It is obvious that current strategies are not working and highly likely they are not safe. These young people are not getting the treatment they need and deserve.

As a fellow human being and follower of Christ, I seek to love, honor, and respect everyone. I will always strive to practice and model the value of treating everyone with respect, decency, and dignity no matter if we agree or disagree. 

“Gender fluidity” and the thought that it’s possible to change one’s sex was hardly heard of more than a decade ago.  The number of American youths who experience gender dysphoria (sever distress concerning their biological sex) has skyrocketed by over 1,000 percent over the last dozen years or so.  This has quickly multiplied to more than 1 in 20 teens (2023 CDC data) who now consider themselves either transgender or questioning their gender identity. This has obviously become a very serious issue in our state, and especially for its impact on our youth.

Before I go further, I want to recognize that there are rare cases where infants are born with atypical genitalia or verifiable DNA abnormalities that impact gender. These cases deserve sensitivity and compassion. Our state laws must reflect the needs of the individuals who experience these rare cases.

Here are some thoughts and observations I have concerning the transgender topic:

First, many European countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, and more) have now moved to greatly restrict “gender-affirming care” for minors due to findings in the most current research.  This independently conducted research shows that puberty blockers, hormonal interventions, physical sex change procedures, and even non-medical “social transition” for gender confused youth lack medical evidence for both effectiveness and potential long-term harm. These countries are moving away from these treatments.

Despite this knowledge, Minnesota has doubled down on “gender affirming” treatments for youth and become the most extreme “trans-refuge” state – even to the point of taking away parental rights from those parents who are genuinely concerned over the dangerous effects of these treatments for their child.

Meanwhile, while these European countries have moved to a new youth treatment model of mostly psychotherapy and counseling for treating gender dysphoria, Minnesota has a recently enacted law that literally makes it illegal to offer this kind of talk therapy for minors.

How can we allow children and adolescents with still developing juvenile brains to make irreversible life-changing decisions that will have major impacts on their future lives such as permanent infertility, reduced bone density, and cancer risks? How can we knowingly send them down a road toward premature death, suicide, and major psychiatric issues when research (Sweden 2011) clearly shows that, even after sex reassignment, they will face considerably higher risks for both self-harm and death than their peers?

Girls’ and women’s private spaces and sports are areas that have also been greatly impacted by the transgender issue. Women’s privacy issues, along with extreme discomfort and safety concerns at having male bodies in their bathrooms, locker rooms, and prisons, is being totally ignored. Allowing biological males who have a different sense of gender to compete as “females” against women and girls destroys the fundamental concept of what makes athletic competition fair and safe. Many girls who have worked their entire lives to achieve a high level of skill in a sport have had their efforts literally taken away by a biological male. 

Our public schools are also an area of huge impact where state legislative mandates and state agency decree are forcing schools to teach gender ideology to children beginning in kindergarten and opening bathrooms and locker rooms to students based on gender identity. A Minnesota law even requires public schools to stock menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms starting in grade four.  New teacher licensing rules, dictated by our governor through the state teacher licensing board, requires all teachers be immersed in divisive gender identity ideology and to show proficiency in “affirming” students who self-identify as a different gender before being licensed as a teacher.

So, while European nations are making substantial adjustments to their treatment plans based on valid peer reviewed research, our state is simply doubling down on failed and harmful strategies.  Who is hurt the most by this?  Our children.

Folks, Minnesota can do better – way better.

Gender dysphoria is a real problem. We cannot ignore it. Young people who experience this often have underlying mental health issues like depression and anxiety and deserve our compassion. It is obvious that current strategies are not working and highly likely they are not safe. These young people are not getting the treatment they need and deserve.