Teacher was fired for refusing to call children by their preferred pronouns

[AnAlternateOpinion]

But I think there is a mischaracterization in play in your last paragraph. The care which we should be discussing is medically necessary gender remediation... what's illegal in those states is performing it without the recommendation of a doctor. It seemed prudent to me since surgical gender-reassignment is a one way street, and is a sterilization process... not something a minor should be undergoing because "they just feel like it," (and they have thousands of dollars to burn.)

I think your information and understanding of the medicalization aspects and opportunities for trans youth are somewhat behind the times or at least not current with the latest developments.

Several states have banned gender affirming/transitional surgical procedures for those under 18 which are rarely performed anyway with genital surgery performed on minors being a practically non-existent thing except in special and very, very rare cases. Other forms of intervention such as puberty suppression and cross-sex hormones are still permitted.

Curiously if a flat-chested teenage natal female has breast augmentation or rhinoplasty to affirm her gender or enhance her sexual attractiveness, that’s okay which seems like a double standard to me.

Several states have banned all forms of “gender affirming care” for anyone under 18 and in some instances, even counseling if it supports the notion of a gender identity different from one’s sex assigned at birth.

In spite of best practice medical guidelines supported by every major medical organization in the U.S., many states prohibit the use of puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones for minors with some states even pondering banning all trans medical care for those under 26. (note: puberty blockers can’t inhibit puberty if it has already passed)

Some states have sought to make it a felony for a doctor to prescribe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones under any circumstances to persons under 18 so “criminalization” is indeed at play.

Some states have prohibited medical care for trans youth that are already receiving it causing them to discontinue necessary therapies and treatments.

Have a look at this map: Bans on Best Practice Medical Care for Transgender Youth

One thing it seems you fail to recognize is that there are some trans and other LGBTx youth in desperate need of care who live in unwelcoming and unsupportive homes.

Research has shown that those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) have a 120% higher risk of experiencing some form of homelessness.[1] With up to 40% of the 4.2 million youth experiencing homelessness identifying as LGBTQ+[2] while only 9.5% of the U.S. population[3], LGBTQ+ youth disproportionately experience homelessness compared to their straight and cisgender peers. They are also more likely to experience assault, trauma, depression, and suicide when compared to non-LGBTQ+ populations while also being homeless. These statistics are even worse for Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) LGBTQ+ populations who suffer from racial inequities and discrimination.

source

There has roughly been 1000 anti-LGBTx pieces of legislation proposed in the last two years with many of them passing into law and most of them focusing on transgender kids but what you might find interesting is who is behind all this as practically none has come from grassroots constituents clamoring for laws but rather in almost all instances motivation to propose and pass these laws comes from a handful of powerful anti-everything that isn’t straight and cisgender extremist fundamentalist religions political organizations. To name drop a few on some sort of a Christo jihad, how about the Alliance Defending Freedom, the the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation and the Liberty Counsel. As a firm believer of separation of church and state, the influence of these organizations on policy and legislation is absolutely abhorrent that scares me to the bone.

Before this turns into a rant on my part, I’m taking a breather and watching movies and playing video games for the rest of the evening. Thank you Maxmars for allowing this discussion without, for the most part, it turning into a complete shitshow.