At 1 a.m., the day after the Arkansas state Senate had overridden Gov. Asa Hutchinson's (R) veto of a bill banning gender-affirming care for trans kids, the Spurrier family opened a GoFundMe so they could move out of the state.
Why it matters: The Spurriers believe leaving their home of 16 years is the only way to protect their transgender son. Over 80 bills targeting trans children have been introduced so far this year.
What they're saying: Emily and George, who have worked to support their 17-year-old transgender son Cas since he came out in 2019, say they felt cornered.
- "It was like okay, the monster's coming at you. You see the tentacles, 'okay, I can beat the tentacles,' but then the head comes out and now you realize the beast you're dealing with," Emily said. "In that fight or flight scenario, I feel like at this point I want to choose flight because it’s difficult to fight a brick wall."
- Cas said the bills make him feel like lawmakers are saying they don't want him to exist. "I shouldn’t have to justify the fact that I’m a normal person."
Although Cas is 17 — at the cusp of being affected by Arkansas' bill banning transition-related health care for minors — his parents say their move is motivated by wanting to escape the overall anti-trans environment.
Emily sent an email to Hutchinson on April 5, thanking him for vetoing the bill that was ultimately pushed through by the state legislature. "To us, this meant everything," she wrote. ...
- Emily told Axios she had not