BRYAN, Brazos County — On June 2, the lives of Texas transgender youth and their families were altered with the signing of Senate Bill 14 into law by governor Greg Abbott.
"As we've processed this past legislative session in our community there's a lot of fear so there's youth that I've heard of that have been afraid to be out and there are families that are really struggling with this and are now considering 'ok do I have to uproot part of my family to take my child to another state'," explained Katrina Stewart, Executive Director of Pride Community Center in Brazos Valley.
Community leaders believe this bill is invading the lives of everyday families and overstepping citizen-governmental boundaries that have been fiercely debated on in legislatures across the U.S.
"It interferes in the every private affairs of families and what families are going through as they struggle with concepts for what's best for them and lets be clear families that go through this process are doing so with health care providers," said Stewart.
However, Stewart also believes the misunderstandings of some regarding gender affirming care are ultimately harming transgender youth.
"There's a highly determined health care team working with that family it might include puberty blockers it might not most of the time it doesn't involve surgery of any kind most practitioners try to put that off as long as possible until the child is an adult and can make that decision on their own," illustrated Stewart.
Ultimately, the LGBTQ community is asking for Texans to have more empathy for each other.
"What I would have people remember is this is about Texas families this is about Texas families being able to take care of themselves," Stewart said.
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