Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis refrained from disclosing his potential reaction if one of his children were to come out as gay or transgender during an interview on Wednesday.
Conducted at the Iowa State Fair by Time magazine, DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, stated, “My children are my children,” and indicated that such matters would be private discussions between him and his wife.
DeSantis and his spouse, Casey, are parents to three young children, as mentioned in the article. When questioned about the rights of parents of transgender children, particularly concerning access to medical care, DeSantis alluded to a European debate on the subject.
He emphasized his position that his state should intervene to prevent sex-change surgeries on minors, citing parallels to parental consent laws regarding other activities like tattoos for minors.
Using the example of not being able to get a tattoo for his 6-year-old daughter, DeSantis maintained, “You don’t have the right to do things that are going to be destructive to kids.”
He suggested that some parents might feel pressured into making irreversible decisions due to the recommendations of physicians who profit from such procedures.
DeSantis firmly asserted that safeguarding children necessitates restricting certain actions, stating, “It’s entirely appropriate for us to assert that protecting children means certain things are not suitable.”
The governor has faced criticism for enacting contentious policies in Florida related to education and gender-affirming care, including the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act. Critics have labeled some of these measures as anti-LGBTQIA+.
