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“Trans People Belong”: 10-Year-Old Girl Protests Anti-Trans Bills in Texas Capitol


Perez remembers the realization that there were no local medical providers that would support their transition as the “lowest” time in their life, describing the toll on their mental health as “unbearable.”

“That is the situation that we’re putting Texas kids and families in now,” Perez tells them. “For me, the idea of doing that to children is so cruel and unnecessary, especially at a time where we’re seeing that there’s an increased access to care that is scientifically supported, that is evidence-based, and that is life-saving care.”

Kimberly Shappley

The passage of SB 1646, which was authored by State Sen. Charles Perry (R-28th District), would be extremely damaging for trans youth in the state of Texas. According to a report released Monday by The Williams Institute, a pro-LGBTQ+ think tank at the University of California Los Angeles, 13,800 Texas kids would be unable to access treatments that affirm their sense of self should the bill become law. Across the country, an estimated 45,000 trans youth would lose health care overnight if the 21 other states considering anti-trans medical care bans enact their legislation.

But what makes SB 1646 particularly disastrous for the Shappleys is that its passage could result in Kai’s family losing custody of her. Should parents allow their children to receive gender-affirming care in violation of the law, it could prompt an investigation from Child Protective Services (CPS) and potentially end in Kai being removed from her home.

Perez says that denying support for trans youth and their families is “painful” for trans Texans who have built their lives in the state, calling the legislation an “all-out attack” on the very existence of already vulnerable communities.

“There are families who are considering relocating,” Perez says. “There are doctors who practice who have different gender-affirming practices in the state of Texas, who would no longer be able to provide that care. These are doctors who are specialists. This is not care that just anybody provides. If they wanted to do it, they would have to move to another state.”

Kimberly, who works as a nurse in an LGBTQ+ health center, says she has already begun looking for jobs in other states to ensure her family isn’t broken up by Texas lawmakers. She already moved once before, relocating from Pearland, a small, conservative town outside of Houston, to Austin to ensure that Kai could attend a school with LGBTQ+ inclusive policies. While she doesn’t want to uproot her daughter’s life all over again, she confesses that it’s difficult to stay in a “place where we’re hated and where parents of trans kids are villainized.”

“Normally, I am not a negative Nancy, but Texas has beaten me down in the last six years,” she says, adding: “This isn’t home anymore.”

Kimberly and her family plan to persist in Texas for as long as they are able. In the meantime, she and Perez hope the banner briefly put on display in the Capitol Building illustrates that trans people are coming together to show solidarity with one another across generations. While Perez is just 28 years old, they say they sometimes feel like an “elder trans,” especially given that the “life expectancy for trans people is very low.”

This is, in part, due to the extremely high rate of homicides targeting the trans community, with at least 13 people losing their lives to violence already in 2021. The majority of victims were Black trans women. While these murders may seem unrelated to the debate currently taking place in Texas, Perez says they underscore how few places trans people have to feel safe. That problem will only be made worse by SB 1646, they argue.

“There are so many trans people who don’t make it,” Perez says. “I know that I’m very lucky to still be alive and have access to a platform that allows me to speak up for trans rights. And I do feel a responsibility to use it as an adult to speak out against these issues and these lawmakers who are attacking trans kids. They shouldn’t have to do it alone, and they certainly aren’t alone.”

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