Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer repeatedly misgenders trans woman on Tucker Carlson Tonight
ADF is helping a women's shelter in Alaska deny services to homeless transgender women
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the November 1 edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight:
TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): Well, a women's shelter in Anchorage, AK, may have to close its doors because it wants to admit only women who are in fact biologically female. The Hope Center is currently being investigated by the city of Anchorage for allegedly violating the city's transgender nondiscrimination law. In response to this, the center has sued. They say the law infringes on religious freedom. Kate Anderson is senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the Hope Center, and she joins us tonight. Thanks so much for coming on. So, did -- are we misstating that? Here you have a women's shelter that says we just want to admit women. What is their argument for why they should be allowed to do that?
KATE ANDERSON (ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM SENIOR COUNSEL): Well the Hope Center’s women's shelter exists to serve women and women who have been abused, women who have suffered domestic violence, sex trafficking, some of the most horrible abuse imaginable. And so, to protect those women's privacy and their safety and allow them to heal, the Hope Center keeps their center women's only. But Anchorage is trying to force the Hope Center to allow biological men in to sleep next to these women.
CARLSON: So, I'm a little confused. Where are all the people who make a living defending women -- are always telling us that they are defenders of women. Have they weighed in? Why is this being left to you?
ANDERSON: I don't know but it’s so important. I have spoken to some of the women at the shelter and they tell me the emotional and physical consequences for them if they run into a biological man where they’re sleeping. And this all started because an individual who is male but identifies as female came to the shelter wanting to spend the night. He was intoxicated. He was clearly injured, and so the Hope Center paid for his taxi and sent him to the hospital to get the care that he needed, but because they didn't let him into the shelter, Anchorage is now after the Hope Center.
CARLSON: I'm just -- I’m just confused. [Sen.] Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, her whole life revolves around protecting women. Here you have a shelter for battered women, abused women that could be shut down by a city. Has she ridden to the rescue and weighed in on this? Honestly.
ANDERSON: I haven’t heard anybody weighing in to the rescue here. But unfortunately, because of the laws in Anchorage, the Hope Center hasn't been able to speak out much until very recently about what's going on. But the work that they do is so important and they work with other shelters in the area to try to care for all of the homeless, but their particular role in this is to provide this safe, secure place for women at night.
CARLSON: Very quick. As honestly as you can tell us, do you think there's a chance they could be shut down over this?
ANDERSON: What Anchorage wants to do is to put a biological male in the shelter with these women and these women are sleeping in a room three to five feet from each other. And again, these are women who have suffered severe abuse, so that's very problematic and would effectively shut down and take away that safe place that the Hope Center’s been able to provide.
CARLSON: Unbelievable. When this lunacy started, I made two predictions: One was this is going to hurt women and nobody is going to say anything about it. And both have turned out to be true, except for you Kate, you are saying something. So thank you.
Previously:
The extremism of anti-LGBTQ powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom