State senator Mike Kennedy, who is both a physician and an attorney and works as a family doctor, sponsored legislation known as SB16 that bans giving puberty blockers and transgender operations to minors who have not been diagnosed with “gender dysphoria.” In January, it was signed into law by Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
At least 11 other states have enacted similar legislation to protect children from these dangerous interventions.
In apparent retaliation for introducing the bill, Senator Kennedy's home was vandalized. The words “These trannies bash back” were written in red spray paint on his garage door, along with “fash”, an abbreviation for "fascist."
Lone Peak police officers told the media that they believe the senator was targeted because of the legislation. They added that they are working hard to identify who was responsible for the act.
In a Facebook post, Kennedy shared photos of the damage and stated that the vandalism would not stop him from pursuing measures that protect young people. He wrote: “To those who seek to use violence, vandalism, and intimidation to deter me from standing up for what is right, let me be clear: you will not succeed.”
He went on to say: “I will not be deterred by your cowardly actions. The recent vandalism to my family’s home was not just an attack on me, but on the very principles our state stands for. We will not let fear and violence control our destiny.”
He added that rather than discouraging him, the act has only deepened his determination to work toward making Utah a better place for everyone, particularly children. He called on the state's citizens to “stand up and push back against radicals who seek to push their agenda in our state.”
One LGBTQ activist group, Equality Utah, denounced the act. Although they said that they did not know who was responsible for it, they wanted to condemn such tactics. They added that this type of behavior does not help the LGBTQ cause.
Kennedy discussed the incident on Fox & Friends, saying he was out of town when the cowardly vandals decided to deface his home using blood red paint.
He doubled down on his belief that gender affirming care for minors is “radical, irreversible and damaging." He also said that even those who do not support his political views have condemned the behavior of whoever was behind the vandalism.
Suicide rate of people who undergo sex reassignment operations is 20 times higher than their peers
His stance is supported by medical evidence suggesting that sex reassignment surgery does not do enough to address the psychosocial issues that people who say they are transgender deal with.
The most complete follow-up study of people who have had such operations, which looked at people for 30 years afterward and was carried out in Sweden, showed that the suicide rate of people who had undergone a sex reassignment operation was 20 times higher than that of comparable peers.
Moreover, when the issue was raised of whether these operations should be covered by Medicare under the Obama administration, the request was refused on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence to show it can benefit patients and improve their health outcomes.
It’s unfortunate that anyone would resort to criminal behavior to try to intimidate a physician and lawmaker who is taking a stand to protect young people from potential genital mutilation, sterilization and a lifetime of regret.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
