A transphobic dad in Texas has been awarded joint custody of his estranged daughter, despite his attempts to force her to live as a boy.
Jeffrey Younger’s 7-year-old daughter Luna is a transgender girl. But Younger claims that her transition was a ploy by her mother to remove him from the child’s life. Younger started a whole website to campaign against his daughter’s transition, where he wrote that Luna “shows no signs of wanting to be a girl when given the choice.”
Luna’s mother Anne Georgulas, on the other hand, says that Luna’s transition was solely her decision. She is only known as a girl at school now.
The estranged parents’ disagreement over their child’s gender identity has erupted into a court battle and bitter political debate. Younger initially sued for sole custody of Luna, along with her twin brother Jude. In court, the jury heard from therapists and counselors who have treated Luna. They explained that she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and wishes to live as a girl. Younger also presented his own “experts,” who claimed that there are dangers to transitioning at a young age.
The jury voted 11-1 to deny custody to Younger.
Several anti-LGBT Republicans in Texas spoke out against the jury’s decision. Senator Ted Cruz called it “horrifying & tragic.”
“For a parent to subject such a young child to life-altering hormone blockers to medically transition their sex is nothing less than child abuse,” he wrote on Twitter. “A 7-year-old child doesn’t have the maturity to make profound decisions like this.” Other politicians echoed the same sentiment, even going so far as to ask Family and Protective Services to investigate for abuse.
After the backlash, a Texas judge overturned the jury’s decision and opted to give both parents joint custody. Both Younger and Georgulas will have a say in Luna’s medical decisions.
To be clear, Luna is not going through medical transition of any kind, as she’s too young for such treatment. Gender-affirming treatment for a trans 7-year-old simply involves allowing them to wear their preferred clothes and using their correct names and pronouns.
What Do You Think?