Piper Hinson, Southwestern Law School graduate, presents her award-winning law review article on the constitutional case against state gender-affirming care bans. Courts are split on whether these bans violate the Equal Protection Clause, and the divide comes down to one question: which standard of review applies. Piper argues that "rational basis with bite," rooted in City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, is the answer. These statutes ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors while expressly permitting the same treatments for intersex and cisgender minors, and she makes the case that animus, not child protection, is what's actually driving them. The Rule of Law Writing Competition encourages law students to integrate Rule of Law concepts into their writings. Papers may be on any topic either directly discussing an asp ...