I’m a mother of a gay daughter and a proud member of the LGBTQia community. Last year, I testified before the Legislature against a bill that had one purpose: to further marginalize our most vulnerable kids–our transgender kids.
The Legislature hasn’t changed so the same meanness is back. It’s actually worse. Powerful lawmakers have expanded their attack on powerless kids by working to make life easier for Idaho’s most reviled bullies–those who simply attack kids because they can.
This year’s attack on transgender kids comes by trying to change the words in Idaho code regarding “sex” and “gender” status. These anti-kid politicians use this perverse platform to stoke a base that is fueled with disinformation and inflamed with fear. With the failure of their attacks on our kids in the courts, which have routinely upheld trans kids’ rights of due process, equal protection, and community status, now our GOP colleagues are wasting more time and energy trying to define identity. I have an idea, how about they just leave it be and let our kids live without bullying and constant attacks by our government.
As a parent, and a friend of transgender kids, I won’t just stand by and watch this bullying. Real lives are at stake. Real consequences.
My daughter came out at age 11. I found out through her counselor, who was required by law to disclose to me that my daughter was self-harming and suicidal. She was suicidal because the person she saw in the mirror, the person she felt like inside, was not the identity that society had placed upon her.
Every time one of these disgraceful bills gets a hearing, the souls of the most vulnerable group of people in Idaho, our transgender youth, take a beating.
I know a mother who will never again hug her child again because he didn’t feel comfortable in his own skin, and he took his own life.
Shouldn’t our laws try to save kids’ lives? At least, do no harm?
Instead of showing compassion, this same GOP Legislature is entertaining proposals that make it harder to prosecute domestic terrorists, allowing more guns in schools, and allowing lawsuits against librarians. I believe it’s no coincidence that hate groups such as these frequently attack LGBTQia community members.
As Idaho Governor, I won’t let the Legislature bully kids. I will stand up to hate groups. And I will make sure that one message is received loud and clear, the government must stay out of our doctor’s offices, our bathrooms, our libraries, and our bedrooms. For the party of alleged “small government”, Idaho’s present GOP, the Governor included, sure wants to regulate and govern everything we do. That’s why a vote for me will be a vote for your fundamental freedoms.