*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
Jeff Younger, a Republican running in Texas House District 63 who made headlines after he lost custody of his trans child for not supporting their transition, was heckled by students at the Denton school, where he had been invited to speak by the University of Texas's Young Conservatives of Texas chapter.
Younger appeared visibly flustered while drowned out by chants of "F**k these fascists" and "trans rights." He was forced to cut his speaking engagement short after 40 minutes.
You can see what happened in the video below.
Anti-trans Texas House candidate Jeff Younger came to the University of North Texas and this is how students responded.pic.twitter.com/vmsH2aV0xf— Dallas (@Dallas) 1646304443
Younger's contentious appearance at the university comes as the administration of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, faces heightened criticism for empowering the state to open child abuse investigations into families whose children receive gender affirming procedures.
Younger would be a boon to Republicans who have backed Abbott's order should he be elected because he publicly opposed his own daughter's transition, kicking off a contentious and high-profile custody battle.
Anne Georgulas, Younger’s ex-wife and the mother of their fraternal twins, is a pediatrician who has supported their trans child in her transition.
She initially received sole custody of the children but the judge in that case ignored the jury's verdict before another judge in a separate case two years later awarded her most paternal rights while allowing Younger supervised visits and decreeing that Georgulas could not allow the trans child to undergo “hormonal suppression therapy, puberty blocks, and/or transgender reassignment surgery” without Younger’s consent.
Younger has insisted that his child is not transgender and was misdiagnosed by a doctor who wanted to put her on puberty blockers.
Studies show transgender teens are more likely to be subjected to violence in high school and have higher rates of suicide. A recent study showed that transgender adults with access to puberty blockers as teens were less likely to have suicidal thoughts.
The study, published in Pediatrics, concluded that "those who received treatment with pubertal suppression, when compared with those who wanted pubertal suppression but did not receive it, had lower odds of lifetime suicidal ideation.
Many have condemned Younger amid the controversy and praised students for taking a stand.
That's how you deal with bigotshttps://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— \ud83d\ude37Bearded Zombie #johnsonout \u262e\ufe0f\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\ude37 (@\ud83d\ude37Bearded Zombie #johnsonout \u262e\ufe0f\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\ude37) 1646417894
The kids are alright, and the future is bright.https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Dylan Park (@Dylan Park) 1646347877
Younger queer/gnc folks are less willing to hate themselves than I was at their age and that will make all the difference.https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Cameron Esposito (@Cameron Esposito) 1646353819
Kids, man. They give me hope.https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Snarky Stardust (@Snarky Stardust) 1646356522
Excellent. Hopefully they are all registered to vote. If the good people don\u2019t exercise their rights, the fascists like Younger will take them away. It\u2019s happening in many states right now. #VoteThemOuthttps://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Gnudz (@Gnudz) 1646356541
Hope for the future. I hope Mr. Younger was shown the door.https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Kaye (@Kaye) 1646362424
Younger has a trans child. He refused to recognize his daughter\u2019s gender identity and lost custody of her. Now runs for Texas House to outlaw child gender reassignments.\n\nBravo these kids https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf3b ConnieAz \ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\udfdc\ud83e\udd8e (@\ud83c\udf3b ConnieAz \ud83c\udf3b \ud83c\udfdc\ud83e\udd8e) 1646364444
Love it. These kids are legends. Show Jeff Younger and his ilk the door.\n\nAlso, why do transphobes act like the erasure of trans identities is a matter of "opinion" and that defending your rights when they are being infringed is a "disagreement"?https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Micah stands with Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Micah stands with Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1646369781
I love this generation. They're changing how the game is played. I can't wait to see what else they'll achieve.https://twitter.com/59dallas/status/1499335622766604289\u00a0\u2026— Kelena (@Kelena) 1646377056
Last week, Governor Abbott issued an order requiring state agencies to open child-abuse investigations into families whose children receive gender-affirming procedures after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also a Republican, said in a statement that some types of gender-affirming health care for transgender youth is “abuse.”
Paxton said that hormone therapy, puberty blockers and sex reassignment procedures “are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted" while declaring that “there is no scientific consensus that these sterilizing procedures and treatments" actually benefit "minor children dealing with gender dysphoria.”
Later, Abbott released a statement backing Paxton, saying that Texas law "provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse" and imposes reporting requirements upon any licensed professionals who may have direct contact with children.
This week, afamily already being investigated under the new policy filed suit against the state government with the assistance of Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A Travis County judge has already ordered that state authorities halt their investigation and will hold a hearing in the coming week to consider blocking the policy altogether.
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