Former Republican Rep. Jerry Miller of Kentucky testified in opposition to a bill in the state which would ban surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones for children under 18.
House Bill 470 passed the Kentucky House, but was recently amended by Sen. Danny Carroll to allow for puberty blockers provided parental consent was obtained. (RELATED: Students At Wellesley College Vote To Allow Transgender And Nonbinary Applicants)
“I don’t care about any of the other issues, this decision was made to make sure that those kids had some options and that doctors were going to be comfortable treating them without all the fear that (HB) 470 portrayed,” Carroll told the Herald-Leader.
In testimony before the legislature, Miller said his young grand child would be threatened by the bill.
“I still screw up the pronoun thing, but regardless I’m going to love my grandchild,” former Republican Rep. Jerry Miller said in support of access to gender-affirming care in Kentucky. https://t.co/3UAH5z9oNy pic.twitter.com/CUQZvjxidU
— VICE News (@VICENews) March 15, 2023
“HB 470, when I realized it had a chance of passing, even though it restricts parents rights, it now became personal because my 7-year-old grandchild would be directly affected by it,” Miller said. “As a grandfather of two girls I was thrilled to learn my daughter was pregnant with a boy. I thought of all the things we would do together, like playing ball. That’s just not been my reality.”
“As a toddler he wasn’t interested in balls, he has — she has focused on dolls, not balls. He started dressing like a girl mainly princess dresses at age three at home. His mother tried to dissuade him from doing so at age four. My intuitive wife asked the dress wearing child if he didn’t like being a boy. His response was, ‘inside I feel a girl.’”
“I still screw up the pronoun thing, but regardless of anything I’m going to love my grandchild,” Miller, who referred to his grandchild with both male and female pronouns throughout his comments, said.