You know that minors don't receive gender-affirming surgery in the United States, right? Medical professional associations don't approve of such procedures, insurance companies don't pay for them, and doctors don't perform them.

In some rare instances, and I mean low single digits per year, a trans boy between the ages of 16 and 18 might have a mastectomy for gender-affirming purposes. His parents would have to be able to pay for it out of their own pockets, and they'd have to find a surgeon willing to violate their professional association's ethical guidelines, with whatever licensing risk that might present.

So when you say that children are taken from parents for not allowing gender-affirming surgery, you aren't making any sense. That's just not something that happens.

As far as puberty blockers go, there have been a few isolated cases where parents disagreed about medical treatment. And sometimes courts have taken the best interest of the child into consideration when deciding how to handle such a case. In one instance I know about, a judge revoked a joint custody order and awarded sole custody to the parent the child actually lived with anyway, and who wanted the child to have the puberty blockers their doctor was recommending.

That's called human rights, by the way — considering the best interests of a child.

I'm aware of no cases where a child has been removed from their parents' custody because the parents would not approve puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy. And I pay attention closely.

What you were doing here is fear-mongering. You're presenting made-up scenarios and trying to make people afraid.

As far as books teaching kids that gay and trans people exist? Sure, I'm one of the activists who says that's important. Guilty as charged and proud of it. I've read many of the books that parents object to. Usually they're charming and lovely. All they do is show children that same-sex couples have kids sometimes and love them like any other parent.

We live in a plural society. All sorts of families exist, and every child in school needs to know that they're okay. They also need to know that they have to respect gay people. Because we exist in society, and we deserve respect, because there's nothing wrong with us.

No child needs to be "ready" to learn that gay people exist. No children are harmed by learning that gay people exist and that it's important to respect and be kind to us.

Society is filled with messaging about loving mixed-sex couples. Nobody complains about a kiss in a rom-com or about mixed sex parents kissing in a children's book. We celebrate that.

And we queer folks absolutely expect (and demand) the same level of respect for ourselves. We live here. It's our society too.

Parents who don't want their children to learn that we exist and who are offended if we kiss are homophobes.

Maybe that doesn't make them monsters, but it certainly means they need to do better.

Just like you need to do better.