Texas Attorney General has dinner with 8-year-old trans boy, still attacking LGBT rights
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accepted an invite to have dinner with a transgender 8-year-old whose rights he is trying to attack.
The right-wing Republican lawmaker has dedicated much of his career to launching lawsuits aimed at blocking LGBT rights protections.
Paxton this year launched a case that blocked an Obama administration directive protecting transgender students in schools, claiming they were a danger to other students in his brief.
He also recently challenged an Affordable Care Act provision that ensures doctors can’t refuse to treat patients because they’re lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
But despite expending much of his resources and taxpayers’ money attempting to minimise LGBT rights, Paxton accepted an invite to have dinner with 8-year-old trans boy MG Briggle and his family.
His mother Amber Briggle explained: “I invited Attorney General Ken Paxton to sit down with our family and get to know his constituents and fellow Texans.
“I am pleased the attorney general took the time to visit with our family and to meet our son and to have a conversation with our family. We are Texans, just like everyone else.
“My most important job in life is being a mom, and my son and his safety are my top priority. Since the attorney general has never met an openly transgender child, Adam and I felt that it was important for him to meet our amazing son, so that he could put a face to this issue.
“We expressed to him that it is his job as attorney general to protect the rights of all Texans, including transgender kids like MG, and we hope that after meeting our family, he will see that these disciminatory lawsuits and actions put our child in danger and affect his ability to succeed in school.”
MG’s dad Adam continued: “I hope that this meeting can set a tone of civility for our public discussions about LGBT issues.
“The dinner table is where we gather to share and celebrate our common humanity — love and family, hopes and worries, laughter and tears.
“At our meal together, I think we all were reminded that behind the political disagreements there are genuine and caring human beings who are striving to do the right thing as best as they can see it.
“Sympathy is the wellspring of morality and it can only be cultivated through sincere and friendly conversations like we had last night.
“I’d like to encourage other LGBT families to invite public officials to dine with them, and I hope those public servants will follow the example that the Paxtons set by so graciously accepting our invitation.”
The Briggles served up beef shish kabobs from a local ranch, watermelon, blueberry cobbler, and cornbread. The Paxtons brought dessert.
However, if you’re expecting a miraculous Disney-style fairytale ending, you’re going to be disappointed.
Paxton remains committed to his anti-LGBT rights lawsuits, and is continuing to waste millions of taxpayers’ dollars suing to oppose even the most minimal of protections for LGBT people, in the name of ‘religious freedom’.
