SAN ANTONIO – Paige Davis, the mother of a transgender teen, has become an outspoken advocate for families impacted by an anti LGBTQ+ bill making its way through the Texas Legislature this session.
According to Davis, three years ago the Christian beliefs and values of her conservative family were shaken to the core when her daughter began to identify and transition into a man.
“It’s really difficult to understand when you don’t know what it means to be transgender. I didn’t either before I had a kid who was transgender,” Davis said.
After getting over the shock and reading up on it, the family moved forward with paying thousands of dollars to pay for the transition.
Davis said she feels lucky that they had the means to do so and ensure her child’s comfortability in their own skin.
“I’m not willing to lose my kid. I’m just not, not over anything,” Davis said. “And so if I have to be a criminal over this, then that’s, I guess what I’ll have to do. I will not lose a child.”
One of the bills in question, Senate Bill 1646, passed through the Texas State Senate on Wednesday and is now headed to a Texas State House Committee for a hearing.
The bill looks to criminally punish and outlaw medical procedures or hormone therapy for minors who want to transition to another sex.
Rep. Charles Perry out of Lubbock, author of the bill, said in a Texas State Senate hearing on Tuesday that the bill is about protecting children from a life-altering decision.
Those against the bill say it would lead to more suicides in an already vulnerable group of people.