Families in Texas with transgender children say they're under attack

Families in Texas with transgender children say they're under attack

　　Transcript¹

　　The parents of a transgender child are fighting the Texas governor and attorney general, after child protective services began investigating the family for getting their child gender-affirming care.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　In Texas, an appeals court has reinstated a temporary hold on state investigations² into families with transgender children. The governor and attorney general have equated³ gender-affirming care for minors⁴ to child abuse. They ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to start investigating families with trans children. And that was before the courts intervened. NPR's Wade⁵ Goodwyn reports on how one Texas family took their fight public.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF METAL SCRATCHING)

　　WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE⁶: It's 6:15 on a Thursday evening in Denton, Texas. And Adam Briggle is at the stove, preparing dinner for the family.

　　ADAM BRIGGLE: My kids have to suffer through what we call dad dinners. So tonight is cheese ravioli and bread sticks out of a box and broccoli⁷.

　　GOODWYN: When he's not preparing fine dining, Briggle is a university professor of philosophy, a loving husband and father of two children. His oldest, Grayson, is in eighth grade.

　　GRAYSON: I'm playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Beatles.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF THE BEATLES SONG, "WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS")

　　GOODWYN: Grayson is the kind of kid that moves you to quietly remind yourself not to feel insecure. He's just 14, an A student, a talented gymnast. After seeing "Kung Fu Panda," he got his second-degree black belt in taekwondo, plays cello⁸ in the orchestra. And when he gets home, he likes to play the ukulele to entertain himself before dinner. And he's got a lot of good friends.

　　GRAYSON: We stay up, like, all night at sleepovers. I usually am the first one to go to sleep because I think they're all crazy just staying up late and then not sleeping at all. Like, I try to at least get a little bit of sleep at sleepovers.

　　GOODWYN: Grayson's mother is usually the public face of the family's battle with the state of Texas over the fact that Grayson is receiving gender-affirming care. But with the state's decision to use the Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate their family, Adam Briggle has joined his wife on the front lines.

　　ADAM BRIGGLE: She's the forward-leaning one publicly. And I'm there for the kids on the day-to-day level when she has to maybe be out there fighting for their political rights. Now it's sort of all hands on deck. I'm sitting here talking to you. What's sinking in? The fact that there is a minority of people who are full of ignorance and hate that is knocking on our door.

　　GOODWYN: Amber⁹ Briggle, who owns her own small business with more than two-dozen employees, has publicly fought for her son, Grayson, for years, refusing to hide. In fact, in 2016, when Grayson was in third grade, she successfully invited Texas Attorney General Ken¹⁰ Paxton and his wife to their house for dinner. She wanted them to see and experience the Briggle family for themselves.

　　AMBER BRIGGLE: You know, Mrs. Paxton brought a freshly baked dessert that was still warm from her oven because they just live one county over, which makes us neighbors by Texas standards, right? They were lovely. They watched us engage with our children. Mr. Paxton and my son exchanged magic tricks. Mrs. Paxton told a funny joke about talking muffins, you know? It was like - it was just a very wholesome¹¹, sweet dinner. And they drove away. And my husband and I were like, we did it. (Laughter) Like, problem solved. Mission accomplished¹². We were so proud of ourselves, you know? Like, no one got food poisoning. And everything went great. And, you know - and he drove away, you know, actually, under a rainbow. There was a rainbow that evening. We thought, well, this is fantastic.

　　GOODWYN: And in that moment, perhaps, it was. Since the age of 3, Grayson insisted he was a boy. By the age of 6, just after he started first grade, his mother had to make a decision. So Amber Briggle asked her 6-year-old, who'd long been wearing boys' clothes and short hair, are you my son? The child looked at her and quietly said, yes. And so families, teachers, friends' parents, their minister, everyone was briefed. And it turned out not to be that big of a deal, even in conservative Denton, Texas. Everyone liked Grayson. But as Grayson has grown, the Texas Republican Party has steadily¹³ moved to the right. And at the end of February, with the Texas primary election on the horizon, the governor issued a statement that gender-affirming care should be considered child abuse. And soon after, Texas Child Protective Services began investigating the Briggle family.

　　AMBER BRIGGLE: So I get to the office on Monday. And I'm ready to crank out some payroll¹⁴ because the next day is the first. And I'm responsible for paying, you know, 25 people on my team. And I see this sticky note with a name and number and a message that says urgent, private. And I pick it up. And I give her a call. And I say, hello. My name is Amber. And I'm - you know, got this message from you. And she cut me off. And she said, my name is so-and-so. I'm with CPS. And I'm 30 minutes away.

　　GOODWYN: Briggle told the Child Protective Services agent she wouldn't talk without a lawyer. That didn't matter one bit. The agent was on her way.

　　AMBER BRIGGLE: And so I get off the phone. And I, like, run down the hall. And I found my assistant. And I just threw myself in her arms. And, I mean, she's tiny, you know? She was physically¹⁵ holding me up. And she said, what's wrong? And I said, it's finally happening. I said, CPS is on their way. And they're going to take my babies away from me. And I'm so scared. And she held me tighter. And she started crying, too. And then I just fell to the floor. I just collapsed¹⁶.

　　GOODWYN: NPR reached out to the governor and attorney general's offices to seek comment, but did not receive a response. But on March 11, in response to a lawsuit¹⁷ brought by the ACLU and Lambda Legal, State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum temporarily stopped Texas from using Child Protective Services to investigate families with trans children. The judge ruled Governor Greg Abbott's actions were, quote, "beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional." Later that same day, Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted, I'm appealing. I'll win this fight to protect our Texas children. The state's determination to treat families with transgender children as possible child abusers has generated panic and fury. Again, Amber Briggle.

　　AMBER BRIGGLE: I'm not in a good place now. I'm worried. I'm angry. I'm angry that so much of my - like, I have better things to do than to be the target of someone's political ambitions, right? I have better things to do than be picked on by Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton.

　　GOODWYN: Can Texas take transgender children away from their parents because the parents behave as their child's ally? The legal issue will be argued in July.

　　Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Dallas.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF JAKE SHIMABUKURO'S "WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

4 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

8 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

9 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

10 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

11 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

12 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

13 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

14 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

15 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

16 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

17 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。