Parents urge Senate to support bill on gender identity, gender expression
OTTAWA — Parents of transgender youth urged members of the Senate’s legal committee on Thursday to back the Liberal government’s gender identity and gender expression bill, suggesting it could be a matter of life and death.
Melissa Schaettgen, a mother from Carp, Ont., shared her family’s struggle with their nine-year-old transgender daughter Warner — a victim of assault — and the risks associated with speaking publicly about what they’ve gone through.
“You must … know that by doing so, I put myself and my family at great risk,” she told the committee.
“After last telling our story publicly, we were bombarded with a number of letters and emails stating we were sick and that we should be shot and burned.”