The Washington Post reports that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has shut down a key way for transgender activists to access children.
Per the Post:
The administration of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) quietly took down LGBTQ+ youth resources from a state website after a conservative media outlet questioned the links, records show, building on a pattern of removals derided by public health employees who say their work is being politicized.
The "conservative media outlet" is the Daily Wire.
The Post is referring to an article that the Daily Wire posted on May 31, 2023, called, Virginia Dept of Health Promotes "Queer Kid Stuff," Chat for "LGBTQ+"-Identifying Teens.
In its article, the Daily Wire exposed the fact that, at the time of its report, "the Virginia Department of Health promoted an organization called 'Queer Kid Stuff,' as well as an online chat service marketed to teenagers who identify as 'LGBTQ+.'"
The Daily Wire goes on to discuss both things in detail. The outlet reports that Queer Kid Stuff "is an organization dedicated to engaging in leftist activism in the education system, with a specific focus on the minds and beliefs of young children."
The service's website says that, among other things, the group is "dedicating our primary efforts toward liberating all children from white supremacist systems." The website has links to various YouTube videos, including one called, "What is Transition?" where gender transition procedures are discussed.
The online chat service, referred to above, is QChat Cpace. This was also being pushed by the Virginia Department of Health.
The website is an online chat platform for children as young as 13 who identify as LGBTQ+. The platform hosts conversations on a wide variety of topics, including "Finding Chosen Family" and "sex and relationships." And, the platform has a button that allows its users to quickly escape from the webpage should, say, a parent be in the area.
It was not long after the Daily Wire's report that the Virginia government stopped promoting these so-called youth resources.
The Post reports:
Within hours of an inquiry from the Daily Wire, a dozen resources, including a live-chat online support group for teens, were removed from the state health department website at the direction of a Cabinet-level agency, according to emails obtained under the state’s open records law.
The outlet goes on to note that this move is not unusual for Youngkin, who has stripped "public health resources on abortions, sexual health, and pregnancy, among other issues, as he remakes state policy after eight years of Democratic control."
A statement on the matter has been released by Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter.
Porter said:
In Virginia, the governor will always reaffirm a parent’s role in their child’s life. Children belong to their parents, not the state. The governor supports providing resources that are age appropriate however the government should not facilitate anonymous conversations between adults and children without a parent’s approval. Sexualizing children against a parent’s wishes doesn’t belong on a taxpayer supported website.
