Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is set to become the first openly trans lawyer to present to the US Supreme Court. On December 4, he will argue against Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, in a case that will have a broad impact on trans rights in the country for years to come.

Strangio is co-director of ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project and has played an instrumental role in many of the organisation’s legal battles on trans rights. He also worked on the Brandt v. Rutledge case regarding gender-affirming care, representing four families of trans youth.

Having graduated from Northeastern University School of Law and Grinnell College, Strangio joined ACLU in 2013, after previously working at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. He also served as counsel in the famous Obergefell v. Hodges marriage equality case in 2015, as well as working on other relevant cases such as the challenge to Donald Trump’s trans military ban.

Stragio will appear before the US Supreme Court in December, making history as the first out trans lawyer to ever do so. He will argue on behalf of three trans minors from Tennessee, their parents and a doctor, who are challenging the state’s ban on gender-affirming care.

The ban in question, enacted last year, bans hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for minors, also imposing penalties on doctors who violate the law. It was supported by Republican lawmakers arguing that healthcare decisions should be made after an individual becomes an adult. Opponents of the law maintain that it infringes on the rights of trans youth, as well as on supportive parents’ rights to make decisions about their children’s medical care.

In the US v. Skrmetti case, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from the Biden administration, which is asking the solidly conservative court to make the ban unconstitutional. The court has also agreed to hear arguments from private plaintiffs, who will be represented by ACLU and Strangio.

Speaking about Stragio in a statement, co-director of ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project James Esseks said: “There is no attorney in the country better suited for this landmark moment in LGBTQ history than Chase Strangio. He has argued the issues before the court in Skrmetti four times before federal appeals courts, more than any attorney in the country.

“Anyone who has worked with Chase knows the intelligence, compassion, and courage he brings to every fight for the rights and well-being of his plaintiffs.

“It remains one of the great honors of my career to work alongside Chase and I have no doubt the court will be likewise impressed by the depth of his knowledge, the strength of his arguments, and the power of his empathy.”