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‘STOP! STOP!!! – RIP Elise L. Malary Gregory’
(23 Mar 2022)
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Dear Reader:
STOP!
STOP!!!
STOP murdering us! NOW!!!
– Sharon
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(https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/elise-malary-update-body-of-evanston-activist-pulled-from-lake-michigan)
(https://static.fox32chicago.com/segment/player-frame.html)
Elise Malary update:
Body of Evanston activist pulled from Lake Michigan
Tia Ewing and FOX 32 Digital Staff
March 19, 2022 2:05PM
Updated 10:12PM
EvanstonFOX 32 Chicago
Body of missing Evanston woman Elise Malary found in Lake Michigan
Police confirmed on Saturday that the body of missing Evanston woman Elise Malary was found in Lake Michigan.
EVANSTON, Ill. – Evanston police confirmed Saturday that missing woman Elise L. Malary was identified as the person pulled from Lake Michigan Thursday afternoon.
On March 11, Malary, 31, was reported missing by her family. She last had contact with them on March 9, according to police.
“Our father just died, a lot transpired and the last thing she said to me was, ‘I will pay that tonight sis,'” said her sister, Fabiana Malary.
Malary was last known to be in the 700 block of Hinman Avenue. She lives on the block and when police got to her apartment, they discovered something that has her sister baffled.
“It was both doors unlocked. My sister never does that. When I heard that, my heart broke,” said Fabiana.
The 31-year-old’s apartment was unlocked, but showed no signs of foul play. Her car was also missing. Days later, it was discovered by Evanston police parked at a city lot near public transportation.
“When I contacted her phone, it went straight to voicemail. Every day I call 3 or 4 times, hoping that just maybe she just let the phone die,” Fabiana said.
Elise is known in the Evanston community for standing up for transgender rights and fighting against racism. Her best friend for the last seven years says she’s worried about her.
“Was it that someone came into her life in the last couple of weeks, or someone that was watching her that may have snatched her up. She lives alone and I’m worried,” said Angelina Nordstrom.
© Copyright 2000 – 2022 Fox Television Stations, LLC.
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Elise Malary Gregory
(https://youtu.be/3j0JY27buJs)
Fox 32
Body of missing Evanston woman Elise Malary found in Lake Michigan
289 views
Mar 19, 2022
FOX 32 Chicago
70.4K subscribers
Police confirmed on Saturday that the body of missing Evanston woman Elise Malary was found in Lake Michigan. STORY: https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/eli…
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Elise Malary Gregory testimony.
(https://youtu.be/gqRa8QcfmWU)
Equality Illinois 2017 Gala – Testimony of Malary Gregory
143 views
Feb 26, 2017
Equality Illinois Video
255 subscribers
At the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala, Malary Gregory delivered a testimonial about the contributions made by the organization as part of a coalition with Pride Action Tank, Lambda Legal, ACLU of Illinois and Chicago Human Relations Commissioner Nora Noriega to update Chicago ordinances so transgender people can use the
bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.
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Elise Malary Gregory
WGN TV news
(https://youtu.be/KqrxKrG6wXY)
Transgender activist Elise Malary missing, last seen in Evanston
4,786 views
Mar 16, 2022
A transgender activist from Evanston has disappeared and family and friends are pleading for help.
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NBC News reports the murder of Elise Malary Gregory.
(https://youtu.be/GxRMJVJN6x8)
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20 Mar 2022
Shared with Public
‘STOP! STOP!!! – RIP Elise Malary Gregory’
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Latest Resources:
1.
A trailblazing 8-year-old trans activist will attend Biden’s State of the Union address tonight
The eight-year-old has taken on Texas’ transphobic legislators, inspiring other adults and trans youth in the process.
LGBTQ Nation
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Sunny Bryant, Biden state of the union, transgender activist, Texas, transgender youth
Photo: Shutterstock
A very special guest will virtually attend Democratic President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday night — trailblazing eight-year-old transgender activist Sunny Bryant.
Bryant, a third-grader from Houston, has repeatedly testified in front of Texas legislators in opposition to Republicans’ transphobic policies. Her testimony has put her in touch with other trans kids looking to live freely in Texas and has also inspired teachers and administrators at her school to call their legislators and oppose the policies as well.
Related: GOP candidate is angry that students aren’t allowed to “laugh at” transgender kids anymore
She was invited to attend Biden’s address by Texas Representative Sylvia Garcia (D).
“Even through politically charged attacks on Texas’ trans youth by Governor Greg Abbott, she remains a bright and strong voice for Houston children,” Garcia told The Houston Chronicle.
Texas Republicans have repeatedly tried to outlaw gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children, even though such care has been found to reduce mental distress and suicide among trans youth. Most recently, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) called such care a form of child abuse and asked state agencies to investigate and prosecute parents who provide any such care to their children.
“We are disgusted and distraught that our governor and attorney general have chosen to attack Texas children and their loving families,” said Sunny’s mom, Rebekah Bryant. “Many families like ours are in a panic, suddenly feeling unsafe in our homes and scrambling to know our legal rights.”
Sunny has asserted her female identity since age 4. Her father, a former Navy submariner who grew up in a conservative South Carolina town, initially felt sad about his child being trans, but he wanted to support her nonetheless. He began using female pronouns for Sunny a few months after a doctor told her parents to support her female identity.
Sunny Bryant’s attendance at Biden’s speech may highlight the president’s many actions to support trans people, despite the former administration’s rampant transphobia.
During his first year in office, Biden overturned the ban on transgender military personnel, appointed the first out trans person to be confirmed by the Senate, made a historic Transgender Day of Visibility presidential proclamation, said it’s unconstitutional to put a trans woman in men’s prisons, said that states can’t ban trans girls from sports, honored trans people lost to “horrifying” violence on the Transgender Day of Remembrance and told Veteran Affairs to officially recognize trans and non-binary veterans’ genders.
Politics
Greg Abbott,
Ken Paxton,
State of the Union Address,
Sunny Bryant,
Sylvia Garcia,
Texas,
Texas Republicans,
transphobia in politics
Montana House candidate Zooey Zephyr is ready to fight for the trans community
NEXT ARTICLE
MORE IN POLITICS
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Lauren Boebert makes transphobic joke about Russia invading Ukraine
Friday, February 25, 2022
Texas DA’s refuse to uphold Governor’s order to investigate parents of trans kids for “child abuse”
Thursday, February 24, 2022
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2.
Guest opinion: Trans youth belong in Alabama and extreme anti-transgender bill should not pass
Mar. 02, 2022, 11:59 a.m.
Natalie Fox
This is a guest opinion column
Visibility matters because invisibility is dangerous.
When we make a group of people invisible, we make it easier for them to be abused without that abuse being noticed. We make it easier for well-intentioned people to support harmful initiatives because the stories of those harmed go unheard. We make it easier to pretend we aren’t responsible for the harm done.
As a lifelong Alabamian and health care provider who has worked closely with diverse youth populations, I’m concerned that serious harm is about to be done to transgender young people all across our state.
Over the last two years, an unprecedented number of bills threatening the health and well-being of trans youth have moved through state legislatures across our nation, including here in Alabama. In the past few days alone, two extreme bills – one making it a criminal offense for health professionals to provide best practice, essential medical care to trans patients (SB184), and one restricting restroom access for trans students – have advanced in our state legislature. These bills and others like it are outrageous attempts to essentially erase trans youth entirely.
According to myriad data, trans youth are one of the most likely populations in our country to consider and attempt suicide. One driver of this heartbreaking reality is the barrage of messages trans youth receive and internalize every day from anti-LGBTQ legislators. Suicidal ideation can also be driven by poor mental health that stems from a lack of access to gender-affirming care – the very care Alabama is trying to criminalize.
The hard truth is, the discussion about gender-affirming care doesn’t belong to politicians. It belongs to the science of medical and mental health. It belongs to those of us who have spent years of our lives in the field so that we can help patients and their parents make informed decisions. It belongs – like all health issues – in the safe confines of the healthcare office where parents, youth, and providers work towards best outcomes together. It does not belong on the floor of the state Capitol.
Trans and gender non-conforming folk have always been a part of our community. They are our friends, neighbors, and classmates. It’s confounding to me that the very politicians trying to legislate about trans adolescent health seem to have little interest in hearing from the trans youth, parents, or providers who would be directly impacted by this bill. Ignoring the voices of those most impacted allows mischaracterizations, assumptions, and blatant untruths to dominate the discussion about adolescent trans health.
Instead of trying to erase the voices of trans youth and their parents, we should be paying attention to them. Instead of vilifying what we don’t understand, we should choose to listen and learn from those best equipped to help us understand.
Fortunately, trans youth in Alabama are speaking, sharing their stories and making their voices heard.
One of my favorite projects that features stories of trans youth here in Alabama is the Who We Are Campaign, a video series by Prism United and trans videographer Maxwell Kuzma that sheds light on the lived experiences of LGBTQ youth in Lower Alabama. The series is available across social media platforms and on the campaign webpage. It makes visible a community that has too often been talked about but rarely listened to directly. I hope that more people – especially our legislators – will hear stories like these and remember that trans kids, like all kids, are worthy of love and belonging and deserve our best care.
SB 184 should not pass. If it does, it will set a precedent that doctors, patients, and patients’ parents don’t get the final word on personal matters of health care. It will bar us from using evidence-based practice to improve (and sometimes, save) the lives of trans minors. And it will further stigmatize an already-vulnerable population. The reality is, trans kids will continue to exist whether we recognize them or not. This bill will only make their existence exceptionally more difficult.
Natalie Fox, DNP, PNP-BC is a Board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. She lives in Mobile, where she serves as an LGBTQ liaison to the city.
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
The Quest for Civil Rights: Visit Mississippi’s Museums, Memorials, and Historically Significant Sites
Take a stroll through history by visiting Mississippi’s inspiring museums, memorials, and historically signifi
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3.
(https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/UNT-protest-jeff-younger-16974404.php)
Protesters drive anti-trans Texas House candidate Jeff Younger out of event at UNT
Steven Santana
March 4, 2022 8:43 a.m.
Protesters drowned out the Texas House of Representatives candidate last night, cutting the event short.
UNT/University of North Texas
Texas House candidate Jeff Younger, who seeks to outlaw transgender youth care, was driven out of an event hosted at the University of North Texas by protesters on Wednesday, March 2. The event played out on a thread from Twitter user Ismael Belkoura last night, who was posting photos and video from the event.
Belkoura’s thread has since been taken down by Twitter.
Younger, who is running for Texas House District 63, was scheduled to speak at an event organized by UNT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas. The room where Younger was to speak was filled by protesters who drowned out Younger and organizers with a “F**k these fascists” and “trans rights” chants.
NEWS
Protesters drive anti-trans Texas House candidate Jeff Younger out of event at UNT
Updated: March 4, 2022 8:43 a.m.
Protesters drowned out the Texas House of Representatives candidate last night, cutting the event short.
Younger, according to the tweets, only egged on the protesters by asking them to make more noise and proceeded to call the protesters “Communists.” Another tweet alleges that Younger said “Trans people don’t exist.”
Younger’s campaign website says he is running to outlaw “Transgender Child Abuse.” It’s a Texas issue that is already being fought in the courts after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive last week to state health and family protective services officials to investigate transgender youth care as child abuse.
A Dallas jury granted Younger’s ex-wife Anne Georgulas custody of his now nine-year-old transgender daughter in 2019.
The event was then cut short by “40 minutes” another tweet says, and police then asked the protesters to leave the building. The protesters remained outside the UNT building where they chanted “protect trans kids.”
UNT YCT president Kelly Neidert said on Twitter that she was rushed out of the building by campus police and into a vehicle after hiding in a janitor’s closet. Another video posted to Twitter says that the police vehicle escorting Neidert off campus drove toward a group of protesters, and one protester who couldn’t back away from the vehicle fast enough was hit.
The Denton Police Department confirmed to MySA that a man on the scene reported being hit by a UNT police vehicle, but the incident was being investigated by UNT.
UNT-YCT distributed flyers around campus in late February saying “criminalize child transitions.” The group also held an event in October last year called “What is wrong with Christian fascism?”
UNT’s president said denounced the flyers campuswide email in February, calling them “intolerant.” No statement in regards to last night’s event has been released.
MySA reached out to UNT for comment.
Correction: This article originally published information from a statement from the Denton Police Department that misgendered the person hit by the UNT police vehicle as a woman. A transgender man reported that he was hit by the vehicle. We have corrected the story.
(https://twitter.com/i/status/1499188056066342913)
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4.
Texas College Protesters Shut Down Event for Anti-Trans Candidate Jeff Younger
A classroom at University of North Texas responds to anti-trans Texas House candidate Jeff Younger’s visit.
R/PUBLICFREAKOUT VIA REDDIT
Chris Walker, Truthout
March 3, 2022
Student protesters at the University of North Texas (UNT) drove out an anti-trans candidate for the Texas House of Representatives this week, at an event hosted by a conservative student group on campus.
The UNT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) invited Jeff Younger, a Republican running in the 63rd House district in Texas’s state legislature, to speak on Wednesday. A video shared on social media showcases how student protesters stopped him from disseminating his bigoted viewpoints.
The students sat in the room Younger was scheduled to speak in, banging their hands on tables and shouting “fuck these fascists” at Younger and YCT organizers. The students also shouted slogans that expressed support for transgender children in the state, who have been targeted by conservative lawmakers in recent weeks.
Younger supports calls to ban gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth in Texas. According to accounts from inside the room where the protest took place, he engaged the protesters by clapping his hands in rhythm to their pounding on tables, calling the demonstrators “communists.” One person at the event also alleged he shouted back at the protesters, “Trans people don’t exist.”
As a result of the student-led protest, the YCT event was cut short by about 40 minutes. Police ordered protesters to leave the building, where they continued chanting in support of trans rights. Officers also provided the president of the YCT group with a vehicle escort. Video of that vehicle driving away shows that it sped toward protesters still outside the building, hitting at least one person who was unable to move out of the way fast enough.
Younger’s presence on campus came just weeks after YCT distributed transphobic flyers on UNT’s campus, amplifying calls to criminalize gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. It also comes as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has ordered state government departments to investigate families who may have provided their transgender or nonbinary children with gender-affirming care, which he erroneously describes as child abuse.
A wide range of medical organizations have decried Abbott’s invasive executive order, noting that gender-affirming care is beneficial to transgender and nonbinary children – in fact, such treatments can often be life-saving.
Younger announced his candidacy for the state House seat last year, and has made attacks against transgender children in the state a cornerstone of his campaign. Notably, Younger himself has a transgender daughter, whom he lost custody of in 2019 to his ex-wife; his ex now has sole custody of two children from their marriage.
During the divorce hearings, the judge in the case noted that Younger’s actions were theatrical and showed little concern for his child’s wellbeing. Younger “finds comfort in public controversy and attention” and appeared “motivated by financial gain,” the judge said, noting that he made nearly $140,000 in a crowdfunding campaign that was supposedly to help him win custody of his children.
Younger is campaigning on making gender-affirming care illegal in the state through legislative statute beyond Abbott’s order. On his campaign website, Younger claims that a Texas court “stole” his children from him. He continues to reference his transgender daughter on his website with the name she was given at birth, and refuses to recognize her current name. Younger has also publicly lied about his ex-wife, claiming that she is subjecting his daughter to chemical castration treatments — a gender-affirming option that is not administered at all to children of his daughter’s age, as Chase Strangio, a lawyer and trans activist based in New York, explained in an article for Truthout in December.
“The majority of care prescribed to minors is nonsurgical, and no medical care is provided at all prior to puberty,” Strangio said. “When care is provided, sometimes in the form of medication to delay puberty or gender-affirming hormones to initiate puberty consistent with gender identity, it is done to alleviate severe symptoms of distress.”
Copyright © Truthout.
Chris Walker is a news writer at Truthout, and is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Focusing on both national and local topics since the early 2000s, he has produced thousands of articles analyzing the issues of the day and their impact on the American people.
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5.
(pic.twitter.com/HbYu7soORM)
Ismael Belkoura
@BelkouraIsma
·
Mar 2, 2022
Replying to @BelkouraIsma
“F*ck these fascists” roaring through the room
Jeff Younger asked for more
— Ismael Belkoura (@BelkouraIsma) March 3, 2022
more
Ismael Belkoura
@BelkouraIsma
6:01 PM · Mar 2, 2022
21.5K
Reply
Copy link
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Ismael Belkoura on Twitter
Mar 4, 2022, 1:21 PM
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6.
TEXAS COURT PARTIALLY BLOCKS GOV. ABBOTT’S ANTI-TRANS DIRECTIVE TO INVESTIGATE FAMILIES
Antonio Arellano, ACLU of Texas, media@aclutx.org
MARCH 2, 2022
AUSTIN, Texas — The Travis County District Court granted a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to block the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from investigating the plaintiffs of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU of Texas), the ACLU, and Lambda Legal.
The court’s ruling stops the DFPS from investigating the parents named in the lawsuit because they are working with medical professionals to provide their adolescent child with medically necessary treatment. The court limited the temporary restraining order to the plaintiffs in the case but scheduled a hearing next Friday,
March 11, at 10 a.m. CT to decide whether to block the governor, commissioner, and DFPS’s actions more broadly.
The plaintiffs sought this emergency relief after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive stating that providing gender-affirming care is a form of child abuse and DFPS announced they would follow the governor’s directive. The lawsuit names Abbott, DFPS Commissioner Jaime Masters, and DFPS as defendants.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an employee of DFPS with a transgender child, her husband, and their transgender teen. According to the complaint, this family has had an investigator already arrive at their home. The family has filed the lawsuit anonymously.
Dr. Megan Mooney, a licensed psychologist who is considered a mandatory reporter under Texas law and cannot comply with the governor’s directive without harming her clients and violating her ethical obligations, is also a plaintiff in the suit.
The ACLU of Texas, ACLU, and Lambda Legal issued the following statements on the court’s decision:
“We appreciate the relief granted to our clients, but this should never have happened and is unfathomably cruel,” said Brian Klosterboer (he/him), ACLU of Texas attorney. “Families should not have to fear being separated because they are providing the best possible health care for their children. The elected leaders and agencies of this state should not play politics with people’s lives. We will do all that’s possible to stop these abuses of power and ensure transgender young people can receive medically recommended treatment.”
“We are relieved that — at least for now — the threat of a child abuse investigation is no longer hanging over the heads of the family members in this case,” said Paul Castillo (he/him), Lambda Legal senior counsel. “It is unconscionable for DFPS to still pursue any investigation or inflict more trauma and harm. We look forward to continuing the fight for all Texas families.”
“This is a critical victory and important first step in stopping these egregious and illegal actions from Texas officials. We are relieved for our plaintiffs and ready to keep fighting to stop the governor, commissioner, and DFPS from inflicting further harm on trans people and their families and communities across Texas,” said Chase Strangio (he/him), deputy director for trans justice with the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Transgender youth in Texas should be able to access lifesaving, medically necessary care with the support of their families and doctors. Attempts to cut off transgender adolescents from care will not make them any less trans but it will make them less likely to grow up at all.”
© 2022 ACLU of Texas
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Gov. Who Signed Anti-Trans Bill Stumped On Why LGBTQ+ People Are Depressed
“That makes me sad,” said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who recently signed a bill targeting transgender athletes.
Lydia O’Connor
02/17/2022 07:44pm EST
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who recently signed a law cracking down on transgender athletes, was stumped Thursday when asked why she thinks nearly 90% of her state’s LGBTQ+ community reported dealing with anxiety or depression.
“I don’t know,” Noem told a reporter who confronted her with the statistic at a press conference. “That makes me sad, and we should figure it out.”
The data comes from a recent report by HelpAdvisor, a health and health care coverage assistance site, that analyzed rates of anxiety and depression among LGBTQ+ people across the United States. At 87%, South Dakota had the highest rate of LGBTQ+ residents reporting those mental health conditions, compared to 63% nationally.
Noem’s apparent puzzlement comes after human rights groups repeatedly raised concerns that a bill she signed earlier this month would further harm and alienate transgender people in her state, especially children. The legislation requires anyone playing on a female sports team to have been assigned female at birth, essentially forbidding transgender girls and women from competing.
“Transgender children are children,” the Human Rights Campaign’s senior counsel, Cathryn Oakley, said in a statement upon the bill’s signing. “They deserve the ability to play with their friends. This legislation isn’t solving an actual problem that South Dakota was facing: it is discrimination, plain and simple. Shame on Governor Noem.”
Oakley’s concern isn’t hypothetical, either. Last month, the Trevor Project released the results of a poll that found that more than 60% of LGBTQ+ youth said their mental health had deteriorated as a result of recent anti-transgender legislation, including bills related to sports.
South Dakota the 10th state to enact a law affecting transgender athletes and the first to do so in 2022.
When speaking about the legislation, Noem has said little acknowledging the effect it may have on transgender people and instead argued it is needed to maintain a level playing field for girls and women. In reality, there is no documented pattern of transgender athletes taking away opportunities from cisgender athletes.
Noem is also an opponent of same-sex marriage, and in 2021 she signed a bill that lets businesses deny goods and services to LGBTQ+ people on the basis of religious beliefs.
South Dakota Governor Signs Transgender Athlete Ban Into Law
LGBTQ Representation On TV Has Hit Record Highs, But Still Falls Short In Key Areas
Indiana Lawmakers Propose Banning Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports
Lydia O’Connor – Reporter, HuffPost
Utah Governor Says He Plans To Veto Trans Sports Ban Bill
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8.
Anti-Trans Republi-con Candidate speech:
– ‘No such thing as a Trans person. ‘
Hitler’s Stage Three of his Three Stages to Genocide:
– You have no Rights to live.
In other words, not that we need more, that self-avowed ‘pro-Life’ Republi-con candidate says that we do not exist, thus we have no Right to Life, we can be aborted if we are Inter-sex, we can be murdered under the legality of Trans Panic Defence.
Here’s more details about that college protest against the anti-Trans Republi-con candidate:
(https://youtu.be/pwwa4uaTxBU)
The Young Turks
3 Mar 2022
The Damage Report.
Watch Anti-Trans Dude FALL APART When Confronted By Heckling Students
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Kate McKinnon does an Emily Litella schtick about Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws.
(https://youtu.be/Rv_6Kzk1fHs)
Weekend Update: Kate McKinnon on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Bill – SNL
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10.
Greg Abbott’s destruction of Texas takes a turn for the grotesque
Bocha Blue |
12:01 pm EST March 7, 2022
Palmer Report » Analysis
Texas is being turned into a third-world country right before our eyes. Non-Governor Greg Abbott is doing his best to destroy the souls of the children of this great state. Abbott is determined to label transgender children as abnormal. In the latest news, his administration has launched “an investigation” into the family of a transgender teenager.
Per Politico, a (sane) Texas Judge halted this investigation — temporarily. This is happening because Abbott is attempting to paint the parents of any and all Transgender kids as criminals.
Calling these investigations “terrifying,” President Biden ordered them to stop. And Biden and people in his administration are telling children and parents to call the Civil Rights office if they have been targets of Governor Abbott.
HHS put out a statement saying any restrictions on care for trans people would “likely violate the law.”
Under HIPAA, EVERYONE has the right to privacy despite Abbott attempting to violate that right Of course, this does not appear to matter to Abbott. Snug in his offices, no doubt chortling as only George Orwell’s pigs could do, Abbott appears pleased with his efforts to demean and stigmatize these kids.
Determined to get in on the fun of dehumanizing children, Texas AG Ken Paxton declared medical care for Trans kids is “child abuse.”
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra is promising to defend the rights of all-trans kids. I will include a line from his statement. If you know anyone in Texas who you think needs to see this, please send it to them: “Any individual or family in Texas who is being targeted by a child welfare investigation because of this discriminatory gubernatorial order is encouraged to contact our Office for Civil Rights to report their experience.”
© 2022 Palmer Report | Powered by Beaver Builder
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‘Shake it off’
Video montage of Trans support
(https://youtu.be/LKwxGkHC5v0)
Song by Taylor Swift
Shake It Off Video Montage: Transgender Acceptance (Darlene Tando, LCSW)
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12.
Dozens protest judge’s decision to let trans woman’s killer off without punishment
He admitted to the crime, but the man who killed Kenne McFadden won’t face trial.
Alex Bollinger
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Dozens protest judge’s decision to let trans woman’s killer off without punishment
Photo: San Antonio Police/Facebook
Over 70 activists protested in San Antonio yesterday after a judge last week ruled that the man who admitted to killing a transgender woman would not face trial.
The ruling was denounced by transgender activists in Texas. “Transgender women of color and black trans women are being murdered at an alarming pace,” an activist told the San Antonio Current. “When this happens in our city we expect to see justice served. We demand justice for Kenne! We refuse to go away and will show up to make our voices heard.”
Three local LGBT groups immediately organized protests that occurred yesterday at Crockett Park in San Antonio.
Around 70 protestors turned out, holding signs that said “United against hate” with the HRC logo and Texas flags with rainbow stripes.
San Antonio Report
@SAReport
#Transgender activists rally for more understanding, accountability in wake of ruling on #KenneMcFadden’s murder http://bit.ly/2FQYkWB
7:37 PM · Mar 13, 2018
https://t.co/3488rSKGlw pic.twitter.com/EoHjH2Jp4N
— Rivard Report (@Rivardreport) March 14, 2018
Ariana Lubelli
@ArianaLubelliTV
March held at Crockett Park for #KenneMcFadden, a transgender woman who drowned in April 2017. Her body was found floating in the San Antonio River. The man believed to be responsible will not go to trial after a recent ruling by a local judge. @News4SA @KABBFOX29
4:40 PM · Mar 13, 2018 from Crockett Park
— Ariana Lubelli (@ArianaLubelliTV) March 13, 2018
“We’re hoping that we’ll see an openness and willingness from our elected officials, from our [district attorney’s] offices, from judges to learn about the transgender community, the violence that faces us far too often,” said Emmett Schelling of the Transgender Education Network of Texas.
Lauren Caruba
(@LaurenCaruba)
Trans activists in San Antonio gathered at the courthouse today to decry the lack of justice for Kenne McFadden, a trans woman who was found in the River Walk last year. The man indicted for her death will not stand trial. pic.twitter.com/xChW0ZyOos
March 13, 2018
“Kenne could have easily been me or any other black trans woman,” Monica Roberts, who blogs at TransGriot, told News 4.
Kenne McFadden’s body was found in the San Antonio River last April two days after Mark Daniel Lewis admitted to police that he pushed her in. Her family said that she didn’t know how to swim.
Lewis said that they were kissing when McFadden touched his butt and asked to go home with him. His defense was that he didn’t like being touched and that he only meant to push her away.
“The consequences of that push were unforeseen,” his attorney said.
A grand jury indicted Lewis on manslaughter, and prosecutors presented evidence at a hearing involving a separate matter in an attempt to revoke his probation.
Republican Judge Joey Contreras ruled at the probation hearing that there wasn’t enough evidence to show criminal wrongdoing in the case. The double jeopardy rule will keep Lewis from facing a full criminal trial for McFadden’s death.
Lauren Caruba
(@LaurenCaruba)
Happening now: Dozens of people are rallying at Crockett Park in San Antonio for Kenne McFadden, a black trans woman who was found in the River Walk last year. The man accused in her death will not stand trial. pic.twitter.com/X3p3I9LIzb
March 13, 2018
Protestors criticized both District Attorney Nico LaHood’s decision to present evidence at a probation hearing and Contreras’s ruling.
The judge is an elected official, and protestors called on voters to get him out of office.
“In November, when Joey Contreras is up for election, we can vote him out,” said Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe, who has previously worked on Democratic election campaigns. “If he survives his primary.”
Kenne’s mother Joanne McFadden was at the protest, after being so shocked by the judge’s ruling that she had to be taken to the hospital.
“They would have seen it differently if it had been one of their children,” she said, referring to Contreras and LaHood.
“Parents, love your children,” she said. “Its time for parents to accept their children for who they are.”
News
Emmet Schelling,
Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe,
Joanne McFadden,
Joey Contreras,
Kenne McFadden,
Mark Daniel Lewis,
Monica Roberts,
Nico LaHood,
San Antonio,
San Antonio River,
Texas,
Transgender
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13.
A series of alerts from our friend Marie. Thank you, Marie!
a.
Texas has already begun rounding up Trans families, firing adults who are themselves Trans or who have Trans children.
Let the Final Solution begin. Texas is in Stage Three of Hitler’s Three Stages to Genocide.
(https://www.facebook.com/mariewbobosmith/videos/4958200467579661/)
Marie Bobo-Smith
10 Mar 2022
https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdUhsCMJ/
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b.
Idaho has already begun rounding up Trans families, firing adults who are themselves Trans or who have Trans children.
Let the Final Solution begin. Idaho is in Stage Three of Hitler’s Three Stages to Genocide.
(https://www.facebook.com/mariewbobosmith/videos/2996760810544656/)
Marie Bobo-Smith
9 Mar 2022
Idaho HB 675.
c.
Violence against Our Trans Community is real and quite common, so common that it is nonchalant common.
Hitler’s Final Solution, Stage Three of Hitler’s Three Stages to Genocide.
(https://www.facebook.com/mariewbobosmith/videos/1558446757863764/)
Marie Bobo-Smith
9 Mar 2022
‘We are afraid of the entire Republi-con Party. They start out casual and end up saying that I should not be allowed to feel safe in public.
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14.
TO: Jaime Masters, Commissioner of Department of Family and Protective Services
Greg Abbott & Texas DFPS: Trans youth deserve to thrive
Transgender Education Network of Texas
We can’t let this ridiculous, vile misinformation campaign win. When we join together, we have the power to demand the resources that families need and deserve. Sign the petition and tell Greg Abbott and Jaime Masters—the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Protective Services—that we won’t let trans people be political pawns of the GOP.
Why is this important?
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate parents, medical professionals, and teachers among others if they are affirming trans kids as who they are, labeling it as “child abuse.”
We’re exhausted. Trans kids deserve the right to lead happy lives with space to pursue their dreams, regardless of where they live. A majority of Texans believe people should be able to be themselves, support their families and live freely.
It’s ridiculous that trans youth continue to be threatened here in Texas and across the country by their state government, the very same leadership that’s supposed to advocate and care for them.
The DFPS is already facing crisis levels in Texas, attending to credible reports of actual child abuse. DFPS doesn’t need the additional burden of investigating reports that parents seeking to affirm their child through treatment are engaging in child abuse.
CATEGORIES
civil_rights
justice
Reasons for signing
This is disgusting. Parents, teachers, and doctors of trans kids are being abusive if they do NOT support the kid. This is political theater and for what? This hurts CHILDREN. This is hateful and gross. I am disgusted to be a Texan.
Vanessa D. 03-02-2022
This unacceptable, factually unsupported, clearly pandering legislation is what actually qualifies as abuse.
Jordan P. 03-02-2022
For my students, and for all trans kids everywhere just trying to live their truth. They deserve to feel loved and protected, like all people do. 🏳️⚧️❤️
Laura A. 03-02-2022
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15.
(https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=253980063599255&id=102362435427686)
Why I wish I’d transitioned when I was 12
Jsef Benedict (comment)
10 Mar 2022
Just reading the comments here you understand why so many transgender people commit suicide. All the hate filled comments from people who are afraid to Google their own opinions.
Sex and gender are two different things.
Sex is genetics and hormones.
Gender is something only you can decide for yourself. Gender can be man, woman, non conforming, nonbinary and others. But if sex is on a spectrum then there’s no logical way gender can only be either boy or girl.
Sex is male, female or something in between.
Sex is Genetics as in XX and XY or even XXY. According to GARD The Genitic and rare disease information center⁷ there are actually 10 different ways the X and the Y can combine. Affecting the sex of a child.
XX, XY, 47 XXY, 47 XYY, 48 XXXY, 48 XYYY 49 XXXY, 49XXXYY, 49XXXXX, X
Hormones such as testosterone and estrogen are present in the womb and also have a large affect on the sex of a child.
Not every human reacts to hormones the same. There are situations like anti androgen sensitivity syndrome where the body won’t except testosterone. There are so far 33 different hormonal differences that fall under the Intersex umbrella that I know of today. A couple examples would be. Turner’s Syndrome, condrinal hyposplaysia and others.
So gender is how you identify and sex is your personal biological makeup.
Contrary to what you might have learned as a child sex is a spectrum.
On one side you have male on the other female. In the middle you have people like me.
I’m a hermaphrodite. I was born with the genitals of both genders and procreated naturally.
Please note that not all intersex people are hermaphrodite. In fact some intersex people have no situations where they discovered they were Intersex until late in life.
So please don’t use hermaphrodite as a general term for intersex.
I’m a hermaphrodite and know several others but seeing how there are 46 different ways to be Intersex there are natural variations that cover the spectrum.
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(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/us/texas-transgender-youth-medical-care-abuse.html)
How Medical Care for Transgender Youth Became ‘Child Abuse’ in Texas
A custody battle in the Dallas suburbs amplified a growing conservative cause and helped fuel a move to treat transgender medicine as abuse.
Protesters held a march in support of transgender youth in Austin, Texas, this month. Credit…Christopher Lee for The New York Times
J. David Goodman
March 11, 2022
Updated 9:56 a.m. ET
HOUSTON — Jeffery Younger fought for years with his ex-wife, a pediatrician, over the gender identity of one of their twins. While she followed the advice of their children’s doctor to affirm the child’s desire to dress as a girl, grow long hair and be known as Luna, Mr. Younger steadfastly objected.
He resisted the new name, insisting instead on boys’ clothes, short haircuts and the name the couple had chosen at birth.
What began in a single household in a small community outside Dallas became a very public custody battle between Mr. Younger and Dr. Anne Georgulas, transforming him into a folk hero among conservatives and amplifying a growing effort to roll back transgender protections in state houses across America.
It paved the way, too, for an order late last month by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to investigate parents for child abuse if they provide certain medical treatments to their transgender children.
The abuse investigations ordered by Mr. Abbott, the first of their kind, represent the peak of a new round of action in state capitals aimed at transgender Americans, the most significant push by groups opposed to transgender rights since the national campaign to limit bathroom access foundered in 2017 and 2018. On Tuesday, a bill passed the Idaho House that would make medical treatments for transgender youth a felony, punishable by life in prison.
But few predicted that it would go as far as it has in Texas. The directive by Mr. Abbott very quickly resulted in investigations by the Department of Family and Protective Services, prompted a major Houston hospital to restrict its care for transgender children and raised fears among civil rights advocates of copycat efforts in other states. President Biden has condemned the action and asked federal authorities to step in if cases of discrimination arise.
An order by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has called for investigating certain medical treatments for transgender children as child abuse.Credit…Callaghan O’Hare for The New York Times
“This is actually the first time that they’ve succeeded in getting something that looks like a success,” said Kasey Suffredini, the chief executive of Freedom for All Americans, a national gay and transgender rights group. “It’s incredibly painful. It is devastating.”
A court battle is underway to stop the investigations across Texas, with a hearing scheduled for Friday.
The fight over transgender issues, waged on several fronts in recent years, has increasingly focused on medical treatments for children.
Major medical groups — along with transgender advocates — back what is known as gender-affirming care, which involves supporting a child’s gender identity and social transition, often through clothes or a name. Such care can also eventually include puberty-blockers or hormone treatments, though surgery is not recommended for children. While acknowledging some uncertainty and risk, they cite evidence that the approach can improve children’s mental health and reduce suicide.
Opponents — including some large conservative organizations — argue that children are too young to decide for themselves and must be shielded from potentially life-altering treatments that have only recently gained broader acceptance among the medical community.
Those at the center of the conservative push for new state laws include a coalition of familiar groups — the Heritage Foundation, Family Policy Alliance and Alliance Defending Freedom — that came together in the last two years.
Then last month, a newer player on the right, American Principles Project, took up the cause in Texas, spending more than $600,000 to run a series of highly produced ads on cable television featuring the case of Mr. Younger, who has become an outspoken supporter of restrictive legislation on transgender issues. The ads directly targeted Mr. Abbott during a hard-fought Republican primary, accusing the governor of not taking steps to “protect our children.”
By that point, Mr. Younger, 57, had testified repeatedly at the Capitol in Austin on measures to restrict transgender medical treatments. After the bills failed, he entered the Republican primary for an open seat in the Texas House of Representatives.
Last week, Mr. Younger came in second place, qualifying for the May runoff.
For conservative activists, the legislative push has been part of a broader national struggle over social issues, including legislation in Florida to ban teaching about gender identity in schools. Some of the same activists who defend the rights of parents in battles over school curriculum argue that, on the question of transgender treatment, children need protection from their own parents.
“Parents make all sorts of decisions with their kids,” said Craig DeRoche, the chief executive of the Family Policy Alliance, part of the coalition helping legislators draft new transgender laws. “And as a community, we chime in as to which decisions should or shouldn’t be available to parents.”
Image
Orion, 17, made the difficult decision to delay gender-affirming hormone treatment until this summer, when he turns 18.Credit…Emil Lippe for The New York Times
But for many families in Texas, the threat of an investigation by the state has introduced new fears into an already challenging set of medical decisions. Children now worry that classmates or teachers could report their parents for possible abuse. Some families have taken steps to leave the state.
“We’re kind of looking over our shoulder a little bit,” said Autumn Tupper, 43, of Frisco, Texas, a Dallas suburb. Because of the governor’s directive, her son, Orion, 17, who came out as transgender over the last year, decided to delay gender-affirming hormone treatment until he turns 18 this summer.
The deeper roots of the current fight over transgender rights in Texas can be traced to a 2015 battle in Houston over a local anti-discrimination ordinance, which would have applied to a range of protected classes, including race, age and gender identity.
Opponents rallied around the notion that the bill would put women in danger by allowing men to enter women’s bathrooms, dubbing it the “bathroom ordinance.” Its defeat helped clear the way for a national conservative push to enact so-called bathroom bills aimed at transgender people.
But the bathroom effort stumbled. The one measure that passed, in North Carolina, was later repealed. In Texas, many social conservatives were angered at the state’s failure to pass such a law.
“This issue is not going to go away,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a firebrand former talk radio host, said at the time, in 2017.
By the next year, the custody case between Mr. Younger and Dr. Georgulas, in the Dallas suburb of Coppell, began to attract notice in conservative circles.
There have been other such cases of parents fighting over the gender identity of their children. But Mr. Younger sought attention with a website and a campaign that featured the birth name of his child. Among the first articles on the case appeared in The Federalist in 2018. Mr. Younger sat for many interviews, including with
Infowars.
“You cannot understand the political situation in Texas without understanding my political advocacy,” Mr. Younger said in a 16-minute call with The New York Times in which he refused to answer questions. “You work for an evil and wicked organization,” he said. “I think you’ll use accuracy against my own values.”
Image
Children now worry that classmates or teachers could report their families for possible abuse. Parents fear a knock on the door could be a state investigator. Some have taken steps to leave the state.Credit…Christopher Lee for The New York Times
A lawyer for Dr. Georgulas declined a request for comment, citing a gag order put in place by the judge in the case.
The couple fought bitterly in court for years. Their marriage was annulled by a court on the grounds of fraud by Mr. Younger, who had misrepresented his employment and marital history.
In court transcripts, Dr. Georgulas said she had followed the lead of her transgender child, who is now 9, and the determinations of doctors. She has denied forcing her child to identify as a girl as Mr. Younger has claimed. She has not provided any puberty-blockers or hormones, though she supports their use, if recommended.
She filled out intake papers for Genecis, a Dallas clinic specializing in transgender care, but had not yet begun treatment when it shut down last year amid pressure from Mr. Abbott.
Limiting trans care. Republicans in Texas are seeking to criminalize medical treatm
Texas’ Push Against Gender-Affirming Treatments
Card 1 of 5
Limiting trans care.
Republicans in Texas are seeking to criminalize medical treatments that help align trans teens’ bodies with their gender identities. Here is what to know about the efforts:
Failed bills.
Texas has repeatedly considered bills that would have banned gender-affirming treatment for teenagers, yet all have so far failed. One proposal sought to redefine child abuse to include gender-affirming treatment for transgender children.
An opinion and an order.
Attorney General Ken Paxton recently issued an opinion stating that providing treatments like puberty-suppressing drugs to transgender teenagers should be investigated as child abuse. Shortly after, Gov. Abbott reaffirmed the notion in a letter to state health agencies.
The political stakes.
The moves by Mr. Abbott and Mr. Paxton, both two-term Republican incumbents, came days before Texas’s primary election on March 1, in which each faced challenges from far-right opponents who have questioned whether they have been sufficiently conservative.
Investigations begin.
While Gov. Abbott’s order doesn’t change Texas law, the state’s child welfare agency has begun investigating child abuse claims related to trans care. On March 2, a state court temporarily halted the investigation of one family, but allowed others to continue.
The pushback.
Professional medical groups and transgender health experts have condemned attempts to limit trans care. Some county and district attorneys in Texas have said they would not prosecute families of transgender children for child abuse under the new definition.
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“Everything that she did was on the basis of professional guidance,” said Karen Hirsch, a friend of Dr. Georgulas’s.
A court in August gave Dr. Georgulas custody of the children, including control of all medical decisions and the sole right “to make decisions concerning the children’s haircuts.” But it barred her from providing any puberty-blocking drugs, hormones or surgery without a court order.
The case’s growing public profile coincided with broadening medical acceptance of gender-affirming care — and a backlash. The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2018 issued its first policy statement on the approach, which urges parents to support the identity expressed by their child and provides guidance for treatment, including medications that delay puberty.
In 2019, the Heritage Foundation, along with the Family Policy Alliance, hosted discussions in Washington on transgender athletes and transgender children, including a panel on the “medical harms” of hormonal and surgical interventions. The groups formed a coalition, known as Promise To America’s Children, and pressed for new laws.
Soon, bills were introduced on restricting transgender athletes and, in more than 20 states, legislatures considered prohibitions on gender-affirming medical care, including in Texas last year.
The bill, which passed in the Senate, failed in the House. And although a measure further restricting transgender athletes, passed, some Texas conservatives were angry that the medical treatment bill had stalled.
Image
A court battle is underway to stop Governor Abbott’s recent order, with a hearing scheduled for Friday.Credit…Emil Lippe for The New York Times
The governor took note. Then the attorney general, Ken Paxton, facing a tough primary fight, issued an opinion that puberty-blocking drugs or hormone treatments could be considered child abuse under existing law in Texas.
Mr. Abbott, who was facing his own primary in days amid a barrage of American Principles Project ads, quickly directed the child protection agency to begin investigations. Among the first to be investigated was an employee of the agency.
The investigation was temporarily halted by a court in Austin last week.
“People don’t understand the treatment; they think it’s always surgery and it’s happening on children,” said Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued to stop the investigations along with Lambda Legal. Opponents, he added, have been “weaponizing the confusion.”
Mr. Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment. But his top campaign strategist told reporters last week that the issue of “genital mutilation” was a political winner.
“There’s this sense, especially among conservatives, that they’re losing their country,” said Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project. “It was just a few years ago that we were debating gay marriage, and now we’re debating sex changes for minors. I mean, that’s exponential movement in terms of culture.”
Amanda Morris contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
A version of this article appears in print on March 11, 2022, Section A, Page 15 of the New York edition
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17.
(https://youtu.be/k5_fto7OFAE)
PBS NewsHour
11 Mar 2022
Debate about anti-Trans legislation at about the 39 minute point.
PBS NewsHour live episode, March 11, 2022
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18.
Texas is in Stage Three of Hitler’s Final Solution – ‘Three Stages to Genocide’:
– You have no Rights to live.
(https://youtu.be/pVryRHN2eFM)
Families fear new anti-trans order in Texas
CBS News
11 Mar 2022
Texas’ anti-Trans legislation criminalises Transition care for children.
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‘Paxton said families as mine should not exist. ‘
– Texas mother of a Trans child
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19.
Our state is terrorizing us’: Texas families of transgender kids fight investigations
One parent was reported despite her trans son being 18, while another said she is fleeing the state to protect her trans daughter.
March 9, 2022, 8:41 AM MST
Jo Yurcaba
L., a mom who lives in Austin, Texas, said she was excited and relieved when her transgender son turned 18 last month, because “he made it.”
Her son attempted suicide multiple times, she explained, first when he was just 9 years old. After he came out as trans and started wearing different clothing and using male pronouns, she said she heard him laugh for the first time in a long time.
Now, he’s going to college in another state, and L., whose lawyer recommended she go by an initial instead of her full name to protect her family’s privacy, thought her family was safe.
“Nobody has to know that he’s trans unless he wants to tell them, so he’s just been thriving in college,” L. said. “He’s got good friends, he’s in several clubs, working hard at his nursing studies. For once he’s just one of the guys. He’s not that trans kid.”
But on March 1, an agent from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the state agency that investigates child abuse claims, showed up at her front door and told her that there had been “multiple reports of abuse” filed against her.
The agent’s visit followed a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month calling on the department to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of any reported instances of minors undergoing “elective procedures for gender transitioning,” including the prescription of puberty blockers or hormones.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at a primary night event, on March 1, in Corpus Christi.Eric Gay / AP
L. said she was shocked when the agent showed up at her door, because her son is no longer a minor. The agent said they can retroactively investigate parents for alleged abuse if it happened before the child turned 18. L., who has testified against anti-transgender bills in Texas’ Legislature, said she believes the abuse reports were filed by people who support the bills and saw her testify.
“I’m tired, I haven’t been eating much, I’m stressed out,” she said. “Why are you trying to punish his happiness? Because if he didn’t get these things, I honestly would have probably buried my child.”
NBC News spoke to nearly a dozen parents of trans kids and trans teens about the impact of Abbott’s directive in Texas as the state investigates families. Almost all of them weren’t comfortable using their full names because they are the subject of active investigations or because they fear being reported.
Most of them have hired lawyers in case they are reported and investigated, while others are considering leaving the state entirely or are already in the process of doing so.
‘Targeting’ outspoken families
Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a nonbinding legal opinion declaring gender-affirming medical care for minors child abuse under state law. Abbott affirmed Paxton’s opinion in a letter that, in addition to urging “prompt” investigations by the Department of Family and Protective Services, called on “licensed professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving such care.
Since then, the Department of Family and Protective Services has opened investigations into at least three families, including one of its own employees who has a trans child. A judge last week blocked that investigation after civil rights groups intervened, but the judge’s order was narrow, and investigations into other families are ongoing, at least until a hearing on Friday, when the injunction could be expanded to apply to all investigations. Paxton filed an appeal asking the judge to reverse her decision, but that appeal was tossed out on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services declined to comment on the investigations due to confidentiality reasons and did not provide information regarding the number of open child abuse investigations related to gender-affirming medical care.
Angela Hale, communications director for Equality Texas, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, said the situation is especially scary for parents who have been outspoken advocates for their trans children.
“They’re mainly targeting some of our families who either testified in hearings or have participated in news conferences or have been outspoken for their children,” she said.
Equality Texas has partnered with civil rights legal groups like Lambda Legal, which is compiling a list of lawyers who will represent parents and their kids pro bono if they face an investigation.
As advocates await the hearing Friday, Hale said Equality Texas has received a variety of calls from nervous parents, including from a family who was afraid to take their trans child to the emergency room. She said doctors and therapists are also afraid of providing transition-related care and mental health support to minors because they fear losing their medical licenses, even though such care is supported by relevant accredited medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association.
“The ripple effects are wide and very dangerous right now for these families,” Hale said.
Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston announced Friday that it “paused hormone-related prescription therapies for gender-affirming services” after assessing the attorney general’s and governor’s actions, KPRC-TV, an NBC affiliate in Houston, reported.
“This step was taken to safeguard our health care professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications,” the hospital stated, according to KPRC.
President Joe Biden condemned the letters from Paxton and Abbott in a strongly worded statement last week alongside a list of actions that the Department of Health and Human Services said it would take to protect transgender youth and their families in Texas.
Parents in Texas said they appreciate the support, but that reports of alleged abuse and subsequent investigations — and the fear of them — have continued.
‘Hard to stay in one piece’
Even families who aren’t currently under investigation say the last two weeks since Abbott released his directive have been traumatizing.
In Houston, N., a 15-year-old who is trans masculine, said things have been “awful.”
“It was hard to stay in one piece and not break down on everything,” he said. “A lot of feelings, a lot of disassociation and hardness to just keep everything in control.”
Katie, N.’s mom, said the family doesn’t plan to move right now, though they do fear being reported. However, unlike some families, they have the resources and time to fight back and advocate.
One Austin mom, K., wanted to be one of the parents who stayed to fight. She testified at the state Capitol last year when the Legislature considered more than 50 anti-trans bills. But on Monday, she stood in an airport terminal on the brink of tears.
She was on her way to Oregon to look at a house. She said she’s moving her family out of Texas, where she was born and raised, to keep her 10-year-old transgender daughter safe.
She’s said she feels an “inexpressible guilt and anguish,” for the families who can’t leave. But then she reminds herself that she’s doing the right thing for her family.
Last week, while she was driving her daughter home, she told her about Abbott’s directive and that some people were protesting at the Capitol.
She said her daughter, who usually doesn’t cry, had tears running down her cheeks, and she asked, “Am I going to die?”
“I said no. I pulled over. I went, ‘Why would you ask me that?’” K. said. “She went, ‘Because everybody hates me.’”
She said her daughter feels that way even with a loving and supportive family, which, she added, shows that living in a liberal city in Texas like Austin doesn’t protect families from the effects of Abbott’s directive and the greater conversation it’s creating.
She said she’s increasingly starting to feel like a frog in boiling water — a phrase she had never heard until Texas’ last legislative session.
“To me, that’s what living in these large Texas cities is like: You’re like a frog in boiling water, where you don’t realize how much trouble you’re in until it’s too late,” she said. “But lucky for us, it may not be too late.”
L., the mom currently under investigation, said she is afraid for the parents of trans kids who can’t flee. She fears that now more of them could experience what she did when she found her son at 9 after a suicide attempt.
“I hate the fact that this is going to scare kids from living their truth,” she said. “Our state is terrorizing us and torturing us. We didn’t do anything wrong other than love our kids and want our kids to be healthy.”
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Jo Yurcaba is a reporter for NBC Out.
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Slim and Me 