Ohio grandparents Mike and Melissa H. left the Republican Party to support their transgender grandchild. Photo: YouTube screenshot
Grandparents Mike and Melissa H., who live in Ohio, were both lifelong Republicans but recently left the party because they felt the party’s anti-transgender policies threatened the well-being of their transgender grandchild.
“I felt really disconnected from the Republican Party. I got mailers from both the national Republican Party and the Ohio Republican Party, and I cut them out and sent them back. I said, ‘I’ve voted Republican most of my life, but until you change your policies and laws regarding the LGBTQ community, I’m not going to support you,'” Mike said in a recent ad for the Human Rights Campaign.
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Republicans have passed bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in 25 states. These bans are at odds with the positions of major American medical and psychological associations, who believe such care is effective, safe and essential for transgender youth.
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Republicans have also tried to roll back protections for transgender students in schools, particularly policies that allow transgender youth to use the name, pronouns, school facilities and sports teams that align with their gender identity. Some Republicans have also tried to make it harder for transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificates, driver’s licenses and other documents, making them more vulnerable to discrimination and violence.
“I began to see how this was affecting my daughter’s family and my trans grandchildren,” Mike said, and his wife agreed.
“It’s really disappointing. It didn’t take a second thought. I’m voting Democrat. It doesn’t take intelligence, it takes compassion, whether you’re a grandparent, a parent, an aunt or an uncle,” she said. “Everyone should be treated equally. It doesn’t matter the color, race or gender. For the government to step in and try to legislate how we should feel is just a travesty.”
The couple point out that transgender young people are estimated to make up just 0.7% of the U.S. population, and Mike believes the U.S. government should be more focused on solving other bigger social issues, like homelessness and inflation.
“I think it’s pointless to make an issue of this,” Melissa says. “I wish there was more education so we could change society’s mindset. If you love your fellow human beings, you want and accept them for who they are.”
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