Texas Judge Blocks Republicans Plan to Investigate Families of Transgender Kids For ‘Child Abuse’
LGBTQ Nation is reporting that a Texas judge has put up a roadblock to prevent state Republicans’ plans to prosecute families of transgender youth for “child abuse.”
On Wednesday, Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum granted a temporary restraining order that will prevent Republican Governor Greg Abbott from using the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to conduct “child abuse” investigations against parents who provide gender-affirming medical care to their trans kids.
The judge’s order was in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of a 16-year-old trans girl’s family and a psychologist. The lawsuit accused Abbott and the Texas government of overstepping its legal authority and denying the family and therapist of their constitutional rights. The DFPS investigated one of their own employees and put her on administrative leave soon after. An investigator from the DFPS’s Child Protective Services then came to her family’s home and demanded the teen daughters’ medical records. The family refused and then sued the state.
Marriage equality for the LGBT is law of the land — except in Texas, argues MAGA GOP.
TX believes legalized gay marriage shouldn’t be permitted in b/c they feel state law trumps the SCOTUS ruling in Obergefell v Hodges.
TEXAS WILL REMOVE THE RIGHTS OF ALL! FVCK THIS#DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/f0hgBgEv2x
— The Jewish Ginger Resister (@JewishResister) October 23, 2021
Judge Meachum will hold a hearing about the legality of Abbott’s order on March 11th. Abbott’s order goes against the best practices of trans-related pediatrics outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association.
Be they in Texas, Florida or anywhere we stand against laws that target LGBT individuals of all ages. #AbbottFailedTexasAgain #Florida #texas #lgbt #ProtectTransKids #DontSayGay pic.twitter.com/m0frULu1vj
— Liberation Caucus💜 (@LPLiberation) March 1, 2022
President Joe Biden also addressed Gov. Abbott’s transphobia in a statement released Wednesday. The President called Abbott’s actions a “cynical and dangerous” form of “government overreach at its worst” meant to “score political points,” Newsweek reported.
For LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk.
As I said last year — especially to our younger transgender Americans — I will always have your back as your president so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 2, 2022
“Transgender children bring fulfillment to their parents, joy to their friends, and are made in the image of God,” President Biden wrote. “Affirming a transgender child’s identity is one of the best things a parent, teacher, or doctor can do to help keep children from harm, and parents who love and affirm their children should be applauded and supported, not threatened, investigated, or stigmatized.”
BREAKING: The ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Texas parent who was placed on leave last week from her job at DFPS—because she has a transgender child.
The plaintiff's own employer sent investigators to her home in response to Abbott's order. https://t.co/pYq43UHneC
— Mary Emily O'Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) March 1, 2022