Dear Friends,
Hans Christian Andersen’s classic The Emperor’s New Clothes is the tale of two swindlers who convince a monarch they have crafted a cloth so fine it becomes invisible to anyone who is stupid or incompetent. Before long, the emperor, his advisors, and all his subjects have bought into the swindlers’ lie. “Magnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!” they exclaim as the weavers show off their non-existent cloth. No one has the courage to question the lie.
Kansas Family Voice of Kansas exists to confront the lies in our culture. One of those lies is that male and female are not the only two sexes and that individuals can choose their gender identity. This weekend, I attacked that lie at the Kansas Republican Party convention in Wichita.
I submitted a resolution that affirmed the truth about God’s design for human sexuality. It said, among other things, that all persons are created in God’s image and have inherent dignity, that God’s design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, and that efforts to promote the lie of transgenderism run counter to God’s created order and violate the dignity of every human being. The resolution states that we will oppose efforts to undermine parents’ rights to guide their child’s education or the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy at school. Most controversially, the resolution states, “we oppose efforts to surgically or hormonally alter one’s bodily identity to conform with one’s perceived gender identity.”
Not everyone was happy about this. Some spoke out against the timing, fearing that our politicians would face backlash in their next election. Others worried that we were violating a person’s right to do what they want with their body. Still others feared that the resolution would harm the Republican “brand.”
There is some merit in these arguments, but my priority is the wellbeing of those who suffer because of the lie. In my defense of the resolution, I shared that the suicide rate for those who identify as transgender is 41 percent, 10 times the national average. Those who undergo gender reassignment surgery are 19 times more likely to commit suicide. These statistics are the reason doctors like Paul McHugh, chair of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medicine, stopped gender reassignment therapies.
I reminded the room that there is no love in a lie. Love requires we care enough about others to tell them the truth and walk with them on a path to health.
The resolution passed.
Local and national media responded swiftly. Articles appeared in all the major Kansas newspapers, U.S. News & World Report, The Blaze, The Daily Caller, Lifesite News, The Hill, Christian Post, several pro-LGBT outlets, and more. People standing for the truth in the face of prevailing cultural winds is worth reporting, it seems.
Sincerely,
Eric Teetsel
President and Executive Director
P.S. We are able to be your voice of truth because of the generous support of our friends and allies. Would you consider making a gift to Kansas Family Voice of Kansas?