The GOP’s relentless attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender kids is taking an incredible toll, as we are reminded by the suicides of heroes like Blake Brockington. Two transgender teens, Grayson and Dex, brought this human cost eloquently to light Wednesday when they testified before a South Carolina Senate committee.
Grayson, a female-to-male transgender 13 year old, relayed how humiliating it is for him to use a separately designated bathroom at school rather than the ones everybody else uses. Jeremy Turnage reports:
"All I want is to be able to use the men's restroom with the rest of my non-transgender peers, but this doesn't happen and it won't happen if this bill is passed," Grayson said. "The people introducing this bill are victimizing the innocent. When I enter a men's bathroom, I just want to use the facilities, wash my hands and leave. I do not deserve to have my gender identity washed away like a fingerprint on a windowpane. I do not deserve to have the person I am replaced by someone I don't want to be. I do not deserve to be forced to use a restroom where I do not feel safe."
Grayson also called out supporters of the bill, saying none of them understood what it was like to prove themselves and who they are constantly.
His friend Dex, also 13, told lawmakers that forcing trans kids to use the wrong restroom at school would put them at great risk for physical violence by “outing” them as transgender.
"Being forced to use what we would consider the wrong restroom would force all these kids out of the closet, which puts them at risk for more bullying and more violence, which actually happened to one of my friends who couldn't be here today. When someone found out that my friend Denny was transgender … he ended up being assaulted just because one random stranger found out. And I couldn't imagine what he would face if he had to come out to the whole school because he had to use the wrong restroom."
If Republicans are going to make false claims about putting children at risk, then let's talk about ALL the children. These are the kids that GOP lawmakers are specifically targeting with bills like the one that was vetoed in South Dakota and that lawmakers are currently considering in Tennessee.
If you didn’t already know it, these student-specific bills are being intentionally pushed by national right-wing organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), The Heritage Foundation, and Liberty Counsel. ADF’s Matt Sharp, who testified in favor of South Dakota’s transphobic bill, was recently interviewed on NPR regarding North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law. Why this repugnant individual was given a platform on National Public Radio is beyond me. Sharp doesn’t simply have an opposing point of view—he’s targeting children for discrimination. Kids! These are just kids, for God’s sake.
Check out video of the testimony, from WISTV.