Houston, Texas – As part of the state’s Republican-led efforts to target transgender youth, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter on Tuesday to the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate and report families where a loved one has received gender-affirming health care. Abbott’s latest attack on transgender youth and their families is part of a barrage of assaults led by hateful, white supremacist Republicans, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to target and harm Black, brown, queer and immigrant communities.
Juan José Martinez-Guevara, Texas Advocacy Associate of United We Dream, said:
“As a young queer person, DACA recipient and longtime Texas resident, I have felt the attacks led by local officials against every part of my identity. I have felt the pain and fear that so many queer young people across Texas are experiencing right now. From Republican-led attempts to deny our history by prohibiting teaching about racism in our schools, to the ban against trans student athletes, to Abbott’s latest assault on trans youth, Republicans in Texas have sought every opportunity to suppress our identities, our voices, and our existence. But I am here today. I am here declaring that I am undocumented, unafraid, queer and unashamed and reminding queer and trans youth across Texas that we are powerful.
At United We Dream, many of our members are queer and trans and have come together to build power and organize to protect each other from the white supremacist-led assaults we witness every day. Together, we fought to protect one another when Abbott unleashed deportation agents into our communities in 2017. We reached out and provided support through mutual aid networks when our elected officials denied the growing climate crisis and left Texans to suffer amidst winter storms. And we will continue to come together to protect one another and fight back against every attempt Abbott and his white supremacist allies take to deny our humanity and our existence.”
