Trans protesters have stormed the Oklahoma Capitol as the state considers bills that would restrict medical transition. Fox News. The first of the bills, Senate Bill 129, would ban doctors from transitioning or providing referrals for such services for those under the age of 26. Senate bill 252 would do the same for children under the age of 18. Other bills are being considered as well, some of which would ban minors at drag shows, ending public funding for sex change surgery and other LGBT issues. Governor Kevin Stitt argued that if people are under the age of 18 and aren't able to vote, smoke or drink alcohol then they shouldn't be able to change their gender either.
My Comment:
I thought storming the capitol was an act of insurrection and fully justifies using deadly force against protesters? I guess that doesn't count in this case. To be fair, there didn't appear to be any violence this time but if storming government buildings is a bad thing then it should be bad when these people do the same thing.
As for the bills itself, I have no idea if they are going to pass. I doubt that Bill 129 would do so as I can't imagine it not being reversed in court. I also don't like the precedent setting 26 as the age of "adulthood" as that could obviously backfire. The same argument made about 18 year olds transitioning could be used against things like gun rights and I don't want that to happen.
I also think the cited argument for the age being 26 is, quite frankly, bullshit. 18 to 26 year olds are adults, period. It doesn't matter if the brain isn't done developing, if you are 18 you are an adult. Indeed, I think teenagers in general are close to being adults. I certainly didn't feel like a kid when I was 15 anymore. Regardless, arbitrarily changing the age of majority for this issue invites more stupidity like this on other issues.
Bill 252 seems like it is on a lot more solid ground. With 18 being the age of majority it makes a lot more sense to ban sex change operations at that age instead. It would be a lot harder to overturn and wouldn't lead to accusations of hypocrisy or arbitrarily change the age of adulthood.
As for the idea of banning transitions for children, I would strongly agree with it. I'm not a fan of sex change operations in the first place given the high chance of complications and the fact that it doesn't actually change the biological sex. I also don't think most people realize that these surgeries often leave people in pain for the rest of life. I'm generally opposed to most body modification surgery and would ban most of them outright.
But assuming that's not on the table (and I don't think it is), I do think banning this stuff for children under the age of 18 is a good idea. Most children grow out of this stuff and I am guessing a lot of them are only trying to transition because it's the big cultural fad right now. In many cases it's a permanent, irreversible "solution" for a problem that usually goes away on their own. At 18 they should be able to make a real decision about how they want to live their lives so at that point things might be different, but for children? They aren't capable of making such a major decision at that point of their lives.
I really do think that the tide is turning against the T part of LGBT activism. They have a long history of pushing things farther than most people are willing to go. I think most people don't have too much of a problem with the idea of an adult deciding to live as another gender. But allowing that hasn't been the argument for awhile now. Now it's handing out puberty blockers, hormones and chest binders to children and if you have a problem with it you are a bigot. People are sick of it and are starting to push back and Oklahoma's new laws is just one example.
It reminds me of the big video game news (of all things) this week. The trans activist community tried to boycott and cancel the Hogwarts Legacy game because the creator of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, has been critical of trans activism. Though she had little to do with the game, the trans activists tried to shame anyone who bought or played the game. This effort failed as the game is selling like hotcakes and is currently the number one streaming game on Twitch.
It's possible that that was just because Harry Potter is insanely popular (though I have never read it), but I do think the pendulum is swinging the other way. The real question is how far it will swing. I do fear that the backlash against the T portion of LGBT might screw over LGB folks. I personally don't have anything against LBG and don't want them dragged down with T but that is very possible. Still, it's probably unlikely as even many in the LGB community are getting sick of trans activism.
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