HELENA — A Republican state lawmaker spoke out Monday, saying she’s faced personal attacks and even death threats over remarks she made during the debate over a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth – remarks she said were misconstrued.
Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, held a news conference outside the State Capitol on Monday, where she sharply criticized social media posts and media reports that she said took her statements out of context and assumed her motives – without speaking to her.
“This experience should be a lesson and a warning – a lesson to those living in the false reality of Twitter and online media, and those in the mainstream media who amplify unverified sources: Do better,” she said.
On March 23, Seekins-Crowe carried Senate Bill 99 on the House floor. At the end of the debate, she responded to opponents of the bill, who argued that withholding gender-affirming care could lead to a higher risk of suicide. She told a story about her own daughter, who had struggled with thoughts of suicide.
“Someone once asked me, wouldn't I just do anything to help save her?” Seekins-Crowe said. “And I really had to think. And the answer was no. I was not going to give in to her emotional manipulation, because she was incapable of making those decisions and I had to make those decisions for her. I was not going to let her tear apart my family, and I was not going to let her tear apart me, because I had to be strong for her. I had to have vision for her life when she had none.”
Seekins-Crowe’s daughter is not transgender. However, last week, posts on social media began recirculating a clip of those remarks, and some of those posts assumed that her daughter had been transgender – which was not accurate.
www.advocate.com
www.ktvh.com
