Aaron Richie said when his son, Landon, came out as transgender, what scared him the most was the thought of a medical transition.
After seeing Landon’s daily struggles with his body and consulting with psychiatrists and pediatricians, Richie decided to help his then 13-year-old son begin the process of transitioning.
“I thought to myself, ‘Why am I going to make him do this five more years?’” Richie said. “So that I feel better, so that my parents feel better, so that when I tell other people they are not freaked out? It just became an indefensible position that this has to wait until 18.”
Aaron Richie said when his son, Landon, came out as transgender, what scared him the most was the thought of a medical transition.
After seeing Landonâs daily struggles with his body and consulting psychiatrists and pediatricians, Richie decided to help his then 13-year-old son begin the process of transitioning.
âI thought to myself, âWhy am I going to make him do this five more years?ââ Richie said. âSo that I feel better so that my parents feel better, so that when I tell other people they are not freaked out? It just became an indefensible position that this has to wait until 18.â
Actor and trans activist Kai Shappley testifies before the Texas state affairs committee on 12 April 2021. (Twitter/Meghan Stabler)
Kai Shappley, a trans girl who testified against an anti-trans bill before Texas lawmakers, has begun receiving death threats for speaking out, her mother has said.
The fourth-grader passionately spoke before the Texas state affairs committee on 12 April against a bill to effectively ban gender-affirming care. She told the committee that she was tired of lawmakers “attacking” her identity and she doesn’t like “spending my free time asking adults to make good choices”.
In her testimony, Kai Shappley told the committee: “Texas legislators have been attacking me since Pre-K. I am in fourth grade now.”
Transgender 4th Grader Kai Shappley Gets Death Threats After Testifying Before Texas Legislature
On 4/21/21 at 7:41 PM EDT
Kai Shappley, a transgender fourth grader who testified in front of the Texas Senate on April 12, has begun receiving death threats for her testimony, her mother, Kimberly Shappley, said.
The child testified in front of the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs regarding SB 1646, a bill that would redefine child abuse to include consenting to or assisting in the administering or supplying of, a puberty suppression prescription drug or cross-sex hormone to a child.
The bill would criminalize parents, guardians, medical workers and pharmacists who help trans children obtain medically approved treatments for either physically transitioning into their self-identified gender or delaying puberty.