"I'm a cop with a trans daughter. Lawmakers want me to arrest the doctors who saved her life"

[Nevilledog]

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Mother Jones
@MotherJones
"Say they put a warrant on one of my doctors, the ones who saved my daughter’s life? And say that doctor gets stopped in our town, cutting through? Technically, I’d be assigned to put them in handcuffs and bring them to jail."

motherjones.com
I’m a cop with a trans daughter. Lawmakers want me to arrest the doctors who saved her life.
Alabama is about to pass a law that would criminalize gender-affirming care.
1:00 PM · Mar 11, 2022

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/03/transgender-gender-affirming-care-criminalization-alabama-texas-police/

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said it was child abuse to give transgender teens gender-affirming health care like puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Now, Alabama lawmakers are on the verge of passing a law that would criminalize doctors who do so. The bill would make their work punishable by up to a decade in prison—even though they’re offering treatments that are reversible and approved by major medical associations. The bill is expected to pass in the coming days, and Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to sign it.

All of which terrifies David Fuller, a veteran police sergeant in Gadsden, Alabama, who could be called on to enforce the ordinance. Several years ago, his kid Jess came out as trans, and she relied on the very health care that could now be outlawed. This week he called me from his police truck to share his story, told below in his own words.

We knew something was up from the time she was young, like elementary school. By the time my wife died, we knew she was questioning who she was, but we assumed it meant she was gay. Because I didn’t even know what transgender was. I just had no knowledge of it. Then, after her 16th birthday, not long after Caitlyn Jenner came out, I came home from work one day and there was a note on my computer desk: It was, Dad, I want to be a girl. I didn’t know how to process it.

Jess tried to come down to take the note back, but I’d already read it. I just gave her a hug and said, “I love you. I’m gonna support you no matter what.”

*snip*

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. I wonder what he would think about this law if he didn't have a trans daughter.

[Probatim]

3. At this point it doesn't matter, does it?

We all know that none of them have an iota of empathy or sympathy until it happens to one of them or their own. But there's no need to take a swing at someone who gets it.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

4. Exactly...

We have far too many wanting to punch down on trans kids and the trans community, and punish parents and doctors trying to do the best for trans teens already. Whether David Fuller has always gotten it, or only got it when Jess left him that note, the point is he gets it now. And we need everyone we can get right now, no matter how long it took them to wind up on our side.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

2. What a wonderful dad...

What a bunch of vile Nazi filth that we have running these red states. I'm beyond tired of it. Every fucking day with this shit. Fuck the Party of Hate.

I wish we had more parents like David Fuller. People like him make the world a better place, and make life so much better for kids like Jess.

I wish we had less - like, NO - lawmakers like the thugs running Texas, Alabama, Idaho, etc...

Sergeant Fuller? I for one would applaud you if you decided that instead of arresting doctors looking out for kids like Jess, you arrested these fascist bullies pretending to be "lawmakers."

[ck4829]

5. A perfect time to say "no" to crazy orders

[justhanginon]

6. Jess is so fortunate to have David as her dad. So many kids don't and

the non-acceptance must be heartbreaking for them. I wish the family all the best in the coming years.

[NQAS]

7. Thoughtful comments, good father

And that's good. But it highlights yet again that people on the right - and this guy hardly seems to be an extremist - only pay attention when an issue concerns them. Of course, not all fathers would respond as he did, and he certainly seems to have colleagues/friends who support him, regardless of what they might think about his daughter. And now he's speaking out, and that's great. But wouldn't it be nice if so-called republicans would speak out on a critical issue even if they weren't necessarily affected by it?

[Cracklin Charlie]

8. Good dads rock!

I wish them well.

[lindysalsagal]

9. Religiously based hate.

Any wonder lots of us don't partake anymore?