02 October 2023 , 10:57
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A woman with a transgender child says she's been forced to flee Texas saying they are "political refugees".
Camille Rey and her husband Homero were forced to move their family across the country after their child came out as transgender. Camille described how her life changed three years ago when Leon, now 10, revealed something which neither she nor Homero ever saw coming.
“Leon pipes up in the background, and he says, ‘But I don't love myself,’ and I was like, ‘What?’" she said. He voiced that he basically has a boy brain in a girl's body," added Homero.
Camille and Homero Rey, who are both scientists, realised they needed to learn how to raise their transgender child. The parents, who are both scientists, realised they too were going to have to change in order to support their child, as well as move from their home in Texas.
Leon's family have said they've been forced to flee Texas because he is transgender (NBC)"Mentally, you have to, like, rewire yourself, because, yeah, you're thinking girl, girl, girl, and now it's boy and it is a mental shift,” Homero Rey said. “I did it gladly because I knew that's what he needed.”
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Parents can sometimes struggle to come to terms with the change, but Camille has never thought of it as losing her little girl.
Camille and Homero Rey, who are both scientists, realised they needed to learn how to raise their transgender child. (NBC)“No, I don't go there. No,” she said. “And I've met other parents of transgender kids who go through that mourning process or whatever. I was like, No, we misgendered him. He's always been him. I didn't lose anything."
With the support of his parents, Leon began therapy, started using male pronouns and started gender-affirming treatment.
Living in Texas suddenly didn’t feel safe for the Reys. Gender-affirming treatment came under attack and Leon’s paediatrician refused to use his new gender marker and pronouns, reflecting the conservative sentiment in the state.
LGBTQ rights supporters continue to protest as trans rights in Texas continue to be restricted (Getty Images)“I was like, OK, not on my watch," Camille described how she was pushed into the world of activism overnight, spending weeks protesting anti-trans bills at the state capitol in Austin and testifying against bills which would ban or limit gender-reaffirming care for children like Leon.
"Access to age-appropriate treatment for transgender youth is an immediate issue for my family," she told a state senate committee on state affairs.
But, as Leon began experiencing physical and mental health problems linked to stress, the Reys knew they had to move away from the hostile environment.
"We are political refugees in our own country,” Camille said.
People continue to protest against anti-LGBTQ+ bills being proposed in Texas (Getty Images)"Many of these parents never signed up to be activists, but they feel like they have to protect their child, because their child's life and happiness is on the line," said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director for The National Center for Transgender Equality.
With trans rights becoming a political pawn piece, more families like the Reys have been forced to leave their home states as swathes of bills seeking to limit or criminalise gender-affirming treatments are passed. Rodrigo says he and his team hear from families around the country who are desperate for help.
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"With all of the rising attacks, especially in state legislatures, it has really sent a message to young transgender people that the world doesn't support them, that the world doesn't love them back, and that's an incredibly isolating burden to have to bear,” Heng-Lehtinen said.
"There's something very callous about going after such a vulnerable community like that, you know, kids and their families who are just trying to support them,” he said.
Many families are forced into political activism to fight for the rights of their children (NBC)After Googling “best places to raise LGBTQ families” the Reys moved 1,500 miles away: to Maryland.
“It's good,” Leon said. “I like that there's, like, all four seasons."
Camille says her son has been much happier since the move.
"He doesn't think about this issue every day,” she said. “We don't think about the issue every day."
The Reys continue to fight for the rights of transgender children, selling T-shirts to raise awareness.
"Leon had the courage to stand up and be himself, and he's giving the rest of us permission to do the same,” Camille Rey said. “[What] I've learned from Leon is to be myself."
"He is a gift," she said.
The number of anti-transgender bills has already doubled around the US this year.
Texas, along with 17 other states, have restricted transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care. Several major medical organisations, including The American Medical Association, have opposed such bans.