I write to you today about SB1646. Simply put, this bill is blatantly anti-trans and will put Texas children at risk. This is an alarmist reaction from Republicans who have allowed their ignorance and bigotry to dictate their actions as representatives of the people of this state. They have specifically targeted a group of people who simply want to live their lives as who they are, without the government interfering with their personal medical choices.
During your time as Governor, you have repeated time and time again that you are firmly against the government forcing laws that regulate personal medical choices. If you allow this bill to pass, what’s next? Allowing the state to tell people what kind of medical care they can and cannot receive is a slippery slope that you don’t want to start sliding down, trust me.
Medical, pediatric, and psychological experts agree that forcing children to suppress their gender identities puts them at high risk of self-harm and suicide. Removing children from their homes because their parents support their choice to engage in medically supervised, non-invasive gender affirmation practices is emotionally and psychologically scarring and morally reprehensible. There is no reputable data that supports the need for this bill. Gender affirmation is not child abuse, full stop. You cannot allow the law to define it as such; to do so would cause generations of damage to Texas families.
Trans lives matter. Trans kids need to be protected and supported. On behalf of every trans person in the state of Texas, I beg you: Do not allow this bill to become law. The lives of children are at stake.
