Texas Judge Orders Depositions as Trans Rights Group Tries to Uncover Who Sent Misleading Mailer
The organization said the mailers seemed to be sent to stoke anti-trans hate before the midterm elections.
On Tuesday, a Texas county judge decided that the trans rights nonprofit the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) can depose two companies connected to a mailer sent out recently with misinformation about the organization.
Those companies are the Texas Transgender Student Union, LLC, (TTSU), which is the group that is listed as having sent the mailers. Those pamphlets also feature logos, photos, and contact information from TENT, but it is not affiliated with TENT.
The other company is InfoBip, which, CBS News reports, is the company that pushed text messages to Texas residents seemingly supporting TENT.
TENT says it’s being implicated to stir up anti-trans hate before the November midterm elections.
TENT’s lawyer, Mimi Marziani, told the judge that the pamphlet mailed out had made it appear that the nonprofit group was reaching out to children, unsolicited, according to the outlet.
Marziani said those connected to TENT had received death threats and the group has had to deactivate its website and stop its projects.
Marziani told the judge that the group determined about 4 million mailers were sent out, which would have cost more than what their $1 million budget would be able to afford.
She told the judge whoever sent the mailers was “flouting Texas law and going to great lengths to shield themselves from public scrutiny.”
A lawyer with TTSU, Chris Hilton, told the judge the group was engaging in free speech.
He said that TENT’s actual motive behind the deposition requests was to “identify anyone with TTSU to expose their identity to the social media mob they’ve whipped up.”
He said TENT’s push for the depositions this week was to sow “false urgency to further TENT’s political goals.”
InfoBip’s deposition is currently planned for Thursday and TTSU’s for Friday.
The mailers in question were addressed to the “student” of the household and urged students to speak either with “safe” adults or with an advocacy group if their guardians don’t support their gender identity.
It also provided information about emancipation from parents and includes a part saying that parents don’t need to be involved with a student’s gender identity — issues that have been brought up in debates over gender-affirming care for trans youth.
“As it has been reported, TENT did not author, authorize, approve, or distribute text messages or send mail. Any and all materials are not affiliated with our organization and are impersonations,” TENT said in a statement on its website. “These instances will not shake our commitment to the dignity and humanity of trans youth, trans Texans, their families, and their loved ones. Trans Texans belong here in Texas. This is our home and we’re not going anywhere. On October 27th, our organization took the first major step in seeking justice, not only for our organization, but for all Texans whose information was used to spread disinformation about our organization.”
