Thousands sign letter condemning senator Ted Cruz’s stance on landmark transgender custody case
Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican Ted Cruz. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)
More than 2,000 parents and advocates have signed a letter to senator Ted Cruz condemning his “harmful” comments that a mother supporting her transgender child’s transition is committing “child abuse”.
Cruz made the comments in response to a father who lost joint custody of his estranged transgender daughter after he sought to force her to live as a boy. However, the ruling was overturned and his joint custody was reinstated the same day.
Jeffrey Younger opposes his wife’s decision to affirm Luna in her true gender, and believes she should not not be permitted to live as a girl.
Cruz, one of the most extreme anti-LGBT+ Republicans, wrote on Twitter before the ruling was overturned: “This is horrifying & tragic. For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse.
“A 7-year-old child doesn’t have the maturity to make profound decisions like this. The state of Texas should protect this child’s right to choose — as an informed, mature person — and not be used as a pawn in a left-wing political agenda.”
This is horrifying & tragic. For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse.https://t.co/sl8VcBgfTD via @nypost
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 24, 2019
The letter to Cruz was posted by the Human Rights Campaign and was available to sign online until Friday November 1. According to Dallas Morning News, it had already surpassed 2,000 signatures by Thursday.
The letter said: “We write to express our deep concern over your harmful and medically unfounded comments regarding transgender and non-binary youth and the families who support them.
“Your comments accusing parents of transgender and non-binary children of ‘child abuse’ betrays your office, your responsibilities and all sense of decency.
“As parents of transgender and non-binary children, we’ve become all-too-familiar with the danger that can come if a child is unable to express their deeply-held gender identity.”
The letter stated that a “significant body” of research showed the serious mental health risks, including suicide, of forcing trans children to live as the incorrect gender.
It has been proven that consistently using the correct name and pronouns for trans people can reduce their rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts to almost the same levels as their cisgender counterparts.
The letter continued: “It is irresponsible and shameful for you, or any other elected official, to make false claims that further stigmatise our children and call into question our judgment and the judgment of trained medical professionals. Being a parent is a hard job.
“Every day we try to make the best decisions to help our children succeed and thrive… If you and other politicians were truly concerned about the well-being of children, you would focus on the over five million children across this country who are living in extreme poverty or the tens of thousands exposed to physical abuse, violence and human trafficking – not transgender and non-binary children who are getting the love and support they need and deserve.”
A spokesperson for Ted Cruz told Dallas Morning News that the letter is evidence that the left is using the child “to promote an ever-increasing radical agenda”.
