Sister of anti-trans Republican ‘implores’ him to stop: ‘These families know their children and what is best for them’
Utah Republican Brad Daw and his sister Christy Florence (YouTube/Salt Lake Tribune)
A Utah lawmaker who wrote an anti-trans bill that would ban gender-related treatment for minors is facing calls to reconsider from his LGBT+ advocate sister, transgender brother-in-law and transgender niece.
Republican representative Brad Daw is one of several lawmakers who have introduced harmful anti-trans bills in a dozen states this year as part of a conservative pushback against trans rights.
The bill he authored aims to make it illegal for doctors to prescribe hormone blockers to anyone under the age of 18, a move Brad Daw claims is intended “with love and compassion and understanding”.
His crusade against trans healthcare has pitted him against his own family, which actually includes two transgender people – and his sister is now “imploring” him to reconsider.
Writing in the Salt Lake Tribune, Christy Florence said: “He knows my daughter and he knows my husband; but he knows little to nothing of their journey. He knows little about the journey of any transgender individual and their family.
“We have offered to be a resource for him and to help educate him on this important and sensitive issue. He has yet to take us up on the offer.”
She described her brother’s legislation as “unnecessary and punitive”, and warned it will “cause harm to an already vulnerable and struggling population”.
She noted that the medical community has already provided competent boundaries to trans youth and their families, and no permanent changes or surgeries are ever recommended until after the age of 18 anyway.
“Attempting to legislate into a space that the medical community is already handling very well doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Legislators are not doctors. We don’t need politicians making it harder for kids who are transgender and singling them out for increased bullying and harassment.”
As well as being mother to a transgender daughter and wife to a transgender man, Florence is a founder of Mama Dragons, a support group for loving mothers of LGBT+ children.
She worries that her brother’s bill would punish trans-supportive families like her own and those she works with, forcing parents to choose between the possibility of prosecution or the wellbeing of their transgender child.
As she urged all Utah legislators to “do the right thing” and reconsider their position, she reached out to her brother directly.
“Brad, I implore you to leave the decisions of medical care to the parents and medical professionals. Trust the experts. They know what they are doing. These families know their children and what is the very best for them.”
