A mother of a transgender child, having had former Vice President Pence tell her that children should not be making decisions about surgical or chemical procedures to change their sex, called Pence’s position “appalling.”
Pence spoke at a NewsNation town hall on Wednesday, where he was confronted by Melissa McCollister, who said she was the mother of a transgender child.
Pence said he would “protect our kids from that radical gender ideology that’s taken hold in too many public schools,” prompting McCollister to ask, “What is your policy plan to protect the transgender community, specifically black and brown trans women from historically high levels of violence?”
“Well, Melissa, let me say I’m deeply grieved to hear about those tragic circumstances, and I hear your heart, and I’m moved by your emotion, I truly am,” Pence answered. He continued:
I’m a Bible-believing Christian. I have particular views of these matters and you have a different view of those, perhaps, but I want you to know I believe in the freedom of religion, I believe in the freedom of conscience, I believe in the right of every American to live, to work, to worship according to the dictates of their conscience and I’ll respect that. But I hope you also hear my heart on this.
For me, what adults do in their lives, decisions that they make, including transgender adults, is one thing, but for kids under the age of 18 — there’s a reason why we don’t let you drive ’til you’re 16. In the state of Indiana, you can’t get a tattoo until after you’re 18, you can’t drink until after you’re 21, that’s because we understand that kids don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions …
When it comes to surgical or chemical procedures, I just — I really believe that we’ve got to protect our kids from decisions that will affect them, the balance of their lives, while at the same time saying adults can make decisions according to the dictates of their own conscience.
McCollister noted later that she was a social worker, adding, “I have worked with kids as young as 5 years old that have gender-nonconforming and identities that are transgender, and I’ve raised one.”
“And so to hear somebody tell me that it’s not okay for young children to make decisions about their gender identity and to ask their school officials for support, protection, and help is appalling,” she declared.