I’ve recently received some emails urging me to back repeal of the transgender rights bill. I supported and continue to support the transgender rights we protected last year.
Here is how I have been replying:
I’m happy to discuss this issue with you. I really see it differently. It’s not about boys “who simply believe they are girls” — it’s about people who are born with some attributes of male gender and some attributes of female gender. The truth is that some people are unambiguously male and some people are unambiguously female, but some people have physical and psychological features of both genders. Those people often have a very hard time in society today. They need to be able to live as the gender that they identify with.
I’d be happy to discuss this in more depth if you’d like. I support the protections for transgender persons that we put in place last year and in fact, support strengthening them.
By supporting these protections, I do believe that I am on the side of fairness and safety of all our children.
Here is a sample of the emails that I have been receiving:
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In December of 2011, the transgender rights bill was passed and it went into effect last July 1, 2012. We now beginning to understand full ramifications of this law, as those opposing it predicted. We need to repeal it.
It innocently incorporated “gender identity” in to the nondiscrimination laws of the state. Gender identity, however, is not defined in the law, and the Department of Education has seemingly given this term its broadest definition.
This law allows young teenage boys, who simply believe they are girls, to use the girls room, play and compete with girls sports teams-as girls-and to use the girls locker room. It’s unfair girls who won’t make the team because they’re competing against biological and athletic boys for limited spots on teams such as basketball. And it puts boys in the girls locker room.
This is simply unfair and unsafe, and needs to be repealed.
Representatives Jim Lyons and Marc Lombardo have filed House Docket 1223 An Act relative to gender identity which does this very thing. HD 1223 will repeal this unfair and unsafe law.
I am respectfully asking you to please cosponsor HD 1223 with Representatives Lyons and Lombardo. Show your solidarity with them in repealing this law.
I look forward to your reply to my request as to whether you have decided to side with fairness and safety of our children.
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