Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) sat down exclusively with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy on Thursday to reflect back on his work drafting the state law banning “gender-affirming” treatments for minors in the Tennessee General Assembly and supporting the law as it was challenged through the courts.
Senate Bill (SB) 1, which Johnson sponsored in the Tennessee General Assembly, forbids healthcare providers from performing or administering to underage children “gender-affirming” medical procedures or treatments – including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex-change surgeries – for the purpose of enabling the child to identify with the opposite gender.
The American Civil Liberties Union and families of transgender children filed a lawsuit against SB1 after Governor Bill Lee approved it in March 2023.
The U.S. Department of Justice joined the lawsuit under the Biden administration but withdrew its support for the non-governmental plaintiffs in February 2025, under the Trump administration.
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take the case and rule whether the state law banning “gender-affirming” care for minors violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Oral arguments were heard in the case before the Supreme Court on December 4, 2024.
In a 6-3 ruling released Wednesday, the nation’s highest court held in U.S. v. Skrmetti that the state law is not subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and satisfies rational basis review.
On The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Johnson reflected on the significance of Wednesday’s ruling by the Supreme Court. He shared his personal experience attending and witnessing the oral arguments in the case firsthand.
Johnson said attending oral arguments was both humbling and surreal, especially given his central role in drafting the bill.
“I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’ They were debating legislation that I drafted…It was my name on the bill along with Leader Lamberth, and that was very humbling. It was an incredible honor to be there because you had Justice Samuel Alito asking questions that we were asking two years prior and discussing with our attorneys about how to make it constitutionally sound,” he explained.
Johnson applauded the performance of Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice, who argued the state’s case before the Supreme Court for the first time, specifically commenting on Rice’s composure and effectiveness when faced by tough questioning from the Court’s liberal justices.
“[Rice] did an amazing job. He is a great guy, very nice guy, and a brilliant lawyer. He did a spectacular job, and as you’re listening to the justices…you can glean some information about the kinds of questions they’re asking,” Johnson explained.
“Obviously, the liberals – Sotomayor, Brown Jackson – were asking very hostile questions, so you knew where they were going to be. The other six that have been appointed by Republican presidents, their questions led us to believe that they were more on our side, but you just don’t know. We’ve all been surprised by the Supreme Court,” he added.
Johnson said he observed that while some justices’ stances were predictable, others, like Justice Amy Coney Barrett, asked fewer questions, making their positions harder to read.
“[Justice Barrett] didn’t ask many questions. She did ask some, but I didn’t come away from listening to her questions with a bad feeling. It was just a little less clear. With Justice Alito, you felt pretty good, and even Chief Justice Roberts, his questions were very good, very thorough,” he said.
Ultimately, Johnson said he left the courtroom at the time “cautiously optimistic,” hoping for a 6–3 decision, but prepared to accept a narrower 5–4 outcome.
With regard to the success of the state law found in the Supreme Court, Johnson credited the value of collaboration between the State Legislature and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s Office.
“General Skrmetti and his office have been so responsive and so cooperative. I’ve worked with other attorney generals that were great but when Jonathan came into office as Attorney General, he really made it a point to strengthen that relationship with the legislature, even though he has no direct accountability to us,” Johnson said.
“I’m extremely grateful to Jonathan Skmetti and his team. It just couldn’t have gone better,” he added.
Johnson also noted how other state attorneys general supported Tennessee’s law through amicus briefs filed with the Court, which can also be attributed to the law’s legal success.
“We had a number of states that wrote amicus briefs in support of our legislation…and that was also a key part,” he said.
Moving forward, Johnson said the Supreme Court’s ruling now allows other states that seek to ban “gender-affirming” care for minors to look at Tennessee’s law as a model.
“If states wish to enact this ban and protect children, as we have done so in Tennessee, they now have legislation that they can replicate,” Johnson said.
Live June 19 https://t.co/xTNJNNjsMw
— MichaelPatrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) June 19, 2025
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
