They Had the Power to Protect Trans Kids. They Chose Not To!

What can we do?

Too many people still have no real understanding of what being transgender actually means. I know this because I’ve heard the ignorance with my own ears, up close, in everyday conversations. People speak with confusion, discomfort, or even cruelty, simply because they don’t know the facts.

Over the years, when someone brings it up around me, I offer something simple and true:

“You know, I’m amazed at how many people don’t even realize that children are born every day with ambiguous genitalia. And that’s just one of many reasons someone may be transgender.”

That statement usually stops them. It makes them think. Because most people aren’t just uninformed. They’ve also grown up in a culture that made it socially acceptable to mock or dismiss LGBTQ+ people. And even when they come to accept lesbian and gay folks, they often still feel free to pick on other queer identities, especially transgender people.

Not in my presence. And it shouldn’t be acceptable in anyone else’s, either.

Silence is not an option.

Transgender youth and their families deserve to live with dignity, safety, and the freedom to access life-saving care. The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care is not just unjust. It’s dangerous. It puts young lives at risk and sends a chilling message that some children are less worthy of care and protection.

This isn’t about medicine. It’s about power. Gender-affirming care is not controversial to medical experts. It is effective, it is essential, and it saves lives. The refusal to recognize that is a willful choice to disregard truth in favor of control.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it plainly: “The Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims.” That’s not justice. That’s cruelty.

Instead of standing firmly for the rights and dignity of transgender youth, the majority of the Supreme Court chose the path of least resistance. It sidestepped hard truths and shielded them from moral responsibility.

The Supreme Court majority ruling leaned on legal formalities and narrow interpretations to:

• Dodge confronting real harm

• Avoid acknowledging discrimination

• Preserve the appearance of neutrality while enabling cruelty

The Court had the power to protect vulnerable children. It had the precedent, the evidence, and the moral imperative. But rather than use that power to uphold justice, the justices chose political convenience, fully aware that transgender lives would bear the cost.

We must stand up. We must speak out. Every time a court chooses fear over facts, we must raise our voices louder. Every time someone tells a trans child they don’t matter, we must respond with fierce love and unwavering protection.

To those fueling this cruelty: Know that there are many who will not be silent. We will organize, we will resist, and we will defend every child’s right to live as their full, authentic self.

To every trans youth and every trans adult who sees this: You are not alone. We see you. We stand with you. And we will never stop fighting for your right to thrive.

This photographic image is AI generated.