Fear, Anxiety for Texas Trans Kids Under GOP Attack

[Nevilledog]

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2022-04-22/fear-anxiety-for-texas-trans-kids-under-gop-attack/


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Recently, right-wing pundits and online trolls began promoting the notion that adults who support trans or queer kids are "groomers" or pedophiles – which is a modern spin on a very old form of homophobia. One mother of a nonbinary 12-year-old (who uses they/them pronouns) told us that widespread bullying in an Austin-area public school put her child in crisis, ultimately resulting in their hospitalization for emergency mental health care. (The Chronicle agreed to keep the family's identity anonymous.)

In one particularly harmful incident, her child's teacher claimed, in front of the classroom, that the reason her child is transgender is because they were groomed by their queer parents. Their mother told us, "Once the directive hit I was terrified that the teacher would report us." Abbott's anti-trans "abuse" directive has also made the entire process of getting health care for her child fraught with risk. "It's really scary having to disclose [their] gender identity," she wrote. "Because we never know who is safe and who is a bigot." Like many families with trans kids, she's considering leaving the state, though her financial situation prevents them from leaving immediately. "We thankfully have a lot of support from friends and family that would help [us] relocate if things got worse here."

Abbott's directive has reportedly also thrown CPS into disarray. At least a half-dozen investigators have resigned over the directive. In addition to the resignations, other CPS officials filed an amicus brief on behalf of the ACLU and Lambda Legal lawsuit. Abbott's directive forces CPS officials to closely investigate every single claim of abuse involving a trans kid, and prevents them from closing the cases after they've shown the families to be safe and healthy.

Austin lawyer Tracy Harting, who is defending two Central Texas families, told us that the investigations against her clients remain open to this day, months after CPS determined that there were no signs of abuse. "It's still hanging over them like that boulder over the coyote," she said.

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[IngridsLittleAngel]

1. Working as intended.

Since Abbott, Paxton, DeSantis, etc. cannot legally kill us (yet...), they're aiming for the next best thing. Fear, anxiety, pain, and self-loathing so we do it for them. Plus, they get to be amused by watching us fall apart and become ill before reaching the breaking point.

I'd call them sick fucking monsters, but... That's an insult to sick fucking monsters.

[Richard58]

2. This pisses me off so much!

Cruelty seems to be the main feature of GOP legislation. It's like they get together in a room and say, "How can we fuck with a vulnerable minority today? Let's see who can come up with the cruelest legislation!" You would think these Bible-thumping morons would have something better to do. But no. This is what the GOP is about now: being anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-abortion and anti-CRT. Nothing else matters! Who care about infrastructure, affordable health care, inflation, the environment, etc? What REALLY matters is stopping little Johnny from learning that slavery was bad or that gay people exist! And the maddening part is that people fall for this nonsense! Honestly do wingnuts just sit around,wringing their hands, wondering if a transgender kid uses the bathroom of his/her choice? The HORROR! America has lost its mind.