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Town Hall meeting.

ATLANTA — In a significant move, pediatricians from the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), alongside colleagues from numerous medical organizations across the United States, have signed the Doctors Protecting Children Declaration.

The declaration urges major American medical institutions to cease current protocols for children and adolescents experiencing discomfort with their biological sex.

Authored by ACPeds, the Declaration has garnered support from a wide range of medical and health organizations.

The organizations include:

• The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM),
• American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC),
• American College of Family Medicine (ACFM),
• Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS),
• Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance (CHCLA),
• Catholic Medical Association (CMA),
• Child & Parental Rights Campaign (CPRC),
• Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA),
• Coalition of Jewish Values,
• Colorado Principled Physicians,
• Genspect,
• Honey Lake Clinic,
• National Association of Catholic Nurses,
• National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC),
• North Carolina Physicians for Freedom (NCPFF)

Leading pediatricians and other healthcare professionals nationwide have also signed the Declaration.

The Declaration’s co-signers emphasize that the best available evidence indicates that children face significant harm from surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

They argue that these interventions do not enhance the physical or mental well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria.

The Declaration specifically calls on prominent medical institutions — including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — to adhere to evidence-based research.

It advocates for comprehensive evaluations and therapies for youth with gender dysphoria, rather than immediate medical interventions.

“It is time that these American medical institutions follow the science and the lead of our European professional colleagues and cease to promote protocols that harm children, including the promotion of social affirmation, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for children and adolescents who experience distress over their biological sex,” said Dr. Jill Simons, pediatrician and Executive Director of ACPeds.

To view the Declaration and the list of co-signers click here.

The post Doctors Call to End Harmful Protocols for Gender Dysphoric Youth appeared first on DeSoto Tribune.

WILMINGTON, Delaware — Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was found guilty on Tuesday of three felony charges related to his purchase of a handgun in 2018.

This marks the first time a sitting U.S. president’s child has been convicted in a criminal trial, however, President Biden has stated he will not pardon his son.

The jury, composed of six men and six women, delivered a unanimous verdict after three hours of deliberation.

Hunter Biden, 54, could face a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, but as a first-time offender with non-violent charges, he is more likely to receive a significantly lighter sentence, potentially as little as two years or even probation.

The sentencing will be determined by Judge Maryellen Noreika in the coming months.

The charges stem from Biden’s purchase of a Colt revolver at a Wilmington gun shop in October 2018.

At the time, Biden was struggling with addiction to crack cocaine.

Prosecutors alleged that Biden falsely claimed on the purchase paperwork that he was not using illegal drugs.

The law prohibits drug users from owning firearms and lying on gun purchase forms.

Biden held the gun for 11 days before his brother’s widow, Hallie Biden, discovered it and discarded it in a trash can outside a grocery store.

A man later found the gun and turned it over to the police.

The trial, which began on June 3, featured testimony from three of Biden’s former romantic partners about his drug use in 2018.

The defense called Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, who testified about his condition around the time he bought the gun.

However, during cross-examination, prosecutors highlighted text messages between Biden and his daughter that suggested ongoing struggles.

Hunter Biden’s legal team plans to appeal the conviction, arguing that the federal law barring drug users from owning guns is unconstitutional under recent Supreme Court rulings.

The verdict arrives just weeks before the first presidential debate on June 27, adding another layer of complexity to an already tumultuous campaign season.

The post Hunter Biden Found Guilty on Federal Gun Charges appeared first on DeSoto Tribune.

In a coordinated effort to crack down on illegal machinegun conversion devices also known as “switches,” U.S. Attorneys for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas announced, “Operation Texas Kill Switch.”

Switches are devices that can transform semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons, capable of firing rounds just as fast as military-grade weapons.

The announcement was made during simultaneous press conferences throughout the state with U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs, and Jaime Esparza.

They were joined by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives Special Agents in Charge Jeffrey Boshek and Michael Weddel.

“We’re here to talk about a roughly one-inch piece of plastic. It looks innocuous enough, a little like a lego or a k’nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” Simonton said at Monday’s press conference.

“Machinegun conversion devices can turn Second Amendment-protected firearms into illegal weapons of war, and petty criminals into brutal killers. We cannot have our streets turned into war zones. We cannot – and we will not – allow switches to proliferate in north Texas.”

The officials condemned the use of switches, highlighting their role in numerous fatal shootings, including a juvenile mass shooting and multiple police killings.

Switches, which are about an inch long and can be made from metal or plastic, are designed to fit into the butt of a gun, allowing it to fire continuously with a single trigger pull.

“I have been in this business for a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flood of machine gun conversion devices on the streets of Texas and beyond. Rest assured that ATF and its partners are doing everything we can to stop the flow of these things and to prevent the carnage they can create,” said ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

“I applaud our U.S. Attorney partners for their willingness to aggressively prosecute these criminals and gangsters.”

Switches can be easily manufactured using commercially available 3D printers, making them accessible to a wide audience.

The possession of switches is illegal under the National Firearms Act, which classifies them as machine guns.

The rise of switches has surged in recent years.

Between 2017 and 2023, Texas-based ATF agents seized 991 switches, with half of those being recovered in the past year alone.

The devices are often sold on social media, targeting both adults and juveniles.

Operation Texas Kill Switch aims to combat this trend by partnering with Crime Stoppers programs across the state.

From now until August 31, local Crime Stoppers programs will offer cash rewards for information leading to the apprehension or prosecution of individuals possessing switches or 3D printers used to manufacture them.

Tipsters can submit information anonymously, 24 hours a day, through their local Crime Stoppers program or directly to the ATF’s website.

The post Texas Launches ‘Operation Kill Switch’ to Combat Illegal Gun Mods appeared first on DeSoto Tribune.