Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in a press release this morning (Monday, March 9) that he has “secured a legal victory against a radical online retailer … effectively stopping the sale of the company’s chest binders to Texas girls” in the form of a temporary restraining order against Lola Olivia.
Paxton, who suffers from a severe case of chronic TDS (transgender derangement syndrome) sued New York-based Lola Olivia earlier this year, claiming the company is trying to “transition” girls as young as 9 by selling chest binders “without informing them of the significant health risks. His overly-dramatic emails note that “chest binding is linked to no less than 28 different medical conditions,” and that the FDA classifies is as “a class 1 medical device.”
He fails to mention, however, that medical experts point out that the health risks come with ill-fitting and poorly made chest binding devices and methods (which young trans boys are likely to revert to when safe and properly fitted options are taken away through — oh, I don’t know, say — transphobic lawsuits).
Paxton also fails to acknowledge that “Class 1” is the lowest level ranking for medical devices, and that items like bed pans are “Class 1 medical devices,” too.
Anyway, Paxton got his temporary restraining order via the 132nd Judicial District Court in Scurry County (which is north of I-20, between Abilene and Midland), from Judge William C. Sowder, who heard the case “by assignment.”
In a Texas legal case, a judge sitting “by assignment” is an active, former, or retired judge temporarily appointed by a presiding administrative judge or the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court to hear a specific case or preside over a court,” according to TxCourts.gov. Sowder is a Republican who retired in 2019 after 15 years on the bench.
Paxton, who came in second behind incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP Primary for U.S. Senate this month and is headed to the May 26 runoff for the GOP nomination, continues to use the Office of the Attorney General as a campaign tool through lawsuits and other actions intended to appeal to the far-right voter base.
In his press release announcing the TRO, Paxton declared: “I will never allow radical companies like Lola Olivia to abuse Texas children by ‘transitioning’ them. I have now secured an order that stops Lola Olivia from selling chest binders that hurt young girls in Texas. My office will continue to protect our state’s children against radical, sick corporations willing to harm kids with their dangerous agenda.”
(No word on when Paxton is going to stop harming transgender Texans, young and old, with his constant attacks on their mental and physical health care.)
— Tammye Nash