A Federal class action lawsuit has been filed against Washington State officials alleging abridgment of civil rights of parents of runaway youth over a new law enabling shelters to conceal information for youth seeking so-called “gender affirming” care.
You list a curious set o f people who might love your daughter. I'm not sure why you'd think anyone would love your daughter more than yourself and her father. I mean, that's the normal situation of humans, right? that the parents love their children.
So who is it who might assume otherwise? I think we agree on this. There is a faction of the contemporary society -- in schools, medical & psych services, judges, CPS -- who are extremely quick to dispossess parents of their rights as parents on the presumption that the parents are abusive.
The assumption that the parents are abusive is a deprivation of rights of the accused. Along with this assumption that parents are abusive is a change in the definition of abuse to include "harassment" which can be defined very broadly.
Depriving parents of the right to parent is wrong. I think you and I agree on that.
FYI for parents, I've communicated with these lawyers and this suit only applies if you either reside in WA or your child ran away to WA. It is not for families whose kids are runaways in OR or ID.
Ben Ghiat has Trump Derangement Syndrome- if she is your only source that's not convincing, nor is the book about GOP conspiracies an authorative source. Sorry, still not buying it.
If you believe Trump is anything but the ignorant, lying, corrupt, amoral monster that he has definitively proven himself to be over and over and over again, then YOU have Trump "Derangement" Syndrome.
And also to the shearer who burred my beautiful daughter’s waist length brunette hair without consent. . She i recently turned fourteen. Waisting all her innocent childhood as a victim to this cult. She is completely brainwashed; seeking the approval from an outsider instead of her own flesh and blood.
Yes bring it on. This is how to stop these hideous laws being created. Use the US Constitution and expect more from elected officials. You elected them they are to do your bidding in representing you and your parental rights. Fantastic!
I'm an attorney so maybe I am biased but when my kids got caught up in this cult, my first thought was that it will end once lawsuits start hitting doctors, teachers, school districts, enablers, groomers, etc. Litigation will fix this.
Of course that takes time and unfortunately it will be too late for anyone currently going through this. The monetary compensation will not bring back the lost years, lost fertility, lost family members. It will protect future generations.
It is vitally important that the state not be permitted to deprive parents of their rights to make decisions on behalf of their children who claim to be trans. With any luck, the lawyers in this case will dismantle the legal and regulatory scheme that allows bureaucrats and elected officials to deprive parents of information about their kids and submit them to chemical and surgical alteration without parental consent. For that matter, given the current political outlook, it is unlikely that it will be possible to roll back the many excesses of trans activism without a robust nationwide litigation campaign.
Having said that, America First Legal Foundation's involvement in this case should alarm anyone who is a critic of the MAGA politics of Donald Trump and his henchmen. The president of the America First Legal Foundation (AFLF) is none other than the notorious fascist Stephen Miller of child-separation fame.
His Orwellian quote on the AFLF's site tells you all you need to know about his vision for America:
“America First Legal is the long-awaited answer to the ACLU. We are committed to an unwavering defense of true equality under law, national borders and sovereignty, freedom of speech and religion, classical values and virtues, the sanctity of life and centrality of family, and our timeless legal and constitutional heritage. Through relentless litigation and oversight we will protect America First, Last, and Always.”
Here are some inconvenient truths about America First Legal Foundation's likely agenda. By true equality under the law, Miller means putting a finger on the scale of justice in favor of those who would dismantle our liberal constitutional democracy by means of corruption and insurrection. It also requires following through on MAGA threats to prosecute people just for being political opponents. His defense of national borders and sovereignty entails fomenting xenophobia against people who aren't white and undermining the post-1945 international order while opening the door to foreign billionaires and autocratic regimes who want a piece of our national wealth. Freedom of speech in a nation controlled by Miller and his ilk entails state media who disseminate propaganda for the regime while suppressing the truth. In a MAGA state, Protestant evangelicals will finally see their racist, sexist and homophobic moral code enshrined in law as a state religion. In the interest of promoting the centrality of the family, Miller and his ilk would re-criminalize gay sex, do away with same-sex marriage and impose a national abortion ban.
For all these reasons, gender-critical activists need to do their utmost to find and develop legal talent who will be relentless in their defense of parental rights and opposition to the excesses of trans ideology while respecting the American values of pluralism, defending the Constitution and honoring due process and the rule of law.
Thank you. I want nothing to do with any America First Legal Foundation business. Continuing to polarize is getting us deeper into the madness, especially as the likes of Steven Miller and his cohorts co-opt this issue not because there is actually any care for our families, but rather as they see an opportunity for more divisiveness. The more polarization, the easier to push the larger agenda. The farther the Right pushes for complete bans, the farther the Left pushes to restrict parental rights and making hormones and medicalization even more available. We need to be extremely wary.
Thanks for bringing this up. I didn't want to mention it, but it was my first thought when I saw this organization as a sponsor/pro bono service provider.
This is all part of the hyper-partisan polarization of American politics in which the Right & Far Right are trying to claim anti-medicalization of children with GD as a "conservative" issue. Of course the MSM totally eats that up because it is highly inconvenient for them to acknowledge those with thorough left credentials who oppose this (seemingly forced) medicalization of kids that too often poses unreasonable risks of injury and/or regret.
Those of us on the LEFT need to have a way of speaking up to protect our children without serving the MAGA agenda.
We should strategize: How to get LEFT voices into the public sphere. The way the GOP & MSM twist the narratives is a frustrating distortion of what is actually happening across the USA
Leftist voices ARE in the public sphere. Leftist women are the LOUDEST voices publicly fighting the transgenderist lobby.
The most powerful figures standing up against that lobby are leftist lesbians like Allison Bailey, Kathleen Stock, and Martina Navratilova, along with leftist feminists like Kara Dansky, Heather Mason, and Kelly-Jay Keen.
In fact, the worst insult the trans cult uses targets radical (i.e. LEFTIST) feminists (i.e. WOMEN).
But nobody listens to women.
We should strategize how to get LEFTIST MEN promoting these women's voices. In the face of the staggering sexism of the transgenderist lobby, promotion by leftist men is the only way those women's voices are going to be heard.
You are right about the more-or-less prominent activists. What I was thinking is somewhat different: I was thinking ordinary parents need to be able to voice their experiences, their concerns, the injuries they have seen.
It's very difficult for parents to speak up because this area of experience in our society is currently heavily policed. I use "policed" broadly, but we know what I mean: guidance counsellors, CPS, judges: all ready to act if one does not comply with immediate transition and medicalization.
Since when is there a "medical" condition for which only one course of treatment is appropriate?
Parents need to be able to voice their concerns that the Medical Establishment is leading us astray. Parents need to be able to speak up & currently they do so only at great risk.
This is a board for Parents. Sure when this first came into our school I took heart from congressional testimony offered by lesbian intellectuals and activists. That was great. But it is not enough, and the question why is a very interesting one, if you are a former liberal who was hoping to find help there.
Here's my take:
We don't need to strategize how leftist men can stand up for women. We need to respect and empower fathers who are standing up for their children and wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. I respect the men in my family and their role as protectors and leaders. That is who is out front standing for our babies.
On college campus and in glittering urban citadel, it has been a very ME FIRST ethic. Me First doesn't work for moms. The frazzled self sacrificing women who lay it all down for their husband and children, have been objects of feminist contempt.
Also, that T is tacked on to the LGB so no you're not at the forefront of resistance. And you need to, as a group, "clean up your room".
That is why new voices are in play now. I don't think you can warn us away from them just by calling Maga.
I really hate being trolled online, and I am not trolling you. I am speaking from my life experience and observations. If you come back with name calling and vitriol you will have done exactly what I have come to expect from one speaking as you do above. I answer here for the sake of this board, which has a lot of heart and wisdom.
you are making big assumptions about the role(s) that men play in other peoples' lives.
Maybe you are truly blessed and have a loving man or men in your life who protect your interests perfectly.
A lot of people do not have such perfect men in their lives. A lot of women have learned that they need to work for their own well being & the well being of their children regardless of whether men are doing that. Or even if men are doing the contrary.
So while you are anticipating a criticism of your political affiliation, I can only say that telling women that they should defer to strong men makes huge assumptions about the quality of various people and their actual circumstances in life. God helps those who help themselves, right? Well, a lot of women have learned they need to help themselves because a lot of men are in the business of oppressing and taking advantage of.
Nope. Guilt by association and purity tests are BS, especially with legal outfits.
You’re using the same arguments that people used to use against working with the ACLU, because they defended Nazis, before they went woke.
The reality is that if you want to be effective, you’re going to end up working with allies on one issue who are your antagonists on another issue. That’s reality.
The difference between then and now is that the ACLU weren't actually Nazis, whereas the America First Legal Foundation has fascism built into its DNA in my opinion.
My opinion was informed by many hours of listening to knowledgeable sources on credible media outlets and by reading pieces by authors of the caliber of Anne Applebaum and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, including Ms. Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present."
I have also read "Hate Monger," a biography of Stephen Miller, current president of the America First Legal Foundation and Trump's former key advisor on immigration.
Here's a summary of Ms. Ben-Ghiat's credentials:
"Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an American historian and cultural critic. She is a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. Ben-Ghiat is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University."
"Born in the United States to an Israeli-born Sephardi father and a Scottish mother, she grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. She graduated in history at UCLA and obtained a PhD in comparative history at Brandeis University. A member of the American Historical Association since 1990, she is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. She regularly writes for CNN, The Atlantic and The Huffington Post." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ben-Ghiat#Biography
Ms. Ben-Ghiat recently explained the threats our nation faces on The Lincoln Project podcast:
"Host Reed Galen is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Author and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. They discuss the role extremist groups play in a nation’s evolution to authoritarianism, how every Trump rally since 2015 has been a radicalization site, and how the history of strongmen can inform our nation’s current political moment. If you’d like to hear more from Ruth, check out Lucid (her Substack newsletter) and pick up Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. " She can be heard here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-window-with-ruth-ben-ghiat/id1551582052?i=1000627677457
A recent source is this episode of Rick Wilson's podcast "The Enemies' List": "The Conspiracy To End America: The GOP and Trump."
"Best-selling author and former GOP strategist, Stuart Stevens, joins Rick to discuss his new book: Conspiracy To End America. They discuss the GOP's reveal its ugly underbelly under Trump, drawing parallels to historical authoritarian movements. They delve into the party's collapse and the potential consequences of a second Trump term, emphasizing the erosion of democratic values and institutions."
"Stuart Stevens’ new book, The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy, is available now."
Timestamps:
[00:02:16] Building blocks of an autocratic movement
Purity tests are for luxury believers more concerned about their image than their results. If you are an effective lawyer willing to work pro bono to help protect my child, I don’t care if you literally have worked with Nazis.
Wow, I did not know about this. Thanks for your post.
This is very unfortunate news. Opposition to the gender cult is so often dismissed as being right wing madness based on religion and anti-gay rights sentiments. This isn't going to help that image.
Very welcome news. I've been waiting, hoping for this. I had contacted all of the attys from my former client pool in Seattle to apprise them of the laws in WA and asked them to contact Genspect. I'll fwd this article and hopefully we'll get many willing to challenge school districts that socially transition children without parental consent.
Sounds like a good start.
God speed 🙏
Hello OneMoreTime,
You list a curious set o f people who might love your daughter. I'm not sure why you'd think anyone would love your daughter more than yourself and her father. I mean, that's the normal situation of humans, right? that the parents love their children.
So who is it who might assume otherwise? I think we agree on this. There is a faction of the contemporary society -- in schools, medical & psych services, judges, CPS -- who are extremely quick to dispossess parents of their rights as parents on the presumption that the parents are abusive.
The assumption that the parents are abusive is a deprivation of rights of the accused. Along with this assumption that parents are abusive is a change in the definition of abuse to include "harassment" which can be defined very broadly.
Depriving parents of the right to parent is wrong. I think you and I agree on that.
Lol that's not how TDS works but ok.
FYI for parents, I've communicated with these lawyers and this suit only applies if you either reside in WA or your child ran away to WA. It is not for families whose kids are runaways in OR or ID.
Ben Ghiat has Trump Derangement Syndrome- if she is your only source that's not convincing, nor is the book about GOP conspiracies an authorative source. Sorry, still not buying it.
If you believe Trump is anything but the ignorant, lying, corrupt, amoral monster that he has definitively proven himself to be over and over and over again, then YOU have Trump "Derangement" Syndrome.
And also to the shearer who burred my beautiful daughter’s waist length brunette hair without consent. . She i recently turned fourteen. Waisting all her innocent childhood as a victim to this cult. She is completely brainwashed; seeking the approval from an outsider instead of her own flesh and blood.
Yes bring it on. This is how to stop these hideous laws being created. Use the US Constitution and expect more from elected officials. You elected them they are to do your bidding in representing you and your parental rights. Fantastic!
Yes, yes, yes. Their grooming days are numbered.
I'm an attorney so maybe I am biased but when my kids got caught up in this cult, my first thought was that it will end once lawsuits start hitting doctors, teachers, school districts, enablers, groomers, etc. Litigation will fix this.
Of course that takes time and unfortunately it will be too late for anyone currently going through this. The monetary compensation will not bring back the lost years, lost fertility, lost family members. It will protect future generations.
Many thanks to those who are behind these efforts. It there's any true justice left in the world, this lawsuit will prevail in the courts.
Praying these lawsuits soon comes to Texas. These evil doers will be held accountable.
It is vitally important that the state not be permitted to deprive parents of their rights to make decisions on behalf of their children who claim to be trans. With any luck, the lawyers in this case will dismantle the legal and regulatory scheme that allows bureaucrats and elected officials to deprive parents of information about their kids and submit them to chemical and surgical alteration without parental consent. For that matter, given the current political outlook, it is unlikely that it will be possible to roll back the many excesses of trans activism without a robust nationwide litigation campaign.
Having said that, America First Legal Foundation's involvement in this case should alarm anyone who is a critic of the MAGA politics of Donald Trump and his henchmen. The president of the America First Legal Foundation (AFLF) is none other than the notorious fascist Stephen Miller of child-separation fame.
His Orwellian quote on the AFLF's site tells you all you need to know about his vision for America:
“America First Legal is the long-awaited answer to the ACLU. We are committed to an unwavering defense of true equality under law, national borders and sovereignty, freedom of speech and religion, classical values and virtues, the sanctity of life and centrality of family, and our timeless legal and constitutional heritage. Through relentless litigation and oversight we will protect America First, Last, and Always.”
Here are some inconvenient truths about America First Legal Foundation's likely agenda. By true equality under the law, Miller means putting a finger on the scale of justice in favor of those who would dismantle our liberal constitutional democracy by means of corruption and insurrection. It also requires following through on MAGA threats to prosecute people just for being political opponents. His defense of national borders and sovereignty entails fomenting xenophobia against people who aren't white and undermining the post-1945 international order while opening the door to foreign billionaires and autocratic regimes who want a piece of our national wealth. Freedom of speech in a nation controlled by Miller and his ilk entails state media who disseminate propaganda for the regime while suppressing the truth. In a MAGA state, Protestant evangelicals will finally see their racist, sexist and homophobic moral code enshrined in law as a state religion. In the interest of promoting the centrality of the family, Miller and his ilk would re-criminalize gay sex, do away with same-sex marriage and impose a national abortion ban.
For all these reasons, gender-critical activists need to do their utmost to find and develop legal talent who will be relentless in their defense of parental rights and opposition to the excesses of trans ideology while respecting the American values of pluralism, defending the Constitution and honoring due process and the rule of law.
Thank you. I want nothing to do with any America First Legal Foundation business. Continuing to polarize is getting us deeper into the madness, especially as the likes of Steven Miller and his cohorts co-opt this issue not because there is actually any care for our families, but rather as they see an opportunity for more divisiveness. The more polarization, the easier to push the larger agenda. The farther the Right pushes for complete bans, the farther the Left pushes to restrict parental rights and making hormones and medicalization even more available. We need to be extremely wary.
Thanks for bringing this up. I didn't want to mention it, but it was my first thought when I saw this organization as a sponsor/pro bono service provider.
This is all part of the hyper-partisan polarization of American politics in which the Right & Far Right are trying to claim anti-medicalization of children with GD as a "conservative" issue. Of course the MSM totally eats that up because it is highly inconvenient for them to acknowledge those with thorough left credentials who oppose this (seemingly forced) medicalization of kids that too often poses unreasonable risks of injury and/or regret.
Those of us on the LEFT need to have a way of speaking up to protect our children without serving the MAGA agenda.
Precisely! You get it. Wish more people did.
We should strategize: How to get LEFT voices into the public sphere. The way the GOP & MSM twist the narratives is a frustrating distortion of what is actually happening across the USA
Leftist voices ARE in the public sphere. Leftist women are the LOUDEST voices publicly fighting the transgenderist lobby.
The most powerful figures standing up against that lobby are leftist lesbians like Allison Bailey, Kathleen Stock, and Martina Navratilova, along with leftist feminists like Kara Dansky, Heather Mason, and Kelly-Jay Keen.
In fact, the worst insult the trans cult uses targets radical (i.e. LEFTIST) feminists (i.e. WOMEN).
But nobody listens to women.
We should strategize how to get LEFTIST MEN promoting these women's voices. In the face of the staggering sexism of the transgenderist lobby, promotion by leftist men is the only way those women's voices are going to be heard.
You are right about the more-or-less prominent activists. What I was thinking is somewhat different: I was thinking ordinary parents need to be able to voice their experiences, their concerns, the injuries they have seen.
It's very difficult for parents to speak up because this area of experience in our society is currently heavily policed. I use "policed" broadly, but we know what I mean: guidance counsellors, CPS, judges: all ready to act if one does not comply with immediate transition and medicalization.
Since when is there a "medical" condition for which only one course of treatment is appropriate?
Parents need to be able to voice their concerns that the Medical Establishment is leading us astray. Parents need to be able to speak up & currently they do so only at great risk.
This is a board for Parents. Sure when this first came into our school I took heart from congressional testimony offered by lesbian intellectuals and activists. That was great. But it is not enough, and the question why is a very interesting one, if you are a former liberal who was hoping to find help there.
Here's my take:
We don't need to strategize how leftist men can stand up for women. We need to respect and empower fathers who are standing up for their children and wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. I respect the men in my family and their role as protectors and leaders. That is who is out front standing for our babies.
On college campus and in glittering urban citadel, it has been a very ME FIRST ethic. Me First doesn't work for moms. The frazzled self sacrificing women who lay it all down for their husband and children, have been objects of feminist contempt.
Also, that T is tacked on to the LGB so no you're not at the forefront of resistance. And you need to, as a group, "clean up your room".
That is why new voices are in play now. I don't think you can warn us away from them just by calling Maga.
I really hate being trolled online, and I am not trolling you. I am speaking from my life experience and observations. If you come back with name calling and vitriol you will have done exactly what I have come to expect from one speaking as you do above. I answer here for the sake of this board, which has a lot of heart and wisdom.
We'll see.
you are making big assumptions about the role(s) that men play in other peoples' lives.
Maybe you are truly blessed and have a loving man or men in your life who protect your interests perfectly.
A lot of people do not have such perfect men in their lives. A lot of women have learned that they need to work for their own well being & the well being of their children regardless of whether men are doing that. Or even if men are doing the contrary.
So while you are anticipating a criticism of your political affiliation, I can only say that telling women that they should defer to strong men makes huge assumptions about the quality of various people and their actual circumstances in life. God helps those who help themselves, right? Well, a lot of women have learned they need to help themselves because a lot of men are in the business of oppressing and taking advantage of.
Just saying.
Nope. Guilt by association and purity tests are BS, especially with legal outfits.
You’re using the same arguments that people used to use against working with the ACLU, because they defended Nazis, before they went woke.
The reality is that if you want to be effective, you’re going to end up working with allies on one issue who are your antagonists on another issue. That’s reality.
The difference between then and now is that the ACLU weren't actually Nazis, whereas the America First Legal Foundation has fascism built into its DNA in my opinion.
Your opinion...exactly- no more no less and certainly not fact.
My opinion was informed by many hours of listening to knowledgeable sources on credible media outlets and by reading pieces by authors of the caliber of Anne Applebaum and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, including Ms. Ben-Ghiat's "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present."
I have also read "Hate Monger," a biography of Stephen Miller, current president of the America First Legal Foundation and Trump's former key advisor on immigration.
Here's a summary of Ms. Ben-Ghiat's credentials:
"Ruth Ben-Ghiat is an American historian and cultural critic. She is a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders. Ben-Ghiat is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University."
"Born in the United States to an Israeli-born Sephardi father and a Scottish mother, she grew up in Pacific Palisades, California. She graduated in history at UCLA and obtained a PhD in comparative history at Brandeis University. A member of the American Historical Association since 1990, she is professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. She regularly writes for CNN, The Atlantic and The Huffington Post." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ben-Ghiat#Biography
Ms. Ben-Ghiat recently explained the threats our nation faces on The Lincoln Project podcast:
"Host Reed Galen is joined by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Author and Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. They discuss the role extremist groups play in a nation’s evolution to authoritarianism, how every Trump rally since 2015 has been a radicalization site, and how the history of strongmen can inform our nation’s current political moment. If you’d like to hear more from Ruth, check out Lucid (her Substack newsletter) and pick up Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. " She can be heard here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-window-with-ruth-ben-ghiat/id1551582052?i=1000627677457
A recent source is this episode of Rick Wilson's podcast "The Enemies' List": "The Conspiracy To End America: The GOP and Trump."
"Best-selling author and former GOP strategist, Stuart Stevens, joins Rick to discuss his new book: Conspiracy To End America. They discuss the GOP's reveal its ugly underbelly under Trump, drawing parallels to historical authoritarian movements. They delve into the party's collapse and the potential consequences of a second Trump term, emphasizing the erosion of democratic values and institutions."
"Stuart Stevens’ new book, The Conspiracy to End America: Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy, is available now."
Timestamps:
[00:02:16] Building blocks of an autocratic movement
[00:06:23] The Financiers
[00:13:10] A strain of cruelty
[00:19:39] Treating Putin as the hero
[00:22:23] Losing control of the party
[00:28:10] Authoritarian hallmark's
[00:32:05] What a second term looks like
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-to-end-america-the-gop-and-trump/id1650861232?i=1000632251205
Purity tests are for luxury believers more concerned about their image than their results. If you are an effective lawyer willing to work pro bono to help protect my child, I don’t care if you literally have worked with Nazis.
Wow, I did not know about this. Thanks for your post.
This is very unfortunate news. Opposition to the gender cult is so often dismissed as being right wing madness based on religion and anti-gay rights sentiments. This isn't going to help that image.
Fortunately, the goal here is to protect our kids, not our image.
God's Children Are Not Their Lab Rats!
Some Help....
https://substack.com/profile/93579688-lillian-sheriff/note/c-42883689?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=1jpqjs
Very welcome news. I've been waiting, hoping for this. I had contacted all of the attys from my former client pool in Seattle to apprise them of the laws in WA and asked them to contact Genspect. I'll fwd this article and hopefully we'll get many willing to challenge school districts that socially transition children without parental consent.