A New Florida GOP Bill Could Make It Legal for Parents to Kidnap Their Trans Kids

The response from members and straight allies of the LGBTQ community has been one of alarm, with many calling it “fascist” and “state sponsored kidnapping.” 

Florida could soon make parental child abduction legal, if the parent believes that the minor is receiving gender-affirming health care, or even if the parent suspects there is a “risk” of getting that care. 

This scenario, which some critics say is a legislative attempt to erase trans people, could come to pass if a bill introduced Friday by Florida Republican state Sen. Clay Yarborough is approved. 

“A court may not treat a parent’s removal of a child from another parent or from another state as unjustifiable conduct or child abuse,” reads SB 254: Treatments for Sex Reassignment. 

If the bill becomes law, a parent from another state could kidnap their trans child in violation of custody agreements, abscond to Florida, “and be protected by Florida law […] despite likely committing felony kidnapping in their home state,” tweeted Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, who went on to call the proposed bill “state sponsored kidnapping.” 

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Florida US Rep. Maxwell Frost agrees.

“This law essentially states that the state can seize, can kidnap a child if they’re ‘at risk’. I don’t think this should be allowed in any circumstances, but we have to look at the wording here. Do they determine what ‘at risk’ means? No, they don’t. So, you could see a trans kid, or a kid who maybe looks different than you, or maybe you’re uncomfortable with, and that child could be taken away from their family simply because of who they are,” Frost, who has openly called Gov. Ron DeSantis “a fascist,” told Floricua. “Once again, it’s not freedom, it’s not liberty. He’s acting like a dictator.”

An Ongoing Battle

Florida is not alone in waging a war over the rights of trans and non-binary children. Following the Sunshine State’s lead, Republican lawmakers across the country are seeking to pass a slate of bills restricting access to transgender health care as well as education about sexual and gender identity. 

RELATED: Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law Fuels Anti-LGBTQ Hate Online

In the last month alone, Mississippi, Utah, and South Dakota have passed laws banning providers from offering gender-affirming care to minors, even with the support of their parents.

The Florida bill would also:

• Let any court decide custody if a child is getting gender-affirming health care. 
• Block any public agency from spending money on gender-affirming care. This would leave those dependent on the government for help affording this care, to fend for themselves.

‘This Is Fascist’

Trans and nonbinary children face high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Letting them use puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries, has been linked to improving their mental health, studies say.

However, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Republican candidates and anti-LGBTQ groups have spent upwards of $50 million on ads that primarily target trans youth.

The response from members and straight allies of the LGBTQ community has been one of growing alarm. Former House lawmaker and the state’s first Latino LGTBQ representative Carlos Guillermo Smith wrote on Twitter: “This is fascist.”