10-year-old trans girl calls out Texas senators who have been 'attacking me since Pre-K'

Ten-year-old Kai Shappley made a stirring speech in front of the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee as she spoke out against a proposed law that would brand her mother as a child abuser for supporting her. As per the Texas Senate Bill 1646, parents who supported trans children would also face jail time and would have their children taken away from them. “I do not like spending my free time asking adults to make good choices,” said Shappley, as per LGBTQ Nation. “Texas legislators have been attacking me since Pre-K. I am in fourth grade now. It makes me sad that some politicians would use trans kids like me to get votes from people who hate just because I exist."

She also took aim at lawmakers who are using religion to push the bill through. State Senator Charles Perry, a Republican, told the committee, "God created us all in his own image. We went outside that creation by our own accord and suffer with some of the consequences of being outside his will since the garden. This is another one of those issues that we find ourselves entangled in that unfortunately, the damage is to our most precious, precious being our children, not our personal lineage, but all of God’s children and the children in this state.”

Shappley responded to Perry's comments by saying, "God made me. God loves me for who I am, and God does not make mistakes.” The law would redefine child abuse to include “consenting to or assisting in the administering or supplying of, a puberty suppression prescription drug or cross-sex hormone to a child, other than an intersex child, for the purpose of gender transitioning or gender reassignment” or “performing or consenting to the performance of surgery or another medical procedure on a child, other than an intersex child, for the purpose of gender transitioning or gender reassignment.”

Overwhelming evidence suggests trans kids who have the support of their loved ones enjoy better mental and physical health. The group Doctors For Change penned an open letter to the sponsors of the bill stating that it was in contradiction of medical research and standards of care. “The care provided to children and youth with gender dysphoria is tailored to their specific needs by a team of highly trained providers, including pediatricians, mental health specialists, endocrinologists, surgeons, and allies and supporters including parents and guardians,” read the letter. “Each provider plays a role in ensuring the health of the child based on established standards of care and the peer-reviewed medical literature.”

“In our experience, affirmation and acceptance from parents, guardians, physicians, and all other important adults in a child’s life is extremely beneficial to the child’s health outcomes and happiness. These benefits are also supported overwhelmingly by the medical literature and highly respected pediatric organizations including the Texas Pediatric Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Pediatric Endocrine Society.”

Kai Shappley thanked those opposing the bill and supported trans kids during her speech. “I want to say thank you to those of you who are sticking up for kids like me. By the time I’m in college, you will be celebrated in the history books,” she said. Kai's mother Kimberly Shappley is a Christian and had met with a group of Christian mothers of LGBTQ+ children, who encouraged her to let Kai embrace her gender identity. In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Kimberly said her transgender daughter “was verbalizing that she was a girl at least six times a day” since she was three years old. “I used to lead a small ministry teaching Bible study, and I didn’t support or condone those living the LGBTQ lifestyle,” Kimberly said. She stopped pushing Kai for 'acting girly' and embraced her identity after learning about a transgender teen who died by suicide “because her parents wouldn’t let her be who God designed her to be.” Kimberly said she doesn't regret letting Kai transition. “I’ve learned too much about identity and faith in loving my beautiful daughter exactly the way she is.”

If you're trans and are being subjected to abuse, or need any help, please reach out to TRANS LIFELINE at 877-330-6366.