Violet, who is a Dallas resident with her 6-year-old transgender daughter, Isa, said that news reaffirmed her decision to move her family to California to keep Isa safe and healthy.
CNN is withholding both Violet and Isa’s last name to protect their privacy.
“There’s pretty much nothing that could keep us here,” Violet said. “The general feeling (in Texas) is just constant fear. I’m always worried that she’s going to accidentally say something about her penis in public, because that has happened, and I see the way people react to us which is why Texas hasn’t really ever felt safe…it’s just time for us to get out and I want to be somewhere there are actually laws in the books that protect her instead of trying to erase her.”
Paxton’s opinion says anyone — including parents, doctors or teachers — who has “reasonable cause” to believe such “abuse” is taking place must report it to authorities within 48 hours. Failure to report it “is a criminal offense,” the opinion states, citing Texas “family code.”
In response to the opinion, Gov. Greg Abbott directed DFPS Commissioner Jaime Masters “to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the State of Texas.”
Right now, it’s unclear just how much legal standing the order and opinion will have.
Five Texas District Attorneys issued a joint statement on Thursday calling the directives from the governor and attorney general cruel, life-threatening and un-American.
They said they will enforce the Constitution and will not “irrationally interfere” in medical decisions made by families, their children, and their doctors.
Brian Klosterboer, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas, told CNN that Paxton’s opinion and the directive by Abbott have no legal effect on Texas law.
“They don’t have the power to strip away or trample on the rights of transgender young people,” Klosterboer said.
Regardless, parents of transgender children across the Lone Star State say they’re fearful and anxiety ridden. Some, like Violet, are prepared to take life changing measures, like leaving the state, while others are ready to stay and fight tooth and nail.
CNN has reached out to the offices of the governor and the attorney general for comment.
‘We are desperate to keep our trans kids alive and healthy and happy’
“He was kind to our faces and was a considerate dinner guest and then to turn around and do this, break bread with our family at our table, and tell us that he thought our son was a good kid…and then all these years later say that families like ours shouldn’t exist…it’s just a betrayal and I’m personally offended,” Amber said.
Paxton’s opinion doesn’t scare Amber but she said she is concerned for what the future holds should the opinion become law.
“The temperature keeps rising, the pressure is growing against trans inclusive families, vilifying parents, trying to erase our children, tear families apart, send our kids to an already overwhelmed and broken foster care system,” Amber said. “It’s a distraction from the issues that affect average everyday Texans.”
Nothing in Paxton’s opinion or Abbott’s letter referenced foster care for children who have received a gender-affirming procedure.
Amber’s husband, Adam, on the other hand said even though the opinion isn’t law, he is fearful.
“It’s quite clear living in Texas, when you get all the mailers from all the conservatives that this is their top three priority issue,” he said. “They’re not going to let this go. So, just another turn of the crank and it’s very overwhelming.”
Katie Laird, a Houston parent of a transgender 15-year-old son, said she wants everyone to be a part of this conversation — not just parents of trans children.
“Something that I think is lost in a lot of this conversation and the headlines is that, really supporting trans kids as a parent, it’s about love in action, it’s listening to our kids when they tell us who they are and what they need and then taking that informed thoughtful action, which is the exact opposite of child abuse,” she said.
“So needless to say, I am wildly disgusted by the Texas Governor and Attorney General’s decision to really attack our Texas children…robbing families, to question that love in action.”
“We are desperate to keep our trans kids alive and healthy and happy,” Laird said. “We’re confused and spending all of these hours together trying to figure out exactly what our legal rights are … I mean, it’s this dangerous and deadly political theater that’s being played at the expense of the babies . . . of children.”
Both Paxton and Abbott are up for reelection this year, with voting in the Republican primary starting this week.
Support from far and wide for trans youth in Texas
“It’s kind of a vulnerable thing to ask for help,” she said. “I was and I’m still pretty terrified but now that there’s a little bit more of a financial boost, a little more financial support, I feel a lot more confident that I can do this.”
The support from strangers has been overwhelming, she said. Emails from people in California, Maryland and Maine have flooded her inbox with offers to help find accommodations in their state.
“It’s crazy how supportive people are and that is not the vibe that I have gotten from Texans after we started Isa’s social transition.”
During the summer Violet and Isa will make the move to California, she said, a state whose governor has made it known that they will be safe there.
Other state and local officials also responded to Paxton’s opinion. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee released a statement saying Paxton and Abbott are “ignoring medical professionals and intentionally misrepresenting the law to the detriment of transgender children and their families.”
“My office will not participate in these bad faith political games. As the lawyers handling these cases, we owe a duty of candor to the courts about what the law really says,” Menefee said. “We’ll continue to follow the laws on the books — not General Paxton’s politically motivated and legally incorrect ‘opinion.’ “
Following the news about Paxton’s opinion, celebrities have expressed their disdain for all that it entails and pledged their support to Texas’ trans youth.
CNN’s Scottie Andrew, Amir Vera, Ashley Killough and Emma Tucker contributed to this report.