Utah, like many other Republican-led states, has considered legislation to protect minor children from making irreversible life-altering decisions on gender identity that they may not fully comprehend the ramifications of, such as the use of hormone treatments, puberty blocker drugs, and sex change operations.
In response, the home of a Republican state legislator in Utah who sponsored such a bill was vandalized with threatening graffiti on Friday, the Daily Caller reported.
The messages that were written in red spray paint on the garage doors and driveway of the home of GOP state Sen. Mike Kennedy were clearly intended to intimidate and warn the lawmaker.
They included the word "Fash" -- leftist activist shorthand for "fascist" -- and the phrase "These trannies bash back."
In January, Sen. Kennedy introduced and was the chief sponsor of legislation known as SB 16 that would enact "provisions regarding transgender medical treatments and procedures."
In addition to imposing new restrictions on the use of hormonal treatments and puberty blockers for minors with "gender dysphoria," the bill also "prohibits performing sex characteristic surgical procedures on a minor for the purpose of effectuating a sex change" and "allows an individual to bring a medical malpractice action for treatment provided to the individual as a minor if the individual later disaffirms consent."
The Daily Caller noted that the bill was passed by both chambers of the state legislature and was signed into law by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
In response to the vandalism of his home, Sen. Kennedy posted a picture of the threatening graffiti along with a message of his own on Facebook.
"To those who seek to use violence, vandalism, and intimidation to deter me from standing up for what is right, let me be clear: you will not succeed," Kennedy wrote. "I will not be deterred by your cowardly actions."
"The recent vandalism to my family's home was not just an attack on me, but on the very principles our state stands for. We will not let fear and violence control our destiny," he added. "As Utahns, we will always stand up and push back against radicals who seek to push their agenda in our state. I am more determined than ever to work with the good people of Utah to make our state a better place for all, especially our children, and I won't back down."
Local KSL NewsRadio reported that the vandalism of Sen. Kennedy's home was also condemned in a lengthy statement issued by Equality Utah, a nonprofit organization that is the largest and most prominent LGBTQ advocacy group in the state.
Equality Utah responds to vandalism directed toward Sen. Mike Kennedy#EqualityUtah #utpol #utleg #lgbtq #trans pic.twitter.com/QWdjUsahEi
— Equality Utah (@EqualityUtah) April 21, 2023
The Lehi Free Press reported that a group of the senator's neighbors joined together to help him clean the graffiti off his garage doors and driveway Friday morning, as well as that the local police had failed to respond to a request for comment about the incident.
