Letters to the Editor: Vulnerable transgender youth just lost an important mental health resource
To the editor: As a fully transitioned transgender woman, I am dismayed not only that U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued this ruling, but also that the two San Diego teachers who initiated the legal action did so in the first place (“Teachers have a right to tell parents if their child might be LGBTQ+, federal judge rules,” Jan. 5).Transgender people suffer from the emotional and mental burden of not fitting the societal expectation that sex equals gender. Those who would deny our existence are, at their heart, bigoted against us. And how can you fully love someone when harboring bigotry against them? I speak not only from my own experience, but also from my history with healthcare professionals who have reached out to me over the years as a resource for their patients with gender issues.Transgender youth are particularly vulnerable, especially if they have parents or teachers who ignore the reality of the situation. A young person who confides in a sympathetic educator because their own parents are intolerant has now lost an important mental health resource. Is that what these teachers want? Students who feel they have to hide things from them?And as for the convenient “religious freedom” argument, I will remind Christians and Catholics that Jesus loved everyone, regardless of societal taboos (Luke 7:37-50 is one good example).Kymberleigh Richards, Van Nuys
