There’s a lot of talk about war now, and not all of it concerns Russia. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans are being accused of “waging a war” on transgender children. The governor issued a recent mandate declaring that puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgical interventions amount to child abuse. That got huffy LGBT athletes to demand the Gay Softball World Series be moved out of Texas.
Gov. Abbott’s mandate requires that doctors, nurses and teachers report to the state any gender-affirming care provided to children. He and Attorney General Ken Paxton call that abuse and say there should be “criminal penalties” for failure to report it.
The Gay Softball World Series (see players from a past series in file photo) is slated for Dallas this summer, and trans activists want the location changed. That hasn’t happened yet, but transgender Britney Miller who manages the Puget Sound Pronouns (how rich is that!!) demands it should happen.:
“This cruel mandate in the state should have been met with a very simple and immediate statement from the event’s governing body, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance: ‘Due to Texas’ cruel mandate to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth, NAGAAA has made the decision to relocate the 2022 Gay Softball World Series to another location, to be announced at a later date.’”
Two Seattle area teams say they will refuse to play in Texas. Four trans players in Seattle’s Emerald City Softball Association condemned what Texas has done. A Portland team called for a boycott of the World Series.
Softball player Sara Fetters said, “This is a despicable act that, if allowed to proceed, will directly lead to the death of some trans children.”
Amanda Bonfield, also a player, said she “was appalled” by the events in Texas and said it criminalizes trans kids and “their loving parents.”
Rabecka Salisbury, a veteran LGBT athlete, “felt crushed for those children and their families. I immediately realized that this is the first step towards other policies and laws down the line to target transgender and non-binary individuals’ civil liberties … they (North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance) have never done anything to curb the transphobic and misgendering behaviors of their member cities.”
Austin Sprague expressed fear for closeted trans children: “I am afraid of all the children who would fear they cannot live in this kind of world and take their own lives when they could have been otherwise supported and celebrated. This mandate is child abuse.”
Bonfield said the best course of action is to hurt Texas economically, by withdrawing the event from the state and causing it to lose $5-7 million. This is an old LGBT trick. Instead of focusing on the negatives involved, they pressure businesses to fear economic losses.
Pronouns manager Miller said trans activists should wave the flag, “but in the end, monsters like Abbott would laugh at us on the pile of money we pour into his state during the GSWS.” She is urging people to sign her petition that the World Series be moved out of Dallas.
Meanwhile, Republicans are standing strong. GOP senators last week included their intentions to protect the integrity of women’s sports in an 11-point election campaign.
