A Texas father is fighting in court for the right to see his son after being charged with child abuse by his ex-wife "for not affirming James as transgender."
Court documents indicate that the 6-year-old boy only dresses and identifies as a girl when he’s with his mother, who enrolled him in his first-grade class as “Luna.” But James’ father claims that when the boy is with him he consistently wears boy’s clothing, “violently refuses to wear girl’s clothes at my home,” and identifies as a boy.
The father has reportedly been legally prohibited from talking to his son about gender and sexuality from both scientific and religious perspectives, and from seeking to dress his son in boys’ clothes. Instead, he is required to offer both girls’ and boys’ clothing, although he claims that his son consistently refuses to wear dresses. And according to a report by The Federalist, the mother “is also seeking to require him to pay for the child’s visits to a transgender-affirming therapist and transgender medical alterations, which may include hormonal sterilization starting at age eight.”
James was reportedly diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a gender transition therapist that was chosen by his mother, who is a pediatrician. The therapist’s notes reveal that James chose to identify as a girl when in therapy sessions alone with his mother, but as a boy when alone in sessions with his father.
According to The Federalist:
[A] dossier filed with the Dallas court says that, under the skilled eyes of the therapist, the child was presented two pieces of paper, one with the word “James” and one with the word “Luna,” and asked to pick the name he preferred. When the appointment only included his mother, James selected Luna, the name and gender he uses at his mother’s home and in his first-grade classroom. When the appointment was only with his father, however, James pointed to the boy name James, not the girl name.
The father has also obtained eyewitness accounts from family friends and a religious leader, all of whom testified that they’ve never seen the young boy attempt to identify as a girl.
“Based on the three occasions I’ve spent time with him, I’d say he acts and looks unmistakably like a healthy six-year-old boy,” wrote Bill Lovell, senior pastor of Christ Church Carrollton. “…I am praying for James, an average six-year-old boy, a sweet-natured, intelligent, lovable and at this point particularly vulnerable young man, caught up in a titanic clash of worldviews.”
Family friend Sarah Scott, whose sons regularly play with James and his fraternal twin brother and who reportedly wants to be sensitive to James’ wishes when it comes to gender, also offered her perspective.
"His mother came to pick up the boys to take them to [his brother’s] soccer game," remembered Scott. "[He] hugged his dad and said, 'Love you.' He refused to go to the soccer game as a girl with mom and stayed with dad. That evening they came to our house."
Walt Heyer, who authored the report at The Federalist, is himself a man who formerly identified as a transgender woman. Heyer writes and speaks regularly about his own experiences, and about the dangers of promoting transgender ideology to children.
"The diagnosis is critical,” Heyer wrote in The Federalist, “because labeling a child with gender dysphoria can trigger a series of physical and mental consequences for the child and has legal ramifications in the ongoing custody case.”
“Get it wrong," Heyer continued, and the boy's "life is irrevocably harmed."
Heyer believes that James’ "precious young life hinges purely on the diagnosis of gender dysphoria by a therapist who wraps herself in rainbow colors, affirms the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and dismisses evidence to the contrary.”
"Remove the 'rainbow' from [the] diagnosis, and it crumbles under the weight of the criteria for the diagnosis of gender dysphoria,” argued Heyer.
The author added a stern warning that "If we do not save [the boy] from a misdiagnosis, his next step is chemical castration at age eight, only two years away."
A website called Save James has been set up for anyone interested in knowing more about James and his alleged misdiagnosis.