Is a Little Logic Too Much to Ask?

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Is a Little Logic Too Much to Ask?

The Mass­a­chu­setts Leg­is­la­ture is appar­ently try­ing to out-​California Cal­i­for­nia by con­sid­er­ing House Bill 4014, “An Act rel­a­tive to abu­sive prac­tices to change sex­ual ori­en­ta­tion and gen­der iden­tity in minors.” The bill would pro­hibit any kind of coun­sel­ing or ther­apy, even just talk­ing, aimed at help­ing a con­fused minor be com­fort­able in his or her own body. If a par­ent seeks such coun­sel­ing for a con­fused minor who thinks him­self or her­self to be “trans­gen­der,” the bill would con­sider that a form of child abuse. As Andrew Beck­with, pres­i­dent of the Mass­a­chu­setts Fam­ily Insti­tute, has aptly put it, “This is a bill that would allow the state to take away your daugh­ter and make her some­one else’s son.”

The bill was orig­i­nally writ­ten sev­eral years ago by for­mer state rep­re­sen­ta­tive Carl Sciortino, who is now exec­u­tive direc­tor of the AIDS Action Com­mit­tee, which focuses on the health needs of LGBT peo­ple. He (it’s not clear if this is his “pre­ferred pro­noun” but I don’t really care) claims that “the point of this bill is that if a young per­son has an iden­tity and is being told by a so-​called ther­a­pist that they can change their iden­tity, that is a false hope and abu­sive and shouldn’t be allowed by licensed pro­fes­sion­als in this state.” He declares it to be a “false claim” that a ther­a­pist can help a gay or trans per­son become straight. Sciortino actu­ally admits that the bill could cause the state to remove a child from par­ents who refuse to muti­late or chem­i­cally ster­il­ize their child who claims to be “transgender.”

One would think that such a bill would vio­late the First Amend­ment on its face, but I’m still try­ing to fig­ure out how any­one who sup­ports such a bill can claim even a shred of log­i­cal rea­son­ing behind their thinking.

Sciortino clearly believes that LGBT peo­ple are “born that way” since chang­ing a person’s belief about his or her sex­u­al­ity or gen­der is a “false claim.” But since being gay or trans­gen­der makes it bio­log­i­cally impos­si­ble to repro­duce nat­u­rally, this posi­tion is clearly at odds with Dar­win­ian evo­lu­tion, which requires repro­duc­tion in order to pass on genetic muta­tions to the next gen­er­a­tion. It is sim­ply not pos­si­ble for LGBT behav­iors to be based on genetics.

Being trans­gen­der means that a per­son is more com­fort­able act­ing in stereo­typ­i­cal gen­der roles which, until fif­teen min­utes ago we were told were socially con­structed. Thus we find the ridicu­lous argu­ment that a “trans­gen­der female” can also be a les­bian. That is, a man’s desire to dress as a woman – a com­pletely social con­struct – makes him more a woman than his attrac­tion to women, which is bio­log­i­cally nor­mal, makes him a man. The whole idea of trans­gen­derism is a house of cards held up only by inces­sant propaganda.

As with the Bath­room Bill, I am appalled that the Leg­is­la­ture could even con­sider a bill that obvi­ously has no log­i­cal basis for crim­i­nal­iz­ing activ­ity sim­ply because some mis­guided souls don’t like that behav­ior. If the bill’s sup­port­ers want to out­law truly abu­sive ther­apy like electro-​shock, then write a bill that specif­i­cally out­laws abuse. But to crim­i­nal­ize a parent’s desire to coun­sel a con­fused child to live as God intended, and define as child abuse a parent’s refusal to chem­i­cally alter the child irrev­o­ca­bly based on the child’s con­fu­sion is sim­ply abom­inable. We must oppose this mis­guided bill. If you are a Mass­a­chu­setts cit­i­zen, I urge you to con­tact your State Rep­re­sen­ta­tive and Sen­a­tor to make your voice heard.

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The Massachusetts Legislature is apparently trying to out-California California by considering House Bill 4014, “An Act relative to abusive practices to change sexual orientation and gender identity in minors.” The bill would prohibit any kind of counseling or therapy, even just talking, aimed at helping a confused minor be comfortable in his or her own body. If a parent seeks such counseling for a confused minor who thinks himself or herself to be “transgender,” the bill would consider that a form of child abuse. As Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, has aptly put it, “This is a bill that would allow the state to take away your daughter and make her someone else’s son.”

The bill was originally written several years ago by former state representative Carl Sciortino, who is now executive director of the AIDS Action Committee, which focuses on the health needs of LGBT people. He (it’s not clear if this is his “preferred pronoun” but I don’t really care) claims that “the point of this bill is that if a young person has an identity and is being told by a so-called therapist that they can change their identity, that is a false hope and abusive and shouldn’t be allowed by licensed professionals in this state.” He declares it to be a “false claim” that a therapist can help a gay or trans person become straight. Sciortino actually admits that the bill could cause the state to remove a child from parents who refuse to mutilate or chemically sterilize their child who claims to be “transgender.”

One would think that such a bill would violate the First Amendment on its face, but I’m still trying to figure out how anyone who supports such a bill can claim even a shred of logical reasoning behind their thinking.

Sciortino clearly believes that LGBT people are “born that way” since changing a person’s belief about his or her sexuality or gender is a “false claim.” But since being gay or transgender makes it biologically impossible to reproduce naturally, this position is clearly at odds with Darwinian evolution, which requires reproduction in order to pass on genetic mutations to the next generation. It is simply not possible for LGBT behaviors to be based on genetics.

Being transgender means that a person is more comfortable acting in stereotypical gender roles which, until fifteen minutes ago we were told were socially constructed. Thus we find the ridiculous argument that a “transgender female” can also be a lesbian. That is, a man’s desire to dress as a woman – a completely social construct – makes him more a woman than his attraction to women, which is biologically normal, makes him a man. The whole idea of transgenderism is a house of cards held up only by incessant propaganda.

As with the Bathroom Bill, I am appalled that the Legislature could even consider a bill that obviously has no logical basis for criminalizing activity simply because some misguided souls don’t like that behavior. If the bill’s supporters want to outlaw truly abusive therapy like electro-shock, then write a bill that specifically outlaws abuse. But to criminalize a parent’s desire to counsel a confused child to live as God intended, and define as child abuse a parent’s refusal to chemically alter the child irrevocably based on the child’s confusion is simply abominable. We must oppose this misguided bill. If you are a Massachusetts citizen, I urge you to contact your State Representative and Senator to make your voice heard.

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