A Missouri father’s testimony is going viral today for comments he made at a Missouri House of Representatives hearing. Brandon Boulware was hoping to convince lawmakers to vote against a bill that discriminates against transgender children, preventing them from taking part in sports with the gender they identify with. Instead, it would require them to play on teams or take part in athletics based on the sex that is on their birth certificate. This is an issue that Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other Republicans have recently attached themselves to.
Boulware told Missouri lawmakers that one of his children is transgender, but he tried to fight it for years. Then one day he realized he was wrong all along and it was time to let her be her true self:
“As a parent the one thing we cannot do, the one thing is silence our child’s spirit.”
The ACLU is among those sharing the video today (above), writing:
Trans girls are girls, and they shouldn’t be barred from participating in sports… Parents, coaches, doctors, and student athletes are all coming together to say that trans people belong EVERYWHERE.
Former basketball superstar Dwyane Wade, who has a transgender daughter as well, also shared the video, saying:
I don’t know Brandon Boulware at all but I do know we have something real in common. Here’s the one thing we can’t do ‘SILENCE OUR CHILD’S SPIRIT’ Thank you for using your platform and sharing your family’s story! ‘Our kids are more than bedrooms, bathrooms and locker rooms.’”
This is absolutely extraordinary. Take three minutes to watch this man be incredibly vulnerable and humble in acknowledging what he didn't know about trans children and what changed his mind. THIS is an honorable human being. THIS is an ally. https://t.co/wlRjtJ8Q0o
— Charlotte Clymer ?️? (@cmclymer) March 15, 2021