CITIZEN: ACLU defends trans murderer in suit against SB 2.

Last year, the KY General Assembly uncovered a scheme by Governor Andy Beshear to pay for gender “transitions” for prisoners with taxpayer dollars. In a presentation, a legislative subcommittee caught the Beshear Administration attempting to slip an internal memo creating a process for prisoners to receive gender “transitions” into the regulations process. This action also exposed that the Administration had been funding “transitions” for prisoners since 2021.

In response to this wasteful use of taxpayer dollars, the General Assembly passed SB 2 during the 2025 legislative session. The Family Foundation supported SB 2 and other efforts to stop taxpayer-funded “transitions.” When SB 2 arrived at Beshear’s desk, he refused to take action on the bill, allowing it to become law without his signature. However, the Governor has never acknowledged his wrongdoing in this troubling saga. Soon after SB 2 became law, the ACLU sued in federal court, arguing that the law somehow violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Essentially, the ACLU is attempting to invent a “right” for prisoners to receive taxpayer-funded “transitions.” The lead plaintiff in this lawsuit, Matthew Paul Smith (pictured), is a man who claims to be a woman and is a convicted murderer in a Kentucky prison for stabbing someone more than 70 times.

In September, a Kentucky federal district court judge rejected the ACLU’s request for an emergency injunction. The ACLU then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, asking them to impose an emergency injunction on SB 2. Thankfully, on October 24th, the Sixth Circuit also denied the ACLU’s request for an emergency injunction, ensuring that SB 2 will remain in full effect while the lawsuit proceeds through the legal process. Specifically, the Sixth Circuit concluded that at this point in the litigation the ACLU had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim.

The ACLU will now have three options: appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency injunction, return to the district court to continue the legal process, or dismiss this meritless case. Please continue to pray for a righteous outcome in this case that rejects evil gender ideology and protects taxpayers.