John Stonestreet – Page 20

Gender Ideology Coming for Courts: Guest Column

May 10, 2024John StonestreetLGBTLGBT, Transgender

Judges in the state of California who oversee child abuse and neglect cases are now required to take an annual training course entitled “LGBTQ+ Considerations.” The training urges judges to “use the name and gender of the youth they request” and “insist the Department use their requested name and gender.” And, recently in Ohio, a state-backed function featured a workshop in which activists told judges to affirm the transgender identity of youth.

Adopting language amounts to adopting ideas. When gender ideology shapes the courtroom, both the health and wellbeing of vulnerable young people and the God-given responsibility and prerogative of parents are threatened. Young people who struggle with gender are already at a higher risk of depression or suicide. Affirming their confusion does not lead to better mental health outcomes.

If the courts really hope to protect young people, they will protect the family and not undermine it with bad ideas.

British MP Acknowledges Truth of the Cass Review: Guest Column

May 6, 2024John StonestreetLGBTLGBT, SAFE Act, Transgender

The Cass Review, “the most extensive and thorough … evidence-based review of treatment for children experiencing gender distress ever undertaken,” landed like a bombshell in the U.K. The report’s main conclusion is that science is not settled about “gender-affirming” treatments of minors. In fact, Dr. Cass concluded that “for most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress.”

As expected, the reaction from LGBTQ advocates was swift and shrill, attempting to discredit The Cass Review. For example, British MP Dawn Butler claimed that Dr. Cass left out 100 studies from the report. It turns out she simply repeated a social media post of a pro-LGBTQ organization without fact-checking the claim or reading the report.

After being corrected by Dr. Cass and others, Butler admitted her mistake and apologized for “inadvertently [misleading]” the House. Good for her. She’s given us an example of the power of truth to change hearts and minds.

The Myth of “Affirmation”: Guest Column

May 2, 2024John StonestreetLGBTLGBT, Transgender

Greater ‘affirmation’ of LGBTQ identities does not lead to improved mental health.

For years, activists have claimed that greater social acceptance and affirmation of LGBTQ-identifying individuals would lead to better mental health outcomes. Implicit in the claim is the idea that “widespread prejudice against homosexual people causes them to be unhappy or worse, mentally ill.”

However, according to a soon-to-be-published paper by researcher Amy Hamilton, the science does not support this claim. Research from three different continents—Australia, Europe, and the U.S.—reveals that a more accepting social environment does not bring improvement in psychological distress or suicidal behavior. In fact, it’s the opposite. One study found that younger LGBTQ-identifying people raised in more affirming social environments “were worse … than the older cohort.”

We’ve been lied to. The “science” was never settled. In fact, the research trend right now is to show just how ideologically corrupted the medical, educational, psychological, and scientific “experts” have become on questions of sex, gender, and identity. And the kids are the victims.