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‘They will not erase us!’ LGBTQ activists prepare for legislative fight at Texas Capitol

Mar 23

NEW: I recently spent time with Callie Butcher of Dallas, who returned to the Capitol for the 1st time since grade school to speak against bills targeting transgender Texans. Here's my intimate look at the war that #LGBTQ activists face this year. dallasnews.com/news/politics/ #txlege

dallasnews.com

AUSTIN — On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the cavernous space at the heart of the Capitol was filled with dozens of transgender Texans demanding with one...

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Stephanie Klick is the committee chairwoman. She cut off debate at midnight when 10% of those who'd wanted to testify got to speak. More links to videos of the die in. twitter.com/vdebill/status twitter.com/InitialRae/sta #txlege

Quote Tweet

Rae Martinez

@InitialRae

Happening now at the closure of public testimony against HB 1686. #txlege 2500 people signed up to give testimony against the bill, only a small fraction were able to give their testimony.

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1.6K views

After debate on the gender-affirming care ban, LGBTQ activists are staging a die in inside the Texas Capitol. They're chanting "Klick lies, kids die." twitter.com/LGBTActivist/s #txlege #HB1686

This Tweet is unavailable.

Nearly 3,000 people registered their stance on this bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors. AGAINST 2,817 FOR 97 A reminder the committee is majority Republican and all of its GOP members have signed on to co-author the bill. Story TK #txlege #HB1686

That's it. Public Health Chairperson

@StephanieKlick

has closed public testimony on #HB1686 to ban gender-affirming medical treatments for minors. Klick says the public testimony portal will remain open until Friday at 5pm to people can register their stances. #txlege #LGBTQ

We've now had multiple transgender youth testify back-to-back against this bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors. "Why do you think you know me better than I know myself? I've been me my whole life," says Sunny Bryant, 9. #txlege #HB1686 #LGBTQ

Applause in the committee room after Maya Stanton, a 12-year-old transgender girl, testifies. "Do you understand how brave I have to be to come here and tell you over and over again to leave me alone?" she says. #txlege #HB1686

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Hey all. I am not going to be tweeting much more for a bit as I work on my story on this bill's debate. I am still following the debate, listening to each testifier and noting the FOR and AGAINST count. #txlege #HB1686

Lauren McGaughy Retweeted

Replying to

Respectfully, I think this is a good time to note that I was called into testify toward the beginning — as a detransitioner born and raised in Texas.

Up now is Irene Ericksen, who spoke to the Senate as well. Her Institute for Research and Evaluation focuses on "sex education programs, particularly sexual risk avoidance/abstinence education interventions," per its website. twitter.com/lmcgaughy/stat #txlege

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Mar 16

Ericksen adds her expertise is in sex education (her website says "particularly sexual risk avoidance/abstinence education interventions") and that her organization saw much of their funding cut during the Obama administration. Her org: institute-research.com/about/ #txlege #SB14

Show this thread

"My previous suicide attempt was used as proof that I was not being affirmed fast enough,"

@detransaqua

says.

@TomOliverson

says she hopes there are compassionate docs to help her now. Both she and

@OfficialAbelG

and transitioned elsewhere (CA + NC respectively) #txlege #HB1686

Up now is detransitioner

@detransaqua

who says the transgender community "found" her when she was anorexic and depressed. She then connected with docs who said she was a trans man. "They assisted me in mutilating myself," she says, referring to her mastectomy. #txlege #HB1686

Abel Garcia says his father's reaction to his confusion about his identity was to take him to Mexico with $100 and make him have sex with a prostitute. He says his father later realized it was a major mistake. Garcia moved to Texas (from California) last year. #txlege

Up speaking now is detransitioner

@OfficialAbelG

. He spoke in front of the Senate committee too. He says he ended his relationship with his parents when he began to detransitioned. He said he stopped his medication "cold turkey" and got his breast implants out. #txlege

Tinderholt just rephrased: "If this bill passes the way it is, and it would not be illegal for you to do so, would you consult and work with the family and the individual and refer them out of state for the care that you think they." Doctor answers yes. #txlege #HB1686

has asked nearly every doctor against this bill whether they would "push" patients across state lines to get gender-affirming care if this passes. He's reiterating it would not be illegal but ensures they answer while making sure he has their names. #txlege

Rep

just shared the following in this hearing on a bill banning gender affirming care for minors: - 470 have signed up to testify before midnight (we've heard from 13) - nearly 3K have registered their stance on the bill. 92 for vs 2,742 against. #txlege #HB1686

Also, every GOP member of this committee has signed on as a co-author on this bill banning gender-affirming care. The committee is split 6-5 Republican vs Democrat. So, effectively, this committee (if all members vote) has already indicated how it will act on this bill. #txlege

A reminder than 77 GOP representatives (more than half the Texas House) have signed on as co-authors on this bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. This means it will pass if it gets to the floor. #txlege #HB1686 #LGBTQ #transgender

Rep.

, D-Houston, asks Richie where he would be if this bill had been law when he was a minor accessing gender-affirming care "If not dead then not in Texas." #txlege #HB1686

Lauren McGaughy Retweeted

Dallas Morning News

@dallasnews

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dallasnews.com

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"We don't need you to understand what it means to be transgender. We just ask that you believe us when we tell you that we know who we are," Richie said. #txlege #HB1686 #LGBTQ

We just had two doctors speak FOR the bill banning gender affirming care for minors. Now we have Landon Richie, a transgender Texan and activist, speaking against the bill. He says since childhood he "consistently persistently and insistently" said he is male. #txlege #HB1686

Tinderholt: "Can any male get pregnant?" Floyd: "An XY male cannot get pregnant." Tinderholt: "Explain that not. Are there other types of males? Floyd: "Well, socially, our social system has allowed females to say they're male to dress like men." #txlege #HB1686 #LGBTQ

Tinderholt asks what TMA thinks about this bill. Q: "We have polled, less than 1% cite gender affirming care as a priority. ...We do have a very split group on this but it's a small group." A: "You refer to gender mutilation: I don't think any of us support that." #txlege

Rep

asks the same Qs

did in the Senate: How can you be neutral on this bill? #txlege #HB1686

Up now is

president Gary Floyd. As the powerful doctor's group told the Senate a couple weeks ago, they are neutral on the bill. This position was a big blow for the LGBTQ rights groups bc the org has actively urged the state not to block these treatments. #txlege

Just up was a girl named Gloria Valdez (sp?) who said her transgender younger brother tried to take his own life bc of the "political situation here in Texas." She is against the bill. She choked up as her spoke. The senators did not ask her any questions. #txlege #LGBTQ #HB1686

Rep

asks Joe Burgo from

, which helps detransitioners, who fits the trans kid model. A: "Isolated, lonely, outcast, misfit kind of kid gets a smartphone, finds the internet ...They get indoctrinated." Smith: "Gee, sounds a little bit like COVID, doesn't it?"

Lauren McGaughy Retweeted

Texas Capitol History

@TXCapHistory

18h

In light of the news about the

@TexasObserver

, here is Ronnie Dugger with President Johnson. George Christian is in the background. #txlege

Rep.

@VentonJonesTX

asks why we're talking about mastectomies and sterilization in the same sentence. When it would be OK for a minor to get a mastectomy, he asks. Dr.

says it's appropriate in "very rare cases" with proper psychological assessments. #txlege

Now Dr. St. Amand is answering Qs from

@Reggie4Tx

. "There are plenty of Texans who are 16 and have breast augmentation," he says. "If we're going to keep allowing that in non-transgender patients, then we shouldn't have a different standard for transgender patients." #txlege

St. Amanda just took Qs from

@reptinderholt

. He asks, "I need to know what your commitment is to helping kids who actually do need care to obtain it." Tinderholt: "My commitment is to stop allowing the mutilation and gender modification of children." #txlege #LGBTQ

Oliverson says he wants, "actual prospective trials," to which St. St. Amand responds, "Have you been funding those?" That convo got pretty chippy. #txlege #LGBTQ #HB1686

"I think you and me, really, are on the same page,"

says. "I'm not sure we are,"

@TomOliverson

responds. "I think you are operating in essentially a scientific no man's land." #txlege #LGBTQ #HB1686

"Children do not make the diagnosis. Licensed healthcare providers make diagnoses by talking to the children, which is the same with depression, anxiety" and other mental health diagnoses, says

says. #txlege #HB1686 #LGBTQ #genderaffirmingcare

"Europe has not banned care like this bill would do,"

says. "But they have significantly turned the corner,"

@TomOliverson

. "They are not allowing children to essentially make the diagnosis and drive the train." #txlege #HB1686

We're on hour 4 of this debate on a bill to ban certain medical treatments for transgender youth like puberty blockers and hormone therapy. We've only had 8 people testify so far, including invited testimony. It's been split between FOR and AGAINST 4-3 (one neutral). #txlege

Speaking now is Colt St. Amand

communityhealth.mayoclinic.org

, a doctor practicing gender affirming care who is transgender himself, and who is also from Texas. He is doing his residency at the Mayo Clinic. communityhealth.mayoclinic.org/providers/colt #txlege #HB1686

Primary Care in Rochester and Kasson

Despite losing bathroom bill fight, a transgender girl gets her two m…

More about the Gonzales family, from a 2017 profile by

@alexazura

texastribune.org

They were unlikely to sway a committee of Republicans considering bathroom restrictions for transgender Texans, but a transgender 7-year-old and her mother waited for their two minutes.