Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama was criticized after sharing his outrage over Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde's sermon aimed at President Donald Trump, remarking on X that "'trans children' should live in fear of their parents."
During her address, Budde condemned the growing polarization in American politics, highlighting how "contempt fuels social media campaigns" and noting that "many profit" from that division. She spoke after Trump signed approximately 100 executive actions, many of which included policies targeting LGBTQ individuals and immigrants.
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One sweeping executive order declared that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, male and female. Another order aimed to dismantle “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within federal agencies. Additionally, the administration removed LGBTQ resources from government websites, including a page on the State Department's site that had been dedicated to advancing LGBTQ rights globally.
With this in mind, Budde said, looking directly at Trump:
“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. Some who fear for their lives.”
Tuberville retweeted footage of Budde's remarks that were decried as "woke" by far-right account "End Wokeness," adding:
"These "trans children" should live in fear of their parents and the sick people that enable those "guardians". It's child abuse. An absolute disgrace."
You can see his post below.
Tuberville’s comments rely on the baseless anti-LGBTQ+ myth that no one is inherently LGBTQ+, claiming instead—though categorically falsely—that all individuals are naturally straight and cisgender until influenced by LGBTQ+ adults.
There is no evidence to support the claim that non-LGBTQ+ individuals can be "turned" LGBTQ+ by their parents or anyone else. In reality, many transgender youth conceal their identities from authority figures, including parents and teachers, due to societal expectations to conform to cisgender norms.
When trans children do come out to their families, they often face rejection, punishment, abuse, conversion therapy, or homelessness, rather than the support and acceptance they deserve.
Consider this against the backdrop of ramped-up attacks against transgender people nationwide, Trump's executive orders notwithstanding.
Researchers at The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, published a study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Human Behaviour that found a significant and causal link between anti-transgender state laws and increased suicide risk among transgender and nonbinary young people in the United States.
Between 2018 and 2022, 48 anti-transgender laws were enacted across 19 U.S. states. The study analyzed the relationship between these laws and suicide risk during this five-year period, using national survey data from over 61,000 transgender and nonbinary youth.
The findings revealed that these laws led to a significant increase in past-year suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth, with rates rising by as much as 72%.
Tuberville's remarks were swiftly called out.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 218-206 to pass a bill by Tuberville that seeks to ban transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ sports in federally funded schools by amending Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
The bill stipulates that under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Tuberville reintroduced the legislation, titled the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 (Senate Bill 9) after its initial introduction in 2023.
The legislation further specifies that it would be a violation of Title IX for federally funded schools to allow individuals whose sex is male to participate in athletic programs or activities designated for women or girls.
The Senate will vote on the legislation but an exact date has not been set.
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