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When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday in a major fight over Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, conservatives defending the law plan to point to an unexpected place as a model: Europe. Two decades ago, Republicans appeared allergic to foreign influence on the U.S. legal system, decrying Supreme Court decisions that looked abroad — often to Europe — for guidance on culture-war issues like gay rights and the death penalty. (Gerstein, 12/3)

The first families left as soon as they could, emptying homes and pulling out of school after Tennessee banned gender-transition care for their children. Others chose to remain, cutting back on vacations and Christmas spending to make it to doctor appointments out of state. Even some who have stayed say they have not ruled out the possibility of leaving Tennessee in the future. This is why the stakes for families feel impossibly high as the Supreme Court hears arguments on Wednesday in a challenge to the Tennessee law. They fear a ruling in favor of the ban, which passed last year, could further jeopardize care for their children at a moment when the incoming Trump administration has pledged to impose restrictions on life for transgender people. (Cochrane, 12/4)

Eight years ago, when conservative state lawmakers tried to restrict what bathrooms trans people could use, moderate Republicans quietly killed the bill in a special session. Less than a decade later, that seems like a distant memory. The far-right now has the Legislature firmly in its grip and, emboldened by the recent election, they’re gearing up to make growing trans animus the social issue of the session. (Klibanoff, 12/4)

State lawmakers in Montana on Tuesday rejected a proposal that could have restricted bathroom access for transgender lawmakers at the State Capitol in Helena. The decision came down to a narrow vote in the Legislature’s joint rules committee. All Democrats opposed the measure. Several Republicans argued against it, too. The debate over the measure came about a month after the re-election of Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat from Missoula and a transgender woman who is now beginning her second term in the State House. (Fortin, 12/3)