The GOP is targeting trans children

The avalanche of anti-trans bills recently introduced into the Arizona state legislature are a sickening attack on vulnerable children and members of a marginalized community. The Republicans pushing these bills are not arbiters of good faith. They protect no one by unapologetically violating trans people’s privacy, restricting our rights in school, sports, healthcare, birth, and death, or punishing those who would agree to help us. In some cases, they invite others to turn on us, informing on trans children who seek to play sports like any other child, or doctors who believe that performing trans-affirming care is an ethical and medical responsibility.

If you agree that these attacks on trans people are unacceptable, chip in today to send the first trans woman Arizona’s legislature. The GOP will stop at nothing to strip our human rights away from us, and we must fight back. Every dollar helps us stay strong and set a path to victory so we can show the Republicans that we’re not going anywhere.

The attack on children is particularly concerning. Trans youth often determine their gender identities at relatively young ages. They are not faking it. Punishing trans children for living by their true gender identity in school is not just shameful, it will pose serious negative consequences for the affected children, their mental health, and even their socialization at school. Employees at public schools should be required to refer to trans children by their correct gender pronouns, just as they could not consistently disparage any other child by willfully misgendering them.

It goes without saying that trans children should be allowed to play all sports that any other children get to play. Forcing a child to play with a team that aligns with their biological sex but not their gender identity could increase feelings of gender dysphoria and should be called what it really is: emotional abuse against vulnerable and innocent children. The confirmation of a trans child’s biological sex by examination of their genitals, proof of chromosomes, or level of testosterone sets an invasive and downright dangerous bogus medical precedent that has no relation whatsoever to that child’s gender identity.

Trans-affirming healthcare is not a luxury. Though it is already very expensive, hard to access, and can take years to get, for many it is a lifeline. Trans-affirming healthcare is not experimental, it is a proven spectrum of medical practices supported by every major medical association, including the American Medical Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Psychological Association.

Denying this care can have catastrophic consequences as families seek out unregulated care or children are forced to go through their natal puberty. As a trans parent I know that these parents and doctors are right to pursue trans-affirming treatment for children who desperately need it. There is no other context where care is banned. This is a blatant excuse to humiliate, violate, and punish trans people and those who support us.

The GOP wants to make the trans community the next battleground in the culture wars. But we will not be their pawns. When I am representing Arizona’s 5th legislative district in the state house, I will never stop fighting to protect all trans people, including children who deserve better. But I can’t do it alone. I need folks like you to invest in my campaign so I can become the first trans woman in Arizona’s legislature, so I can advocate for my community there myself. We need a strong voice for trans people who will never bow down to the GOP. Will you chip in today?

In solidarity,

Brianna Westbrook