato family now at this moment. amy: the u.n. is urging parties to prioritize global food security and ensure the black sea grain deal is extended, allowing the continued export of food and fertilizer from

ukrainian ports. russia has threatened to quit the deal which is due to expire in a week, 17. july president biden said friday the u.s. has destroyed the last of its arsenal of banned chemical weapons in a claim corroborated by the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. under the chemical weapons convention, which took effect in 1997, the u.s. was supposed to have destroyed its vast stockpile of chemical munitions, including the nerve agents vx and sarin, by 2012. u.s. law enforcement agencies continue to stockpile and deploy large quantities of tear gas, a chemical weapon that's banned in warfare. in texas, the white nationalist gunman who killed 23 people at an el paso walmart in 2019 has been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms after pleading guilty to federal hate crimes and weapons charges. the gunman still faces murder charges in a state trial that could bring him the death penalty. the mass shooting nearly four years ago was the deadliest attack on the latinx community in modern u.s. history.

shortly before the massacre, the shooter published a racist online manifesto echoing president trump's rhetoric about an invasion of immigrants crossing the southern border. u.s. climate envoy john kerry is sounding the alarm after scientists reported the earth logged its four hottest days in recorded human history last week. >> if you listen to the scientists, the last week they have described as terrifying and as unchartered territory. when you see the risks of what is happening already with global ice knelt, with challenges of fighters, the mudslides, the heat, people dying from the level of heat, the quality of air. people are dying in the millions. about 8 million people a year die from that. amy: in pakistan, authorities report at least 50 people have been killed in floods and landslides since the start of the monsoon season on june 25. in india, at least 18 people were killed over the weekend as torrential rains swept northern parts of the country. here in the united states, a

massive slow-moving storm system brought torrential rains to northeastern states on sunday, where officials warned flooding could rival 2011's hurricane irene. one person died of drowning in new york's hudson valley, which received up to eight inches of rain. in tennessee, a panel of federal appeals court judges is allowing a new state law banning gender affirming care for transgender youth to take effect immediately. the measure had been previously blocked by a lower court following a lawsuit filed by the aclu on behalf of three families and a doctor. saturday's ruling marks the first time a federal court has allowed a ban on gender-affirming care to be enforced in the united states. similar legislation has been blocked by federal courts in arkansas, alabama, florida, indiana, and kentucky. we'll have more on this story later in the broadcast. we will go to nashville. in sudan, nearly two dozen people were killed saturday in military airstrikes on a residential area of omdurman, sudan's most populous city. it was one of the deadliest

attacks in an urban area since fighting erupted in april between the sudanese army and the rapid support forces. at least 17 other people, including five children, were killed in an army air raid in khartoum last month. the u.n. has warned sudan is on the brink of a full-scalcivil war as ept is hostg talks in cairo this week on how to end the violence. the pentagon says u.s. forces killed at least 10 al-shabab fighters in overnight airstrikes in a remote area of somalia saturday. separately, the pentagon said sunday, a u.s. drone strike killed islamic state leader osama al-muhajer in eastern u.s. central command said in a statement that no civilians were killed in the drone strike but said it was assessing reports of a civilian injury. the claims could not be independently verified. centcom said the u.s. strike was carried out by the same mq-9 drones that were harassed by russian military aircraft in separate incidents last week in syrian airspace.

in mexico, another journalist has been found dead. luis martín sánchez iñiguez, a staff reporter for the newspaper la hornada, had been missing since wednesday. his body was found saturday near the city of tepic in the state of nayarit. local officials said his body showed signs of violence, with two handwritten signs affixed to his corpse -- though they didn't reveal what the messages said. the net their lens -- the netherlands government collapsed on friday after failing to reach an agreement on stricter rules for asylum seekers. dutch prime minister mark rutte said he will serve as a caretaker leader until general elections are held in november. his ruling coalition came apart after two parties objected to plans by rutte to restrict the rights of migrants whose asylum claims had already been approved, barring them from reunifying with their children. rutte has denied those reports. rights groups have blasted his government for closing government-run asylum centers and for dangerous and unsanitary

conditions at existing centers that violate european union standards. an afghan u.s. military interpreter who fled afghanistan after the taliban takeover in 2021 was shot dead last week while working as a lyft driver in washington, d.c. 31-year-old nasrat ahmad yar had resettled in virginia with his wife and four children, the youngest just 15 months old. a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help them. a report last year by the group gig workers rising found at least 50 drivers for uber, lyft, and doordash were killed between 2017 and early 2022. here in new york, protesters rallied in front of the u.n. headquarters friday demanding the release of 62-year-old palestinian political prisoner, writer, and organizer walid daqqah, who has been in israeli custody since 1986. daqqah completed his time for the 1984 killing of israeli soldier moshe tamam this year, but he was sentenced to two additional years in 2017 for

smuggling phone devices into ktzi'ot prison. this is organizer munir atallah speaking at friday's action. >> he has developed a rare form of bone marrow cancer and he has essentially been dealt a death sentence by the he's really courts because -- by the prison system because he is being denied medical care for this life-threatening cancer and his family has also been denied visitation to see him. he is in a state of crisis and we call on them to release him immediately and we are pushing the u.n. to push the he's really resume to do so. amy: president biden announced new measures friday to lower health care costs by cracking down on so-called junk insurance plans which had been expanded under the trump administration. the proposed rules take aim at short-term plans by limiting their duration to just a few months and mandating they clearly disclose the limits of the coverage provided. and a judge in oklahoma has dismissed a reparations lawsuit

from the last three living survivors of the 1921 tulsa race massacre in which a white mob burned down what was known as "black wall street," the thriving african american neighborhood of greenwood. an estimated 300 black americans were killed. the three plaintiffs -- lessie benningfield randle, viola fletcher, and hughes van ellis -- all over 100 years old, could still appeal the ruling. next month 109-year-old viola fletcher is releasing her memoir "don't let them bury my story." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the united states is facing questions at home and worldwide over its decision to send cluster munitions to ukraine. the weapons release smaller so-called bomblets over a wide area and often leave unexploded munitions that threaten the lives of civilians for years to come. they are banned under the convention on cluster munitions,

an international treaty signed by 123 countries, though not signed by the united states, ukraine, or russia. national security advisor jake sullivan defended the biden administration's move friday. >> we recognize the cluster munitions created risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. this is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could. but there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if russian troops and tanks rollover ukrainian positions and take more ukrainian territory and subjugate more ukrainian civilians. ukraine would not be using these munitions and some foreign land. this is their country they are defending. these are their citizens they are protecting. they are motivated to use any weapon system they have in a way that minimizes risks to those citizens. amy: the pentagon claims the cluster bombs it is sending to ukraine have a failure rate of just over 2%, but the pentagon's own statements suggest the

cluster munitions include older grenades with a known dud rate of 14% or more. dissent within the democratic party to biden's decision is being led by california congresswoman barbara lee, who is running to replace the retiring senator dianne feinstein and was the sole vote against afghanistan war in 2001. congress member lee spoke sunday on cnn. >> we know it takes place in terms of cluster bombs being very dangerous to civilians. they don't always immediately explode. children can step on them. that is a line we should not cross. i think the president has been doing a good job managing this war, this putin, aggressive war against ukraine but i think this should not happen. he has to ask for a waiver under the foreign assistance act is to do it because we have been preventing the use of cluster bombs since i believe 2010. amy: today president biden is in britain ahead of a nato summit

this week in lithuania. he met with u.k. prime minister rishi sunak, who noted the u.k. is a signatory to the convention on cluster munitions. >> the u.k. is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, we will continue to do our part to support ukraine against russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion. we have done that i providing heavy battle tanks and long wage -- long-range weapons. russians act of arbors of his causing untold issues for many people. amy: several southeast asian nations still cluttered with cluster munitions the united states dropped on them during the vietnam war have also raised alarm. the laotian ministry of foreign affairs said monday it opposed biden's move "as the world's largest victim of cluster

munitions." and the cambodian prime minister hun sen said in a statement sunday -- "it would be the greatest danger for ukrainians for many years or up to 100 years if cluster bombs are used in russian-occupied areas in the territory of ukraine." this comes as a new report by human rights on cluster bombs used by russia and ukraine documents they repeatedly killed and injured civilians. for more, we are joined by two guests. mary wareham is advocacy director of the arms division of human rights watch and editor of the annual cluster munition monitor. also with us is norman solomon, the executive director of the institute for public accuracy and the co-founder of rootsaction.org. his piece in the hill is headlined "the u.s. should not provide cluster munitions to ukraine." his new book "war made , invisible: how america hides the human toll of its military machine." we welcome you both to democracy now! mary wareham, we are going to

begin with you in wellington, new zealand. if you can respond to the u.s. decision, what does this mean for the world that the u.s., the most powerful country on earth, says it will supply cluster bombs to ukraine? >> thank you, amy. this is an appalling decision by the biden administration to transfer hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of unreliable submunitions that have a higher dud rate then we believe the pentagon has disclose. you mentioned 14% may fail to explode. human rights watch objected to this transfer due to the likelihood of civilian harm, and we do not say that lightly. it after issuing 10 reports detailing extensive use of cluster munitions, rockets, missiles by russian forces since the very first day of the conflict, ukrainian forces have also used cluster munitions in

numbers but what a report shows is they had used cluster munition rockets, firing them into -- over nearly six months during 2022 when it was under russian occupation. the story is pretty sad and horrific. people who were killed in their homes during that cluster munition strikes. a woman cooking outside was killed while together with her young daughter and her mother. neighbors sitting on a park bench outside their apartment building who were hit in the strike. these are casualties from the time of use will, which is one reason why the missions are prohibited, and also that it resulted unexploded ordinance. many submunitions fail to detonate as intended and that leaves a legacy of contamination which the laos foreign ministry

has said quite eloquently they do not want to see the horror of cluster munitions get any worse in ukraine because they know full well it will take years to clear up the remnants. amy: talk specifically, mary, about why children are so often the victims of these unexploded -- i hate to say bomblets because it almost sounds sort of cute, which of course it isn't. >> some call them submunitions. the u.s. military calls them grenades. they are small, battery sized. some have features that are appealing to children such as ribbons that are used to stabilize the munition as it disperses in the air. interesting shapes, colors, small size. cluster munitions, submissions tend to land on the ground or bury into the ground and that is where children come across them. children by nature are curious.

there is going to have to be some extremely thorough risk education for ukrainian children for the years to come to keep them safe from these remnants. in other countries, children are also injured while collecting scrap metal to sell. it is common in southeast asia. another reason why children -- they come for more than half the casualties from the remnant. the vast majority of victims of cluster munitions are not military. amy: talk about this meeting that president biden just had with sunak, the british prime minister. you don't know what they said in that meeting but rishi sunak did come out with a statement this week and because he had to because britain, unlike the u.s.-ukraine, russia, is a signatory to the cluster bomb an

that are signed by 120 three nations, which says you can't produce them, you cannot promote them, and that is significant. you have to discourage the use of them and yet here, a day or two after president biden makes his announcement, they meet. >> the united kingdom last year did huge amount of work to promote the convention for countries that have not yet joined in february, and i jury ratified the convention. we understand other africans that have not yet done so are in the process of preparing to join the international convention. that is the kind of work the u.k. has been doing in support of the convention. i can imagine the prime minister would want to remind president biden of that. we see more than 10 countries -- we've seen other world leaders reaffirming their country status as a member of the convention on cluster munitions because -- that is important because the treaty doesn't just prohibit the

use of stockpiling and trade, it has a very strong provisions with any assistance to those banned activities. the u.s. allies that have signed the treaty that are trying to support you have better be very careful when it comes to assisting in any way with the transit of the u.s. cluster munitions headed for ukraine and facilitating their use once they get into the country. that history we off-limits to countries that are part of the convention on cluster and that is why they have -- amy: can you talk about the report you just put out saying it is not just russia that has been using cluster bombs in ukraine, it is ukraine? where do those cluster bombs come from that ukraine is currently using? >> ukraine inherited a stock pile of old soviet cluster munitions during the breakup of the soviet union, and it used those in 2014 and 2015 in the east and we believe in the current conflict as well. apparently, they have run out of

those cluster munitions and needs more, more ammunition. cluster munitions can be dropped from the air will stop in ukraine, the vast majority tend to be launched from the ground. ukraine's use has been far less extensive compared to what russia has done, but ukraine has used cluster munitions since the very beginning of the conflict. last march, the first use recorded. the united nations also went in the same or that human rights watch did last year and saw the remnants of cluster munitions there. they reached the same conclusion that the ukrainian forces were likely responsible for that cluster munition use. we were just wanted to see ukraine did it used cluster munitions in 2022. it has admitted the antipersonnel landmines may have

been used. there is a report i human rights watch telling that. these weapons are prohibited for a very good reasons and that is due to the harm for civilians and this is why we do not wish to see any more cluster munitions used by any side of the conflict to the civilian casualties. amy: i want to go to national security advisor jake sullivan defending the biden administration's decision to send cluster bombs to ukraine. >> russia has been using cluster munitions with high dead or failure rates between 30% and 40%. in this environment come ukraine has been requesting cluster munitions in order to defend its own sovereign territory. the cluster munitions that we would provide have dud rates far below what russia is doing, providing, not higher than 2.5 percent. amy: if you could respond to what he is talking about? the dud rate and what creates

those bomblets come if you will, essentially what become landmines. he is saying russia and i heard biden saying something it was like dud rate in russia is 30% and ours is only 1% but "the times" pointed out the u.s. dud rate is as high as 14%. can you talk about the significance of all of this? >> we were serially hoping for actual details in the announcement on friday from the department of defense as to how it reached the 2.35% dud rate they're coming because they're not releasing any of the testing or any of the background information, any of the data on this stuff the 14% dud rate comes from the pentagon's own historic documents they have published in the past. we are unsure why. in this case the pentagon cannot be much more transparent about how it reached its numbers, but dud rates are only part of the

equation. there's a lot more that has to be taken into consideration. also in the operations in warfare, dud rates are often much higher. the types of cluster munitions the u.s. is sending also do not work well in areas where it has been wet, where the ground is moist. this is what we are seeing in ukraine with the flooding in recent weeks. so there are also some challenges with the transfer, but kind of pointing to the technical fix up somehow we are going to deal with the dud rates is not an adequate response at all. amy: mary wareham, i also want to bring in norm solomon, the institute for public accuracy and rootsaction.org. your new book "war made , invisible: how america hides the human toll of its military machine." can you talk about how this is

playing in the united states? and talk about it being a democratic president, president biden, who has, though admitting there is pushback, he has made this decision to send cluster bombs to ukraine. >> this is playing with a message from the white house, do as we say and not as we do, to russia. and really to the world. last year, the white house said that use of cluster munitions deserves to be in the category of war crime. now they are saying, just fine, no problem. this is symptomatic of a mentality what dr. king called the menace of militarism that blends with the kind of doublethink, as your door will called it. this is a way of saying that we want to run the world, we make the rules and break the rules. it is also a way of saying that when civilians are killed and it is done by an enemy state, that

is terrible. we condemn it because we have the high moral ground. but when we are accessories to the crime, when we do it as the u.s. did in the invasion of iraq using 1.8 million to 2 million so-called bomblets and first few week of that invasion, when we do it it is a-ok. this is one reason why i called the book "war made invisible" because there are so many layers in which the u.s. engages in warfare directly and indirectly and it gets sanitized, it gets made invisible, it gets spun as the white house in the last 72 hours is in overdrive. this is a willingness to engage with the world and say, we get to define what lives matter and what don't. and i think this is the tacit messaging coming from the biden administration, especially in the last few days, in this context that we are supporting

the human rights of civilians in ukraine and elsewhere except when they don't matter because then we have a tactical, strategic reason otherwise. part of the messaging is, if the ukrainian government kills ukrainian civilians, that is ok because that is for their own good. and, amy, i think one thing that needs to be really pointed out and thought about deeply that i have not sn eein the corporate media whatsoever is the same logic that the biden white house is using to try to justify this horrific decision can be applied and is applied in the strategic doctrine of both russia and the united states. we have been hearing for weeks from the rumblings on capitol hill and from the administration that ukraine is running out of weapons. and we have all of these cluster munitions stock piled in the united states, and they're not

doing any good. why put them to waste? we should send them to ukraine, which is the logic that ultimately prevailed. and the reason given is that ukraine might lose the war. so this so-called conventional warfare is not going well -- and it looks like the back is up against the wall -- we need to use this weapon that before we have said is absolutely a foreign. that logic leads to tactical nuclear weapons because the doctrine of the u.s. and russia is that they reserve the right to use nuclear weapons to be the first to use the nuclear weapons if the conventional war is not going well. amy: you have written an interesting piece in the hill, "rfk junior's campaign is getting a boost from biden's hawkish nests." we just played a clip of congress member barbara lee who is running for dianne feinstein's in the senate. who is one of, what, something

like 19 house democrats who have written a letter condemning the decision to send cluster bombs? put those two together, the position of the democratic party on this as we move into this presidential election year. >> those 19 democrats should have spoken up a long time ago. i wrote that in may. adam smith, the ranking member of the democratic party on the house armed services committee, was floating the idea publicly that the u.s. should send cluster bombs, cluster munitions to ukraine. almost complete silence. the intercept asked for comment from embers of the progressive caucus, from the house armed services committee, democrats got almost no response. this is a bit late. yes, the statement is good. they should have been screaming bloody murder weeks ago as the

biden administration moved toward this decision. i think this decision should be put in a context, a context that ever since the biden administration withdrew the last troops from afghanistan almost two years ago, it has been moving more and more to recalibrate its militarism around the planet. for instance, the military budgets, through the roof. a year ago almost exactly, fist bumping the defector leader of saudi arabia while his country was continuing to slaughter people with u.s. help in yemen. we had just last month the red carpet treatment of prime minister modi from india at the white house and capitol hill, 70 with egregious, terrible human rights violations, particularly its muslims and others in india. what is the common thread? i willing to sacrifice human beings and human rights on behalf of the strategic interest of the united states.

in the first case, the middle east against iran and russia and syria and so forth. the other, against china. what we are really saying is a admitting that from the standpoint of believing in diplomacy rather than military confrontation and possible conflagration, it is been getting worse and worse for at least the last 22 months. has refused to reengage with the iran nuclear deal and get it done. i think that is an is able of where the damage the trumpet administration did is not been cleaned up but being ratified by the biden administration and likewise we have that with the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty which we were older, can remember in the 1980's, was a victory for the peace movement around the world, in the u.s., in germany, and england. we got the inf treaty past. we pulled the reagan

administration kicking and screaming to get it done. the intermediate range missile ban for nuclear forces in europe. when trump ended that, biden came back in and there's no action whatsoever. let me say we have militaristic biden administration and the democratic party from the top is either going along with it on capitol hill or sort of mumbling. i have to say i wish that barbara lee had been more outspoken earlier. i wish there was a willingness at the top of the democratic already hierarchy and house and senate to apply the same standards that have been applied sometimes the republican administration. amy: and the significance, if you can talk more about the bush administration making this decision to send the cluster bombs to ukraine on the same day as the opcw, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, confirmed the u.s. had destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile?

ok, 10 years after he said it would? >> the biden administration and biden's appointees do brag about and sometimes justified the good steps that they have been part of. what they give with one hand to humanity they take away with any other hands. with the military budget continuing to rise, ironically enough the time of the celebration of the prince of peace late december for the last couple of years, president biden very ceremoniously and proudly signs a record i budget which could not be called a defense budget, lowercase d, and this is the debt trade we are on. i think we should be clear about this. i say this is somebody who believes we have to defeat the neofascist republican party the -- and the only way to do that is to support the democratic

ticket. that is the real world we are in. this administration is pushing toward more military confrontation with russia, with china, and the logical endpoint of that journey is nuclear conflagration. amy: norm solomon, thank you for being with us, also very interesting that president biden is meeting with king charles right now as we are doing this broadcast. his late wife princess di was one of the people who lead the campaign against landmines around the world. norman solomon is with the institute for public accuracy and the co-founder of rootsaction.org. his new book "war made , invisible: how america hides the human toll of its military machine." and thank you to marry where ham, advocacy director of the arms division of human rights watch. next up we go to tennessee where federal appeals court will allow an anti-transload go into effect advance gender affirming care. we will also look at how the six

attorney general demanded vanderbilt university medical attorney hannover medical records for patients at its clinic for gender affirming care. back in 30 seconds. ♪♪ [music break] amy: "why does the earth give us people to love?" by kara jackson.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to tennessee, where a panel of federal appeals court judges ruled two to one to allow a new state law banning gender affirming care for transgender youth to take effect immediately. the anti-trans measure was previously blocked by a lower court following an acl lawsuit on behalf of three families and a doctor. saturday's ruling marks the first time a federal court has allowed a ban on gender-affirming care to be enforced in the u.s. the ruling came in response to an emergency appeal from republican tennessee attorney general jonathan skrmetti, who called the ruling "a big win." it ignores the guidance of major medical organizations. similar legislation has been connected and at least 20 states since 2021 has been blocked by federal courts in arkansas, alabama, florida, indiana, and kentucky.

for more we go to new york to be joined by chase strangio, deputy director for trans justice with the aclu lgbtq & hiv project. in nashville, tennessee, we are going to holly mccall, editor in chief of the tennessee lookout. chase, respond to this ruling. >> thank you so much. it truly is a devastating ruling . in some sense it is feeling deliberately of two's. the court had to distort legal precedents and really common sense and order to rule against the transgender adolescence their parents, and their doctors. there are large portions of this decision that have no citations because there is no citations to be had stop whathis means praccally is is law that go against everything we know about gender affirming care, that goeagainst thwell studied use ievery major medical association is in effect , falies are trified and

this is something that is happening across the country. thankfully, when juds look at the evidence, they have an blocking these lawand we will continue to figh this decision on appeal. amy: explain what happened friday night, how you learned of this and why this is so unusual. people maybes paying, there are anti-trans bills being passed across the country, what makes this so different? >> what is happening across the country is we have these bills being pushed and passed by republican-led legislatures, gerrymandered and butter suppressed legislators. yet the district court block the piece of legislation. the attorney general tennessee filed for an emergency stay at the six circuit court of appeals. this is sort of a can to what we see in the shadow docket at the supreme court where you're just getting these rushed opinions and perhaps 24 hours or less putting this decision from the

district court on pause while the case is proceeding. this allows the law to go into effect. the court is not close to the record. there were hundreds and hundreds of pages of expert declarations filed in this case. the appeals court admits they may have got it wrong because it was rushed, which means they should not have done it in the first instance. this was not a comprehensive appeal, this was an abbreviated process where the court interjected itself. in many cases, had no citations it admitted, have got it wrong. the consequences is hundreds of trans adolescents are now without the medical care they need post of amy: talk about the medical organizations opposed to this. >> every major medical association in the u.s. as opposed this type of legislation including the american academy of pediatrics, american medical association, the endocrine society, the american

psychiatric association. we are talking every mainstream medical association in the united states is opposed to this legislation and believes and knows from evidence and clinical experience this is going to cause very serious crimes to transgender adolescents. the states are raising arguments in defense of these laws that make no sense when tested by courts that are actually looking at the evidence, arguments like the care has side effects. we know every medication side effects. no intervention is perfect but that does not mean we have states banning that form of care. these are the same states and same individuals that pushed for the permission to have ivermectin to treat covid when they had no evidence of efficacy and are pushing against vaccines and masks in schools. we know this to be a political argument in the states that are categorically opposed to transgender people living full and thriving lives. amy: i want to bring in holly mccall, editor in chief of the nonprofit news outlet tennessee

lookout. debbie demanding that vanderbilt university medical center handover medical records of patients at its clinic for gender affirming care. holly, can you talk about the significance of this and the fact that tennessee law grants the attorney general's office of authority to issue civil investigative demands? explain what they're talking about here. patient's information is being headed over to the attorney general? >> yes. the assistant attorney general is the definition of an activist. we often hear republican legislators who do not like judicial decisions talk about activists, judge, or a judge whose legislating the bench. i think in reality, we have an attorney general who is an activist ag. he has spoken at anti-transgender events held in

nashville. he is not only requested the records of patients at vanderbilt medical center which he claims as part of medicare -- excuse me, medicaid investigation, medicaid fraud, but he is also asked for records of people who volunteered to be buddies to people going through gender affirming care. he is asking for this broad swath of documents that really would have nothing to do with medicaid fraud. amy: and asking for emails sent to and from a public portal for questions about lgbtq health? >> that is correct. i think it is clear, as chase remarked, this is not just a tennessee issue. this activity is going on around the country. there is obviously a target for lgbtq americans. this attorney general sent up a special litigation unit just to

take on issues like this to address issues that could be addressed at the federal level. this is extraordinary even for him. we have not seen this kind of gross overreach into people's personal lives. i have an acquaintance whose daughter volunteers. she is now worried her records are going to be open to the state, worried about what might happen to her, wishing she faced persecution. she is not an lgbtq american. she is a tennessee and who was to be supportive of her friends in the lgbtq community, and now she feels she is at risk. amy: vanderbilt notified patients over the juneteenth weekend that the confidential medical records are now in the possession of the state attorney general? your newspaper the tennessee lookout, you called vanderbilt to ask them if in fact they're handing over these records? >> yes, we did.

one of our reporters has been tracking this carefully. vanderbilt has been a little cagey about what records they handed over. they are -- vanderbilt is not the easiest institution to communicate with. we still don't know exactly what they have handed over and what they have not. actually published our original story on this, they did say, well, we did not hand everything over that easily but we still don't know exactly what they have handed over. vanderbilt university medical center has been in the sights of the right wing for almost a year now. in september of last year, matt walsh with the very right-wing outlet the daily wire posted spliced videos online of vanderbilt doctors talking about transgender and gender affirming care. in one clip, you had a physician who is saying talking about the financial aspects of gender affirming care. well, that is kind of what started the whole ball rolling

in tennessee because the right says, oh, gender -- vanderbilt is just trying to make money, they're permitting genital surgery, top surgery to just about any minor who comes to the center. they're not doing any genital surgeries but they have been on the hot seat for many years and at this point there in a cover your you know what mode. amy: you have the prominent trans activist leaving tennessee . you're the editor in chief of the newspaper the tennessee lookout. how often is this happening? are people just as roberto said, it is not a way to live? >> it is no way to live. he is not the only transgender individual who is leaving this state. we have a story coming this week about families who are leaving the state of tennessee, including a friend of mine who has a 15-year-old transgender

child. they do not feel safe to live in the state anymore. i can't say i blame them. if you cannot access care, if you are under a microscope, if the legislature and the attorney general has targeted your family , i think it is clear this is probably not the same -- a safe place to live. amy: let me go back to chase strangio. what rights does vanderbilt hospital, this prominent hospital not only in tennessee but in the country, have to just say no to handing over that information to the attorney general? >> i think taking a step back, what is important is this the playbook have seen over and over again. it looks exactly like the antiabortion playbook. what we are seeing is we have even the state of tennessee making arguments in or they will go after doctors who provide

care when a preliminary injunction is in place even if it is subsequently overturned. the threats on these doctors are astounding. it looks a lot like the antiabortion context. this has many forms. it is a legislation, a threat to attorney general's, and extralegal rights and violence impacting our communities across the country. this is devastating for transgender people, our families, and doctors. they i went to thank you both for being here -- amy: i want to thank you both for being here chase strangio, deputy director , for trans justice with the aclu lgbtq & hiv project. and holly mccall editor in chief , of the tennessee lookout. next up, we speak to democratic state senator sarah mcbride who is now running to be the first openly transgender member of congress. she is running from delaware. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "it must change" by anohni. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

admits the ongoing attacks on trans rights in the united states, we end today's show with democratic senator sarah mcbride delaware. she is the highest-ranking trans elected official the u.s. and iran need to be the first openly transgender member of congress. she has vowed to address criminal justice reform, abortion rights, gun violence. this is an ad from her campaign tolaunt. >> i'm runninfor congss. my cmitment tthose wh don't havehe loudest caaigns. pares, busy ising thr chdren. siors wored about payingor prescription drs. workg people struggling t keepp. evyoneeserves mber of congress who sees them and respects them. amy: for more, we go to wilmington, delaware, where we -- where we are joined by sarah mcbride, also the author of her memoir "tomorrow will be different: love, loss, and the fight for trans equality."

which joe biden wrote the forward to. she was the first out trans internet the white house or the obama-biden white house. he spoke about her doing the largest pride celebration in the white house last month. we welcome you to democracy now! , state senator sarah mcbride. we just finished talking about this devastating decision by the federal court trans for the trans community in tennessee. if you can respond to that and then talk about why you're running for delaware's open house seat. >> thank you for having me on, amy. good morning. the decision that you just mentioned is a hastily written decision that, as chase already mentioned, admits it may be getting it wrong. it runs contrary to decisions we have seen across the country, at the district and appellate court level.

ultimately, these laws that seek to restrict access to health care, medically necessary health care for transgender people come the laws we are seeing censoring topics in schools -- they are all part of a cruel and concerted agenda that is meant to distract from the fact republicans have absolutely no policy agenda to address the needs of workers and families in this country. this is part of an ongoing strategy that the far right right wing has attempted to utilize throughout generations, which is to speak to divide and conquer. and trans people are the new targets. ultimately, i think what we have seen is in 2022, and i believed in 2024 what we will see, these types of attacks ring hollow with voters. they don't speak to what is keeping them up at night. ultimately, they won't be able to win at the ballot box on this. amy: if you become delaware's

only congress member what could you do about this? >> i am not running just to be the transgender member of congress, i'm not running to just make history. i'm running to make a difference on all of the issues that matter to those of all backgrounds up-and-down this state. i am running to guarantee affordable early childhood education to delaware families. i'm running to build on our progress i let here a passing the family medical leave in the delaware state senate to make sure we have as robust a policy as possible. i'm running to pass gun safety measures and protect reproductive rights. a diversity in government is critical in combating these anti-trans, antlgbtq aacks. ily whenou' not at e ble, it is much sierree to become ptf -- let the pettiness of ese far right-wing politicians ctrast with ourocus on progress. let e crueltyontrast th

our coassion. let thdiversitof our communy be mor fly seen the lls of cgress. and toelp reinrce tt trans people are part of the rich fabric of america that we have something to offer the table, that we are talented, thoughtful, intelligent legislators. the gap ultimately is one of the ways that the far right wing is able to pursue these attacks without them being politically fatal. amy: this was an other weekend of, well, devastating climate and gun violence. let's take on gun violence first in the united states. as delaware's only congressmember, if you win, what would you be doing about this? >> one of the reasons i ran sen. lee: delaware could do more -- is i believe delaware could do more in combating gun violence. i was proud to be a cosponsor

and help to pass the most significant gun safety package in delaware state street. legislations that included in assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity magazines, a form of the blanket dealer and manufacturer liability shield that existed that even if these gun dealers and manufacturers demonstrated negligence, they could not be held to account in our courts. and running for congress to make sure we're delivering that at the federal level, to reform the shield we see come to pass in assault weapons ban at the national level and in a small state like delaware, we can pass that the state level but it is very easy for assault weapons to come over our borders from a place like pennsylvania where they are still legal. ultimately, we need federal action to address gun violence. i will be a strong unwavering voice in favor of those types of commonsense measures in the u.s.

house of representatives. i believe with a growing number of senators that recognize we have to reform senate rules and illuminate the filibuster, the next time democrats have control of all three -- both branches of government, all three -- the presidency, senate, and house -- we will be able to pass measures like in assault weapons ban. amy: president bynum signed a defense of marriage act supported it that defined marriage between a man and woman. but as vice president come he came out ahead of president obama in saying he supported marriage equality. he says you have shaped his view on trans rights. talk about your conversations and how you think you have done that and what you think he could do at this point. >> i would never claim credit for anyone's evolution on trans rights or anyone's supportive trans rights, let alone the president of the united states. i think this president has a big

heart as evidenced by the fact he really led president obama on the issue of marriage. and was an early supporter of trans rights before it even entered the consciousness politically, calling it a civil rights issue back in 2013. this president has led long before his current term on these issues. i also think in many ways credit goes to beau, his son, who i worked for on his campaigns and also worked with to pass a landmark notice cremation bill here in delaware in 2013 to protect the lgbtq community. i think a lot of credit goes to beau because i think this president feels closer to him and his legacy when he carries on his work and sees trans rights as part of beau's legacy and work. this administration from day one has made clear they will use all of the levers of power government at their disposal to seek to protect the lgbtq

community. sometimes that takes time. we saw that with the trumpet administration the desire to implement retrograde policies without proper process resulted in those policies being overturned by the court. sometimes it takes time. at this administration from day one said we're going to implement the supreme court's decision that says sex protections include lgbtq people. we are going to put forward grief -- brief in these challenges to the anti-trans cases. the justice department has stepped up and said these policies that we talked about earlier -- sided with the lgbtq community in those court cases. honestly, over the next several months and years, we will see more from this administration to step up and stand out for trans people's rights, for all peoples rights across this country. but i think it is critical we recognize the power the executive branch has in standing up for trans people and how significant it would be for our

community if in 2025 we don't have pro equality president. amy: we have to leave it there. democratic state senator sarah mcbride, running for delaware's open house seat. i and amy goodman. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

linton besser: on the coast of west africa, the ships arrive day after day with an unrelenting cargo. in ghana, they call them "obroni wawu," or "the clothes of dead white men." emmanuel ajaab: take this bale from australia. linton: they're the charity shop castoffs from the western world. emmanuel: dirty. linton: it's sweat. emmanuel: see. yeah, rubbish. it's like a insult. linton: too many of them arrive in unwearable condition. while the trade in used clothes has created thousands of jobs,